Responsa for Shevuot 77:8
שכן מצינו במשה רבינו כשהשביע את ישראל אמר להן דעו שלא על דעתכם אני משביע אתכם אלא על דעת המקום ועל דעתי שנאמר (דברים כט, יג) ולא אתכם לבדכם וגו'
of people; [e.g.], there is no money owing to him by his fellow, but he claims from him, and causes him to swear; 'and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by My name': according to its plain meaning; 'and it shall abide in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof': from this you learn, that things which neither fire nor water can destroy,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., 'stones'.');"><sup>14</sup></span> a false oath can destroy.
Teshuvot Maharam
Q. Certain Jews received permission from their overlord to imprison and torture their fellow Jews in order to extort money from them. They threw a few Jews into prison and, by threatening to kill them, made them bind themselves by a herem to pay a certain amount of money to their captors. Must the captives fulfil their promise after they are released?
A. No, the herem is not binding upon them since they accepted it under pressure, and since they probably thought that the threats of murder would not be carried out, that the overlord would probably not agree to murder, and that the captors themselves would be afraid to commit murder, a sin punishable by God and man. However, in order to be doubly certain, and for the sake of appearances, the captors should be asked to free the others from the herem; and knowing that the herem is not binding anyway, the captors should not hesitate to do so. But, if the captors refuse to free the captives of the herem, the latter are free from obligation anyway, and need not even seek absolution by a scholar.
SOURCES: Pr. 595, 938; Mord. Gitt. 395; Tesh. Maim. to Haflaah, 7; Agudah Sheb. 14. Cf. Weil, Responsa 53; Isserlein, Pesakim 73; ibid. 252.
A. No, the herem is not binding upon them since they accepted it under pressure, and since they probably thought that the threats of murder would not be carried out, that the overlord would probably not agree to murder, and that the captors themselves would be afraid to commit murder, a sin punishable by God and man. However, in order to be doubly certain, and for the sake of appearances, the captors should be asked to free the others from the herem; and knowing that the herem is not binding anyway, the captors should not hesitate to do so. But, if the captors refuse to free the captives of the herem, the latter are free from obligation anyway, and need not even seek absolution by a scholar.
SOURCES: Pr. 595, 938; Mord. Gitt. 395; Tesh. Maim. to Haflaah, 7; Agudah Sheb. 14. Cf. Weil, Responsa 53; Isserlein, Pesakim 73; ibid. 252.
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