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DAAT · LEVEL 4 — HALAKHA LEMA‘ASSE

Siman 203 — What one says, what one avoids saying, and what one does afterwards

The line of ruling of the Shach, the Taz, the Baer Hetev and the Pitchei Teshuva
יורה דעה · סימן ר״ג
איזה דברים משובחים ואיזה הם מגונים
⚖️ Halakha level · הלכה למעשה
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This level does not replay the discussion: it says what one does. It follows the Shulchan Arukh seif by seif, marks where the gloss adds, where the Shach closes a way out, where the Taz rejects an easy road — and it says, without filling it in, what the sources leave open.

Subject:
שולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן ר״ג

הרב יוסף חיים סממה
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1. The principle, before any particular case

This siman does not define what a vow is — it says what to think of it and what to do about it. Three practical rules come out of it, in this order: do not vow; if you must commit yourself, say “without a vow”; if you have vowed, go to a sage. Everything else is a reasoned exception to one of those three.
« אל תהי רגיל בנדרים כל הנודר אף ע״פ שמקיימו נקרא רשע ונקרא חוטא » (שו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:א)
« צריך ליזהר שלא ידור שום דבר » (שו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:ד)
« וְאִם עָבַר וְנָדַר מִצְוָה לְהִשָּׁאֵל עַל נִדְרוֹ כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יְהֵא מִכְשׁוֹל לְפָנָיו » (רמב״ם הלכות נדרים פרק י״ג הלכה כ״ה)

2. The line of ruling, seif by seif

SeifWhat one doesSupport
Seif אOne does not make a habit of vows, and the blame does not depend on fulfilment. The Taz distinguishes: one who has an opening for release and does not use it is racha; one who has found none remains chote as long as the vow rests on him.ט״ז יו״ד ר״ג ס״ק א
Seif בA commitment taken is not left to drag. Delay has its own charge, and it is the only place in the siman where one is judged on the postponement and not on the word.שו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:ב
Seif גThe remedy is release, before a sage. Two exceptions: vows of consecration, which are fulfilled, and an oath — for both, release is sought only under duress.ש״ך יו״ד ר״ג ס״ק ג
Seif דOne vows nothing, not even charity. If the money is there, give; if it is not, wait — and do not undertake “for when I have it” either. If one must pledge with the others, say expressly “without a vow”: say it, not merely think it.ש״ך יו״ד ר״ג ס״ק ד
Seif הIn a time of distress it is permitted to vow. The source is in the Tosafot, in the name of the Bereshit Rabba, on Yaakov’s vow. A vow so uttered remains a vow: it will have to be fulfilled or released.בית יוסף יו״ד ר״ג
Seif וVowing to bind oneself to what one owes is permitted; vowing or swearing to guard from a transgression is a mitzvah. But the Shach warns that the sentence alone — “I shall study this chapter” — already binds, with no formula at all.ש״ך יו״ד ר״ג ס״ק ה
Seif זThe vow that corrects a trait of character is praiseworthy. The same sentence bounds it: one does not multiply vows of prohibition, and one prefers to abstain without a vow.רמב״ם הלכות נדרים פרק י״ג הלכה כ״ד

3. The two words, and where to say them

The practical rule of the siman holds in two words — בלי נדר — and in one precision: they are said aloud. The Shach writes it in the name of the Prisha, and the Baer Hetev repeats it word for word.
« יאמר בלא נדר. ר״ל שיאמר בפירוש בלא נדר אבל אין פירושו שיפסוק סתם ולא יאמר שהוא עושה משום נדר דאף אם פוסק סתם הוה נדר. פרישה. וע״ל סי׳ רנ״ז סעיף ג׳ ד׳: » (ש״ך יו״ד ר״ג ס״ק ד)
« יאמר. ר״ל שיאמר בפירוש בלא נדר אבל אין פירושו שיפסק סתם ולא יאמר שהוא עושה משום נדר דאף אם פוסק סתם הוי נדר. פרישה: » (באר היטב יו״ד ר״ג ס״ק ה)
  1. A pledge at a collection, a promise of a donation, a commitment made aloud before others.
  2. A resolution about study — “I shall learn such a tractate”, “I shall come to the shiur”: the Shach at ס״ק ה establishes that the sentence alone binds.
  3. A course of conduct one decides to adopt — a fast, an abstention, a new habit. It falls under seif 7, and seif 7 prefers that one abstain without a vow.
  4. A promise made to someone that one cannot be sure of keeping. The two words do not cancel the moral undertaking: they keep it from becoming a vow.

