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Nedarim 11:12-Nazir 1:1

Nedarim 11:12

The Sages used to say that three types of women must be divorced and paid the value of their kesubos: one who tells her husband that she is prohibited to him, that Heaven is between them (suggesting impotence) or that she has taken a vow prohibiting herself to any Jew. Later, the Sages rescinded this ruling out of a concern that a woman could use such claims as a pretext to divorce her husband and marry someone else. Subsequently, if she claimed to be prohibited to him, she was required to bring proof; if she claimed that Heaven is between them, the court would try to reconcile them, and if she claimed that she has taken a vow prohibiting herself to any Jew, her husband may revoke the vow insofar as it applies to him, though keeping her prohibited to others.

Nazir 1:1

All terms substituting for nezirus (the state of being a nazir) are like nezirus. If one says “I will be” or “I will be handsome,” he’s a nazir. If one says that he is “nazik,” “naziyach” or “paziyach,” he is a nazir. If he says “I am like him,” “I curl,” “I grow my hair” or “I commit to let my hair grow,” he is a nazir. If he says “I commit to birds” (referring to sacrifices), Rabbi Meir says he is a nazir but the Sages say that he is not.

Author: Rabbi Jack Abramowitz