כָּל־נֵ֛דֶר וְכָל־שְׁבֻעַ֥ת אִסָּ֖ר לְעַנֹּ֣ת נָ֑פֶשׁ אִישָׁ֥הּ יְקִימֶ֖נּוּ וְאִישָׁ֥הּ יְפֵרֶֽנּוּ׃
무릇 서원과 무릇 마음을 괴롭게 하려는 서약은 그 남편이 그것을 지키게도 할 수 있고 무효케도 할 수 있나니
German Commentary
die eine Verkümmerung des Lebens einschliessen. Vgl. Num. 30, 14. Unter ענוי נפש sind Dinge zu verstehen, die eine Verkümmerung des Lebens und des Lebensgenusses oder eine Minderung des körperlichen Wohlbefindens einschliessen. Dazu kommen noch דברים שבינו לבינה, Gelübde, die die Beziehungen der Ehegatten zu einander beeinträchtigen, was in den Worten בין איש לאשתו v. 17 gefunden wird. Die Ansicht der Decisoren, wonach der Vater nur die beiden zuletzt genannten Arten von Gelübden aufheben kann, stützt sich darauf, dass die Thora בין אב לבתו unmittelbar mit den Worten בין איש לאשתו zusammenstellt, die Rechte des Vaters also mit denen des Gatten verglichen wissen will (מקיש את האב לבעל, Sifrě z. St.). Der Unterschied zwischen den beiden Gelübdearten besteht darin, dass Gelübde, die eine Verkümmerung des Lebens einschliessen (דברים שיש בהן ענוי נפש), durch die Einsprache des Mannes für alle Zeiten aufgehoben werden, selbst für den Fall, dass der Mann stirbt oder dass sie geschieden wird und einen anderen Mann heiratet; Gelübde aber, die die Beziehungen des ehelichen Lebens schmälern (דברים שבינו לבינה), werden durch die Einsprache des Mannes nur für die Zeit aufgehoben, als die Frau mit diesem Mann zusammenlebt, sobald sie aber Witwe oder geschieden wird und einen anderen Mann heiratet, treten jene Gelübde wieder in Kraft. Die Mischna aber will hier nur solche Gelübde behandeln, die durch die Einsprache des Mannes ihre Gültigkeit für immer verlieren. Ed. Lowe und manche Mischnaausg. lesen: נדרים שיש בהן ענוי נפש.
Rabbeinu Bahya
A Midrashic approach based on Midrash Tehillim 90,1: the word means: “a judge.” This is based on Deut. 33,21 צדקת ה' עשה ומשפטיו עם ישראל, “he carried out the righteousness of Hashem and His justice with Israel” [See Rashi ibid. (2nd explanation)]. Moses’ personality reflected the sages’ definition of יקוב הדין את ההר, “let the attribute of Justice bore a hole in the mountain.” [He strove for absolute perfection. Ed.] Rabbi Yehudah, son of Simon said: “why was Moses described as איש האלו-הים? When a man (husband) is confronted by certain vows made by his wife he has the option of annulling them or letting them remain valid. This is what the Torah says in Numbers 30,14: אישה יקימנה ואישה יפרנה, “her husband may either confirm it or her husband may cancel it.” Similarly, Moses was in a position in his dealings with G’d to say to Him קומה ה', “let the Lord arise,” or שובה ה', let the Lord desist” (compare Numbers 10,35). Thus far that Midrash.
Kli Yakar
Another explanation of ki yafli is that it means separation and removal. This can be explained in three ways. The first is that through wine one cannot separate holy and profane, as it is written Do not drink wine or strong drink (Leviticus 10:9-10) and adjacent to it, to differentiate between holy and profane. Therefore it says ki yafli — when one wishes to separate holy and profane, then he should abstain from wine lest he drinks and forgets what is decreed by the Torah (Proverbs 31:5). This excludes women who are not obligated in Torah study, so the language of “haflaa” [separation] does not apply to them.
The second explanation is that it refers to separation from the pleasures of this world, of which wine is foremost, as explained regarding Manoach when it says, Why do you ask my name, seeing it is extraordinary [peli] (Judges 13:18). That is, his name is “Peli” because every angel is named according to his mission, and “I was sent to make the born child a Nazir, extraordinary and separated from all matters of this world.” And because it says ish ki yafli [when a man sets himself apart], therefore I am called “Peli.”
And therefore it says “ki yafli” [singular] and not “yafliu” [plural] because even a woman’s vow depends on her husband, as it is written Any vow to afflict the soul, her husband may uphold it or her husband may annul it (Numbers 30:14). Therefore, her vow also depends on her husband. And the intention of this Naziriteship is not that one should abstain from wine for 30 days and then return to being among the drunkards as before, for if so, what has the righteous person accomplished? Rather, the intention is that one should gradually accustom oneself, for all beginnings are difficult, and in 30 days it becomes an established habit, so that afterwards one will not be so eager for it.
The third explanation follows what our Sages said (Nedarim 22a), “One who makes a vow is as if he built a high place [bamah],” etc. You will find a very precious explanation of this statement later in Parashat Matot (30:3), see there. This agrees with the opinion that the Nazir is called a sinner (Nedarim 10a), and the sin is that he builds a high place for himself and separates himself from the entire world by practicing prohibition in a matter that everyone else practices as permitted. Therefore it says “ki yafli” — because he wants to be distinct and separated from others and builds a high place for himself. This is not common among women because they presumably do this [become Nazirites] because they see a wayward woman [sotah] in her disgrace, not in order to build a high place for themselves.
The second explanation is that it refers to separation from the pleasures of this world, of which wine is foremost, as explained regarding Manoach when it says, Why do you ask my name, seeing it is extraordinary [peli] (Judges 13:18). That is, his name is “Peli” because every angel is named according to his mission, and “I was sent to make the born child a Nazir, extraordinary and separated from all matters of this world.” And because it says ish ki yafli [when a man sets himself apart], therefore I am called “Peli.”
And therefore it says “ki yafli” [singular] and not “yafliu” [plural] because even a woman’s vow depends on her husband, as it is written Any vow to afflict the soul, her husband may uphold it or her husband may annul it (Numbers 30:14). Therefore, her vow also depends on her husband. And the intention of this Naziriteship is not that one should abstain from wine for 30 days and then return to being among the drunkards as before, for if so, what has the righteous person accomplished? Rather, the intention is that one should gradually accustom oneself, for all beginnings are difficult, and in 30 days it becomes an established habit, so that afterwards one will not be so eager for it.
The third explanation follows what our Sages said (Nedarim 22a), “One who makes a vow is as if he built a high place [bamah],” etc. You will find a very precious explanation of this statement later in Parashat Matot (30:3), see there. This agrees with the opinion that the Nazir is called a sinner (Nedarim 10a), and the sin is that he builds a high place for himself and separates himself from the entire world by practicing prohibition in a matter that everyone else practices as permitted. Therefore it says “ki yafli” — because he wants to be distinct and separated from others and builds a high place for himself. This is not common among women because they presumably do this [become Nazirites] because they see a wayward woman [sotah] in her disgrace, not in order to build a high place for themselves.