Nedarim 14

Chapter 14

א במנודה אני לך דרבי עקיבא סבר לישנא דנידויא הוא ורבנן סברי לישנא דמשמתנא הוא

1 In the case of, 'I am banned to you,' R. Akiba maintaining that it is the equivalent of 'isolated' [nedinah], whilst the Rabbis hold that it means accursed' [meshamatna]. Now, this conflicts with R. Hisda's view. For a certain man, who declared, 'I am accursed in respect of the property of the son of R. Jeremiah b. Abba' went before R. Hisda. Said he to him, 'None pay regard to this [ruling] of R. Akiba'. [Thus] he holds that they differ in respect to' 'I am accursed' [meshamatna].

ב ופליגא דרב חסדא דההוא גברא דאמר משמתנא בנכסיה דבריה דרב ירמיה בר אבא אתא לקמיה דרב חסדא א''ל לית דחש לה להא דרבי עקיבא קסבר במשמתנא פליגי

2 R. Elai said in the name of Rab. If [a Rabbi] places a person under a ban in his presence, the ban can be revoked only in his presence; if in his absence, it can be revoked both in his presence and in his absence. R. Hanin said in Rab's name. One who hears his neighbour utter God's name in vain1

ג אמר רבי אילא אמר רב נדהו בפניו אין מתירין לו אלא בפניו נדהו שלא בפניו מתירין לו בין בפניו בין שלא בפניו

3 must place him under a ban; otherwise he himself must be under a ban,2

ד אמר רב חנין אמר רב השומע הזכרת השם מפי חבירו צריך לנדותו ואם לא נידהו הוא עצמו יהא בנידוי שכל מקום שהזכרת השם מצויה שם עניות מצויה

4 because the unnecessary utterance of the Divine Name always leads to poverty, and poverty leads to death, as it is written, [And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return unto Egypt]. For all the men are dead [which sought thy life];<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ex. IV, 19. It is stated infra 64b that the reference is to Dathan and Abiram, who in fact were alive at Korah's rebellion, but had become poverty-stricken. Four are regarded as dead: a poor man, a leper, a blind person, and one who has no children. They were not blind, for it is written, wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? (Num. XVI, 14). Again, they were not lepers, for we find that they had not been excluded from the congregation: in the midst of all Israel (Deut. XI, 6). Even if they had been childless, they still could have been a source of danger to Moses before Pharaoh. Hence when God assured Moses that the danger was past, He meant that they were now poor and without influence (Ran). ');">3

ה ועניות כמיתה שנאמר (שמות ד יט) כי מתו כל האנשים ותניא כל מקום שנתנו חכמים עיניהם או מיתה או עוני

5 and it was taught: Wherever the Sages cast their eyes [in disapproval] death or poverty has resulted.

ו אמר רבי אבא הוה קאימנא קמיה דרב הונא שמעה להך איתתא דאפקה הזכרת השם לבטלה שמתה ושרא לה לאלתר באפה ש''מ תלת ש''מ השומע הזכרת השם מפי חבירו צריך לנדותו וש''מ נידהו בפניו אין מתירין לו אלא בפניו וש''מ אין בין נידוי להפרה ולא כלום

6 R. Abba said: I was standing in the presence of R. Huna, when he heard a woman utter God's name in vain. Thereupon he banned her, but immediately lifted the ban in her presence. This proves three things: [i] He who hears his neighbour utter the Divine Name unnecessarily must excommunicate him; [ii] If [a Rabbi] bans a person in his presence, the ban must be lifted in his presence too. [iii] No time need elapse between the imposition and the lifting of a ban.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Hence, the ban may be merely a nominal punishment. V. J.E. art. Anathema. The term used here is niddui, and though it is stated there (p. 560, 2) that niddui is for seven days (M.K. 16a, 17b), it is evident from this passage that there was a formal ban too of no particular duration. ');">4

ז א''ר גידל אמר רב תלמיד חכם מנדה לעצמו ומיפר לעצמו פשיטא מהו דתימא אין חבוש מתיר עצמו מבית האסורין קמ''ל

7 R. Giddal said in Rab's name: A scholar may utter a ban against himself, and lift it himself. But is this not obvious? — I would think that a prisoner cannot free himself from prison; hence we are taught otherwise. Now, how can such a thing occur? — As in the case of Mar Zutra the Pious:5

ח היכי דמי כי הא דמר זוטרא חסידא כי מחייב בר בי רב שמתא משמית נפשיה ברישא והדר משמת בר בי רב וכי עייל לביתיה שרי לנפשיה והדר שרי ליה

8 when a disciple incurred a ban,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [Here the term used is shamta, 'desolation', 'curse'. According to Rashi, 'shamta' is a less severe form of ban than 'niddui'; Maimonides, Yad, Talmud Torah, VII, 2, equates them. Nahmanides, Mishpat ha-Herem, considers shamta to be a general term for the more severe form of excommunication, the Herem, and the less severe, the Niddui. ');">6

ט ואמר רב גידל א''ר

9 [Mar Zutra] first excommunicated himself and then the disciple.7 On arriving home, he lifted the ban from himself and then from the disciple. R. Giddal also said in Rab's name:

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