Kommentar zu Dewarim 23:23

BUT IF THOU SHALT FORBEAR TO VOW, IT SHALL BE NO SIN IN THEE. Because those who bring a burnt-offering and sacrifices for G-d³²⁶Exodus 18:12. receive a good reward for it, as it is written, I will offer unto Thee burnt-offerings of fatlings, with the sweet smoke of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah;³²⁷Psalms 66:15. I will come into Thy House with burnt-offerings.³²⁸Ibid., Verse 13. He also said concerning freewill offerings, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him,³²⁹Leviticus 1:4. and again He said, of a sweet savor unto the Eternal.³³⁰Ibid., Verse 9, etc. And if so, vows serve as encouragement [to the observance] of a commandment, and it is written, I will pay my vows unto the Eternal, yea, in the presence of all His people.³³¹Psalms 116:18. Therefore Scripture states here: “Beware of your vows, for although they serve as encouragement in bringing offerings to G-d which will be accepted favorably on your behalf, yet you may come to sin if you vow and do not fulfill, or you delay fulfilling it. But if you do not vow, no sin can attach to you in the matter, for even if never in your lifetime do you bring a [vow-] offering, it will be no sin in thee. If so, observe that which is gone out of your lips, according to the word which proceeded out of your mouth, and do afterwards as you have spoken, to fulfill all that your spirit caused you to willingly bring forth from your mouth.” Solomon said it in the same way: When thou vowest a vow unto G-d, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools; pay that which thou vowest. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.³³²Ecclesiastes 5:3-4. Solomon states that G-d has no pleasure in fools who think that they do a good deed when they utter many vows to serve as encouragement to fulfill a commandment which they plan to do and they do not consider in their hearts, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say,³³³Isaiah 44:19. “Perhaps I will not be able to fulfill all these vows.” Instead he thinks that the desire he had at the time of his vow will be accounted to him for good. Therefore Solomon warned again, Suffer not thy mouth to bring thy flesh into guilt, neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error;³³⁴Ecclesiastes 5:5. that is to say, do not make many vows, [for if you make them and you do not have the means to fulfill them] you will have to say before the cruel angel sent against you, “It was an error, I meant to bring them.” You pledged them with a perfect heart and now you are unable to do so, but G-d will be angry at thy voice and — the aforementioned angel — will destroy the work of thy hands.³³⁴Ecclesiastes 5:5.

וכי תחדל לנדור, “And when you refrain from making gifts in the form of a vow,” you would, in the first place, only phrase a gift you want to make (mostly to the Temple treasury) in the form of a vow, as the vow reminds you not to tarry with discharging the duties you imposed upon yourself. Seeing that your intention in making such a vow was honourable, laudatory, if you are prevented by circumstances beyond your control to keep to the terms of your vow, the Torah tells you that this will not be held against you. However, if you simply refrain from honouring a vow made, without the excuse that circumstances beyond your control had prevented you from honouring it, or honouring it on time, then you have violated the law that whatever you undertake, be it in the form of a vow or a simple statement, you are obligated by the Torah to keep such undertakings. The Torah views such commitments as not only undertakings to your fellow, but as undertakings toward Hashem. In light of all that has been said, the Torah counsels that you would be better off if you were not to make a vow at all.

וכי תחדל לנדר לא יהיה בך חטא. "If you refrain from making vows this will not be considered as a sin for you." This can also be understood in light of a statement in Gittin 7 that "if a person experiences that his income is barely sufficient he should give some away as charity. If he has ample income he must certainly be charitable." In addition to this the Talmud states in Ketuvoth 66 that "if one wants to "salt away" one's money he will find that it decreases." It is a psychological truth that inasmuch as man is very fond of his money he is loath to part with it. A person may wish to counteract his natural tendency to hang on to his money by making a vow to G'd so as to obligate himself against his avaricious nature to give some of his money away for a worthy cause. This is why the Torah has to warn us that the consequences of not living up to the promises one has made in the form of a vow may be devastating.

V. 23. וכי תחדל לנדר (siehe zu Bereschit 28, 20). Gelübde tun ist an sich nicht nur nichts Verdienstliches, sondern gehört geradezu in den Kreis des Sündhaften. כל הנודר אעפ׳׳י שמקיימו נקרא חוטא, ist Grundsatz der Weisen; selbst wenn das Gelübde erfüllt ist, war das Geloben an sich Sünde. Es wäre richtiger gewesen, das Gute zu tun, ohne es gelobt zu haben; denn es heißt: וכי תחדל לנדור לא יהיה בך חטא ,הא לא חדלת איכא חטא nur das Enthalten von jeder Gelobung ist keine Sünde (Nedarim 77 b). הנודר כאלו בנה במה, Gelübde tun gleicht dem Bamabauen zur Zeit des Bamaverbots (siehe Kap. 12, 13); beide versündigen sich, indem sie glauben, etwas Gott gefälliges "Besonderes" zu tun (Nedarim 22 a ר׳׳ן daselbst) לא דייך מה שאסרה לך תורה, heißt es in Beziehung auf נדרי אסור (Jeruschalmi Nedarim Xl, 1) "hast du an dem nicht genug, was dir die תורה verbietet?" und ist es hinsichtlich נדרי אסור nach Nedarim 59 a מצוה לאיתשולי עליהן, eine Mizwa, sie zu einer etwaigen Lösung einer eingehenden Prüfung unterziehen zu lassen (siehe zu Bamidbar 30, 3). Nur בשעת צרה wie Jakob (תוספו׳ Chulin 2 b) oder im Kampfe mit der Sinnlichkeit, wie der Jüngling des שמעון הצדיק (Nedarim 9 b) werden נדרים gebilligt. Auch werden הרי זו) נדבות) von הרי עלי) נדרים — siehe Bamidbar 30, 3) unterschieden, und werden die ersten, wo die Erfüllung sofort durch Weihung und Widmung eines bestimmten Gegenstandes beginnt und Gelübdebruch nicht zu befürchten ist, von der Missbilligung ausgenommen (Chulin 2 b und Nedarim 10 a).

Concerning paying a vow late the Torah says that the party guilty of this is guilty of a sin, i.e. he may experience being deprived of someone his is fond of. Concerning people who fail to give charity the Torah says וכי תחדל לנדר, that even if the failure to make vows may result in your not donating to charity and this in turn may result in your own money-supply diminishing in worth or amount, at least you will not suffer the additional disaster of losing someone dear to you, such as when והיה בך חטא applies to you..