4. Contemporary cases

SituationRulingSupport
Pledging a sum at a collection, saying “bli neder”Permittedשו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:ד
Pledging the same sum without saying anythingThat is a vowש״ך יו״ד ר״ג ס״ק ד
Promising a gift “as soon as I have the money”To be avoided — wait, then giveט״ז יו״ד ר״ג ס״ק ד
Giving at once, announcing nothingThe conduct the siman recommendsשו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:ד
Saying “I shall learn this tractate” without adding “bli neder”A vow-obligation already lies upon himש״ך יו״ד ר״ג ס״ק ה
Vowing to bind oneself, when one fears growing slackPermittedשו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:ו
Swearing or vowing to guard from a transgression one fearsA mitzvahש״ך יו״ד ר״ג ס״ק ו
Uttering a vow in a moment of anguishPermitted — and it still must be fulfilled or releasedשו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:ה
Taking a resolution of conduct to correct a flawPraiseworthy — but without making it a habitשו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:ז
Multiplying vows of prohibition as a method of pietyNo — seif 7 expressly refuses itרמב״ם הלכות נדרים פרק י״ג הלכה כ״ד
Releasing oneself from a regretted vowNo — release belongs to a sageשו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:ג
Seeking release from a vow of charity already utteredOnly under duressשו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:ג
Letting an undertaking already taken drag onThe ledger opensשו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:ב

5. If the vow has already been uttered

  1. It stands. Seif 1 blames, it does not annul. As long as it has not been released, the vow binds.
  2. The remedy is release, and it belongs to a sage — three men, or an expert, as the following simanim set out. The Rambam makes it a mitzvah for a vow of prohibition; the Shulchan Arukh writes that it is better to do so.
  3. Two exceptions. A vow of consecration or of charity is fulfilled; an oath is treated with the same restraint. For both, release is sought only under duress.
  4. And no urgency is greater than delay. Seif 2 says it: it is he who postpones whose ledger is opened. Fulfil or have it released — but do not let it linger.
« שטוב יותר שישאל על נדרו » (שו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:ג)
« אבל נדרי הקדש מצוה לקיימן ולא ישאל עליהם אלא מדוחק » (שו״ע יו״ד ר״ג:ג)

6. What calls for a Rav

Three situations, and they come from the sources themselves. One — any vow already uttered that one wishes to undo: release is not a private act. Two — knowing whether a given sentence is a vow: the Shach shows at ס״ק ה that an innocuous formula may be one, and the Pitchei Teshuva leaves at ס״ק ב an open question about undertakings of abstention. Three — a vow of charity or consecration one can no longer fulfil: seif 3 closes the ordinary door, and it is a Rav who judges the duress.
« יאמר בלא נדר. עש״ך שכתב דר״ל שיאמר כן בפירוש וכ״כ בשל״ה דף ק״ח ע״ב וע״ש עוד איך שיש ליזהר: » (פתחי תשובה יו״ד ר״ג ס״ק א)

7. What the sources do not give

The Nekudot HaKesef do not comment on this siman. We therefore have no “Nekudot HaKesef” column to fill here, and we do not manufacture one: on the previous siman, 202, they carry one entry, and there it is read. The Arukh HaShulchan is not available to us on this siman — we therefore do not cite him here, and we do not presume what he writes there. The Pri Chadash, the Biur HaGra and the Beer HaGolah are not available to us in this section. Lastly, the Admur HaZaken did not write a Shulchan Arukh on Yoreh De’ah: this level 4 is a level of ruling, not a “Daat HaRav”.
And a word of measure. This level sets out the Acharonim’s line of ruling on the text of the siman. It does not replace a Rav’s decision in a real case — a sentence already uttered, a commitment one can no longer keep, a conduct one wishes to adopt.

To go further

The other levels of this siman:
The sources of this level may be consulted on Sefaria:
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