Fifty-one seifim are not revised in order. They are arranged here by mechanism — what opens, what does not, before whom, what voids, what is never released — and the master table in the last section restores the order of the book for finding a seif.
| Block | Seifim | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| I | 1–4 | The remedy and the tribunal |
| II | 5–6 | The interested judge |
| III | 7–13 | חרטה, פתח, נולד |
| IV | 14–19 | The conditions of the act |
| V | 20–24 | על דעת חבירו · על דעת רבים |
| VI | 25–35 | Communal חרמות and תקנות |
| VII | 36–51 | The particular cases |
Two paths, and one object: to uproot the vow מעיקרו.
« ומיהו צריך שיתחרט בעיקר הנדר שהיה רוצה שלא נדר מעולם » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:ז)
It must bear on the moment of the vow. A regret dated today is not one.
« ואם אינו מתחרט צריך לבקש לו פתח לומר לו אילו היית יודע דבר זה לא היית נודר ונמצא הנדר נעקר מעיקרו » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:ז)
And a פתח may be drawn from the vow itself:
« ואפילו פתח שמגוף הנדר הוי פתח » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:ז)
« ונהגו להחמיר ולעשות מן החרטה פתח שלאחר שאומר שמתחרט מעיקרא אומרים לו אילו ידעת שתתחרט כלום נדרת והוא אומר לא ואז מתירין לו » (רמ״א יו״ד רכ״ח:ז)
Three refusals, and three different reasons. Keeping them apart is half the revision.
| What cannot be invoked | Seif | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The honour of Heaven, and the three Talmudic formulas | 10 | No one is brazen enough to say no — the answer is compelled |
| The honour of father, mother, master | 11 | The same reason |
| A rare fact — the man become a talmid hakham, the house become a synagogue | 12 | It would not have stopped him even had he thought of it — the answer proves nothing |
| A נולד — a fact arising after the vow | 13 | It did not exist at the time of the vow; but it may occasion a חרטה |
« שאין אדם חצוף לומר שלא היה נמנע בשביל כך והוא אומר שהיה נמנע אפילו אם אינו אמת ונמצא שאין הנדר נעקר מעיקרו » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:י)
« אין פותחין אלא בדבר ההוה ורגיל דשכיח טובא » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:יב)
« אבל אם מתחרט מעיקרו אע״פ שעושה מכח הנולד מיקרי חרטה ומתירין לו » (רמ״א יו״ד רכ״ח:יג)
« ילך אצל חכם מומחה דגמיר וסביר ואם אין יחיד מומחה ילך אצל שלשה הדיוטות והוא דגמירי להו וסבירי וגם יודעים לפתוח לו פתח ויתירו לו והאידנא אין מומחה שיהא ראוי להתיר ביחיד » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:א)
So: three. And those three must have been taught, understand, and know how to open a פתח (seif 1). They must not be interested in the vow (seifim 5 and 6), nor — for a community — be of the town (seif 30).
| Condition | Seif | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| Setting out | 14 | The vow and its reason — to at least one of the three; otherwise the release is void |
| Appearing | 16 | In person; an interpreter is admitted, an agent is not |
| Waiting | 17 | Until the vow has taken effect — even where there is a risk of transgression |
| Posture | 3–4 | Standing for חרטה; seated, with examination, for פתח |
| Saying | 3 | Three times, in any language — but a formula that uproots |
Three causes, stated by the siman in three distant places. This is the section to remember before all others.
« ואם הוא משקר לחכם אין התרתו כלום » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:ד)
« ואם לא פרט אין התרתן התרה » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:יד)
« היתר שנעשה באונס אינו כלום » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:נא)
« שאם לא כן אין ההתרה התרה והוא באיסור נדר כל ימיו » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:ז)
| Formula used | Seif | Regime |
|---|---|---|
| On the opinion of one or two, of his own accord | 22 | Release even without them |
| On a fellow’s opinion, in exchange for a benefit | 20 | His consent is required; after the fact, disputed |
| Before many, without saying “on their opinion” | 23 | Ordinary release |
| On the opinion of three named men | 21 | No release without them; Rama: not for an optional matter |
| On the opinion of the Omnipresent | 22 | As על דעת רבים; some are lenient for the optional |
| Three named men whose leave permits | 21 · 40 | Not על דעת רבים — they are named to ease |
« ודוקא שנדר על דעתו בשביל שום טובה שעשה לו » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:כ)
« ואין נקראים רבים בפחות מג׳ וכגון שיפרוט אותם » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:כא)
Four traits separate the communal חרם from the private vow, and all hang on one idea: it is not a vow but an ordinance.
| Trait | Seif | What it implies |
|---|---|---|
| No פתח, חרטה or court | 25 | The community vows and releases itself |
| No retroactivity | 26 | One lifts for the future; one does not uproot |
| Neither cause nor term nor effect | 27 | None of these stops the lifting |
| It binds by belonging | 33 · 35 | Even one who did not hear it, and future generations |
And three limits on the community’s power over its own חרם:
« אם היתה ההסכמה גדר לרבים או סייג לתורה ולדבר מצוה אינם יכולים להתיר » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:כח)
« מי שלא הסכים בהתרה לדידיה לא הותר » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:לא)
« קהל שגזרו חרמות שאין הצבור יכולין לעמוד בם אין צריכין לקיימם » (רמ״א יו״ד רכ״ח:נ)
| The vow | Seif | What the siman says of it |
|---|---|---|
| Upon a prohibition, even rabbinic | 15 | Not released — unless there is risk of transgression (Rama) |
| Made על דעת רבים | 21 | Not without them; Rama: not for the optional; and not against their refusal |
| A self-ban in the world to come | 45 | Two views; to be avoided; and if made, as על דעת רבים |
| Made at a time of distress | 45 | Only for a mitzva or a great need; after the fact, released |
| A communal agreement that is a fence or hedge | 28 | The community cannot release it |
| Charity already handed to the collector | 42 | What is paid is not recovered; the remainder is |
« אין מתירין נדר של דבר איסור אפי׳ אינו אלא איסור דרבנן » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:טו)
« לכן יש ליזהר מלנדות עצמו בעולם הבא על שום דבר » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:מה)
Sixteen seifim, and two threads run through them: oaths to pay (39, 41, 48) and oaths bound up with marriage (43, 44). The rest settle isolated points.
