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Week 70 - Monday - 26 March 2001

NEDARIM: CHAPTER 6: MISHNAH 2

If a person prohibits himself by vow from what is prepared in a pot, he is prohibited only from what is prepared in a boiling pot. If a person says, "Konam that I do not taste what goes down to the pot" -- he is prohibited from everything which is cooked in a pot.

Kehati

This mishnah discusses one who prohibited himself by vow from foods which he calls "ma'aseh kederah" or "ha-yored la-kederah." Kederah, pot, is a vessel in which food is cooked in water. Food which is cooked entirely in the kederah is called "ma'aseh kederah"; there are foods which initially "go down to the pot" to be parboiled, and whose preparation is completed by being fried in oil in a vessel called an "ilpes," and are not called "ma'aseh kederah."

If one prohibits himself by vow from what is prepared in a pot [ma'aseh kederah], he is prohibited only from what is prepared in a boiling pot -- foods from kinds of flour or legumes which are prepared by boiling for a long time in a pot until they are edible, since these foods are called ma'aseh kederah, as was explained above. But foods which are prepared in an ilpes, even though they were initially prepared in a pot (kederah), are permitted to him.

If a person says, "Konam that I do not taste -- he prohibits himself everything -- what goes down to the pot [ha-yored la-kederah]" -- he is prohibited from everything which is cooked in a pot -- the person taking the vow prohibited to himself not only ma'aseh kederah, but also foods whose preparation is completed in an ilpes, since also these initially "go down to the pot" to be parboiled.

NEDARIM: CHAPTER 6: MISHNAH 3

"From the pickled," he is forbidden only pickled vegetables; "Pickled that I do not taste," he is prohibited all that are pickled. "From the shaluk," he is prohibited only meat which is shaluk; "Shaluk that I do not taste," he is prohibited all that is shaluk. "From the roast," he is prohibited only roast meat; the words of Rabbi Yehudah; "Roast that I do not taste," he is prohibited all that are roasted. "From the salted," he is prohibited only salted fish; "Salted that I do not taste," he is prohibited all that are salted.

Kehati

After the preceding two mishnayot discussed one who prohibits himself by vow from cooked food, this mishnah discusses one who prohibits himself by vow from foods prepared in a different manner, for there are foods which people eat pickled, and other food which is eaten shaluk, and other food which is eaten when roasted, and other food when salted. This mishnah teaches that there is a difference in the meaning of the vow between one who prohibits himself from "the pickled" or "the shaluk," etc. -- with the definitive article "the," and one who prohibits himself by a vow from "pickled" or "shaluk," etc. -- without the definitive article "the" (Rabbeinu Nissim, Hameiri).

If a person prohibits himself by a vow -- "From the pickled" -- e.g., he said, "Konam the pickled for me," he is forbidden only pickled vegetables -- which are the standard type of pickled food, for it was common practice to pickle vegetables in vinegar; but if he said, "Konam -- Pickled that I do not taste" -- he said "pickled," without the definitive article "the," he is prohibited all that are pickled -- all pickled foods. This rule applies not only to "that do not taste," but also when one says, "Konam pickled for me" (Rabbeinu Nissim, Hameiri). If one prohibits by vow -- "From the pickled" -- e.g., he said, "Konam the pickled for me," he is forbidden only pickled vegetables -- which are the standard type of pickled food, for it was common practice to pickle vegetables in vinegar; but if he said, "Konam -- Pickled that I do not taste" -- he said "pickled," without the definitive article "the," he is prohibited all that are pickled -- all pickled foods. This rule applies not only to "that do not taste," but also when one says, "Konam pickled for me" (Rabbeinu Nissim, Hameiri). If one prohibits himself by vow --

"From the shaluk" -- e.g., he said, "Konam the shaluk for me," he is prohibited only meat which is shaluk -- which is the standard type of food which is shaluk, but if he said, "Shaluk that I do not taste," he is prohibited all that is shaluk -- not only meat that is shaluk, but any food that is shaluk. We have already explained (mishnah 1, above) that, according to one interpretation, shaluk means overcooked, while according to another interpretation, it means undercooked. If one prohibits himself by vow --

"From the roast," he is prohibited only roast meat; the words of Rabbi Yehudah -- for Rabbi Yehudah holds that "the roast," with the definite article "the," refers only to roast meat, but if one says, "Roast that I do not taste," he is prohibited all -- foods -- that are roasted.

If one prohibits himself by vow --

"From the salted," he is prohibited only salted fish -- since "the salted" in popular usage refers to salted fish; but if one says, "Salted that I do not taste," he is prohibited all -- foods -- that are -- prepared by being -- salted.

According to Rashi, Tosafot, and Rabbeinu Asher, this mishnah does not differentiate between "the pickled," with the definitive "the," and "pickled," without the definitive "the," as we explained the mishnah, above; but teaches us that if he said, "that I do not taste," he is prohibited from all the pickled foods, and similarly all other food.

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