Responsa for Nedarim 60:13
וחכמים אומרים לא נתכוין זה אלא ממי שדרכו להיוולד לאפוקי מאי לאפוקי דגים ועופות
will you say that he was [already born]? but even Menasseh [Josiah's grandfather] was not yet born!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' This verse was spoken in the reign of Jeroboam I. ');"><sup>10</sup></span> But nolad implies both,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Biblically. Sc. 'born' and 'to be born'. ');"><sup>11</sup></span> and in vows, we follow general usage.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'the language of the sons of men', which applies nolad to those who are yet to be born. ');"><sup>12</sup></span> BUT THE SAGES SAY: HE MEANT ALL WHOSE NATURE IT IS TO BE BORN. Excluding what? — It excludes fish and fowl.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which are spawned and hatched respectively. ');"><sup>13</sup></span>
Teshuvot Maharam
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.