Daily Mitzvah

The 95th mitzvah is that we are commanded regarding the annulment of vows.

This does not mean that there is a commandment to annul vows, but rather that there are certain laws to be followed when doing so. You should keep this principle in mind whenever a mitzvah is enumerated — it does not necessarily mean that we are commanded to perform a certain action, but rather that a certain case [whenever it comes up,] must be judged according to certain laws.

The annulment of vows done by a father [to his daughter] and a husband [to his wife] is explained in the Torah1 in detail.

Furthermore, we know from the Oral Tradition that a Torah scholar can nullify anyone's vow or oath. This is hinted to in the verse,2 "He must not nullify his word." [The Sages3 explain,] "He may not nullify his word, but others may nullify it for him." The final conclusion is that there is no real source in Scripture [for the Torah scholar's power to annul a vow, and the verse quoted above is only a hint]. As our Sages4 put it, "The laws regarding the annulment of vows [by a Torah scholar] are flying in the air, with nothing to support them" — except in the Oral Tradition.

The details of this mitzvah are found in the tractate devoted to this subject, tractate Nedarim.

Rabbi Berel Bell is a well-known educator, author and lecturer. He and his family reside in Montreal, Canada.

From "Sefer Hamitzvot in English," published by Sichos in English.

Footnotes

1.

Num. 30:4-17.

2.

Num. 30:3.

3.

Berachos 32a; Chagigah 10a.

4.

Chagigah ibid.

The 92nd mitzvah is that a Nazirite is commanded to let his hair grow [for the duration of his Nazirite vow].

The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,1 "He must let his hair grow long."

In the words of the Mechilta, "The words,2 'he shall be holy' teach us that he should be in a state of holiness when it grows. The words, 'he must let [his hair] grow long' makes this a positive commandment. What is the source of the prohibition?3 The verse,4 'no cutting instrument shall come upon his head.' "

There it also says, "Who is covered by the positive commandment [and not covered by the prohibition]? One who rubs earth or applies depilatories on his head." The meaning of this statement: a Nazirite who places a depilatory on his head does not transgress a prohibition, since a cutting instrument was not used. He will, however, violate the positive commandment, "he must let his hair grow long," since he did not allow it to grow.

[This counts as a positive commandment because] according to our principles, a prohibition which stems from a positive commandment is counted as a positive commandment.

The details of this mitzvah are explained in a number of passages in tractate Nazir.

Rabbi Berel Bell is a well-known educator, author and lecturer. He and his family reside in Montreal, Canada.

From "Sefer Hamitzvot in English," published by Sichos in English.

Footnotes

1.

Num. 6:5.

2.

Ibid.

3.

See N209 below.

4.

Ibid.

The 209th prohibition is that a Nazirite is forbidden to cut his hair.

The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,1 "No cutting instrument shall come upon his head."

The one who cuts the Nazirite's hair also receives lashes, since the one who cuts and the one whose hair is cut are both treated the same.2 The punishment of lashes applies as soon as one hair is cut.3

All the details of this mitzvah are explained in the tractate devoted to this subject [tractate Nazir].

Rabbi Berel Bell is a well-known educator, author and lecturer. He and his family reside in Montreal, Canada.

From "Sefer Hamitzvot in English," published by Sichos in English.

Footnotes

1.

Ibid.

2.

Nazir 44a.

3.

Ibid. 40a.