« הנשבע לפרוע לחבירו לזמן פלוני יכול להתירו שלא על פי חכם שיאמר הריני כאילו התקבלתי » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:לט)
« עובר (לאחר זמן) בכל יום על שבועתו » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:מא)
« שנים שנדרו ללכת יחד לארץ ישראל תוך שתי שנים והאחד מתעכב חבירו פטור » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:מד)
« מאחר דהותר באותו הזמן הותר לעולם אף אם יחזור בו אחר כך » (רמ״א יו״ד רכ״ח:מג)
« אבל מי שנשבע על דבר אחד פעמים ושלש צריך התרה לכל אחד ואחד » (שו״ע יו״ד רכ״ח:מו)
The preceding sections arrange the siman by mechanism. This one restores the order of the Shulchan Arukh, which remains the only reference point for any citation: to cite, follow this table.
| Seif | What the seif settles |
|---|---|
| א | There is a remedy; before a חכם מומחה, failing which three הדיוטות; and today no lone מומחה |
| ב | Not to release in one’s master’s presence; one release for several vows and several men |
| ג | The formula, three times, in any language; standing, by relatives, at night, on Shabbat |
| ד | Standing applies to חרטה; the פתח requires deliberation. Lying to the sage voids all |
| ה | No release by the sage of the town whose benefit was forbidden — but after the fact it stands |
| ו | The same rule for an oath not to be a גבאי or trustee of the town |
| ז | חרטה and פתח defined; the חרטה must bear on the origin; usage joins the two |
| ח | The חרם needs neither פתח nor חרטה |
| ט | One opens by the vower’s own honour, and by the ketuba |
| י | One opens by לא תקום and לא תשנא; not by the honour of Heaven |
| יא | One does not open by the honour of parents or master; one opens by what one owes them |
| יב | One opens only by a frequent fact. Death is not; poverty and pregnancy are |
| יג | The נולד is no פתח, but it may occasion a חרטה |
| יד | Set out the vow and its reason, else the release is void; telling one of the three suffices |
| טו | A vow upon a prohibition is not released — unless there is a risk of transgression |
| טז | Personal appearance; no agent; an interpreter is admitted |
| יז | No release before the vow takes effect — except הפרת הבעל and communal חרמות |
| יח | The father-in-law who did not pay: release twice, after Pesach and after Shavuot |
| יט | An oath to act within the year takes effect at once and is released at once |
| כ | The vow on another’s opinion: the benefit, consent, suspicion, death, heirs and mitzva |
| כא | The vow על דעת רבים: at least three named; no release without them; the mitzva exception |
| כב | On the opinion of one or two: ordinary regime. On the opinion of the Omnipresent: heavy |
| כג | Vowing in public is not vowing on their opinion |
| כד | The husband annuls even a vow על דעת רבים, even for an optional matter |
| כה | Communal חרמות: no פתח, חרטה or court — except marks of stringency |
| כו | Communal vows are lifted only for the future |
| כז | They lift even if the cause remains, within the term, before it takes effect |
| כח | Except where the agreement was a fence, a hedge for the Torah, or for a mitzva |
| כט | One who moves remains bound where the same breach exists — חרם of Rabbenu Gershom |
| ל | Individual oaths of a community: חרטה and פתח of all, before three outsiders |
| לא | One follows the majority; but one who did not consent is not released |
| לב | Actual usage reveals what the community meant to institute |
| לג | Swearing against a תקנה is a vain oath; ignorance does not exempt from the חרם |
| לד | A minority’s objection does not block the agreement |
| לה | One does not make future generations swear; ban and חרם reach them |
| לו | The vow to go up to the Land of Israel is released like others |
| לז | The other’s leave does not replace release by three |
| לח | But if the oath said “without his leave”, the leave suffices |
| לט | The creditor extinguishes the oath by holding himself paid; he may not extend |
| מ | Sworn to borrow only with Shimon and Levi: the leave of one suffices |
| מא | An oath doubling an obligation: daily transgression. One creating it: disputed |
| מב | Fasting and charity are released while the money is unpaid |
| מג | The corrupted betrothed: the moment of coming to court decides |
| מד | Two who were to travel together: if one delays, the other is quit |
| מה | Self-ban in the world to come, and the vow made in distress: the heaviest regime |
| מו | One release for several vows; but a repeated vow needs as many |
| מז | The lord’s order does not prevent the חרם taking effect |
| מח | To pay “on Rosh Chodesh Adar”: the first day of the first Rosh Chodesh |
| מט | Money short for both purposes: half to each |
| נ | A doubtful term is read by the majority’s intent; an unbearable חרם does not bind |
| נא | A release obtained under compulsion is nothing |
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