Responsa for Gittin 25:8
א"ר זביד לעולם בבריא וכדרב הונא אמר רב דאמר רב הונא אמר רב מנה לי בידך תנהו לו לפלוני במעמד שלשתן קנה
R. Papa said that we are indeed dealing here with the case of a man on his death bed, and [the Mishnah is] in agreement with another dictum of Rab, Viz.: 'If a man on his death bed says, Give a <i>maneh</i> to So-and-so out of my belongings, if he said, give this <i>maneh</i>, it is to be given, but if he said simply a <i>maneh</i> it is not to be given, because perhaps he was thinking of a buried <i>maneh</i>. The law is, however, that we do not suspect that anything is buried. Why did not R. Papa take the same view as R. Zebid?
Teshuvot Maharam
Q. A vowed to quit gambling and promised to give one mark for a holy cause should he break his vow. He subsequently gave money to a friend to gamble for him. Must he pay the promised mark?
A. Vows are interpreted according to common parlance. If the phrase "I will not gamble again" includes, in common parlance, gambling by proxy, he must pay the fine. If, however, the implications of the phrase in common speech can not be determined, we must follow Biblical use of terms. In Biblical law a person is responsible for the acts of his agent unless the agent himself commits a sin by carrying out his mission. Although A's vow was made in the form of Asmakta, it is binding since all promises to a holy cause, even when made in the form of Asmakta, are binding.
SOURCES: Cr. 299, 300; Pr. 493, 494; L. 211, 212; Mordecai Hagadol p. 337b. Cf. Asher, Responsa 13, 2; Agudah B.K. 51.
A. Vows are interpreted according to common parlance. If the phrase "I will not gamble again" includes, in common parlance, gambling by proxy, he must pay the fine. If, however, the implications of the phrase in common speech can not be determined, we must follow Biblical use of terms. In Biblical law a person is responsible for the acts of his agent unless the agent himself commits a sin by carrying out his mission. Although A's vow was made in the form of Asmakta, it is binding since all promises to a holy cause, even when made in the form of Asmakta, are binding.
SOURCES: Cr. 299, 300; Pr. 493, 494; L. 211, 212; Mordecai Hagadol p. 337b. Cf. Asher, Responsa 13, 2; Agudah B.K. 51.
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