Wenn jemand schwört, von seinem Nachbarn zu profitieren, und er (der erste) nichts zu essen hat, [wird die gemeinsame Instanz gegeben. Das gleiche gilt, wenn er was zu essen hat], er (der Nachbar) kann zu einem Ladenbesitzer gehen und ihm sagen: "Dieser Mann hat sich als nützlich erwiesen, und ich weiß nicht, was er tun soll", und er (der Ladenbesitzer) ) kann ihm (Essen) geben und von diesem (dem Nachbarn) kommen und (Zahlung) nehmen [wenn er ihn bezahlen möchte; und er (der erste) übertritt sein Gelübde nicht. Aber er kann ihn (den Nachbarn) nicht zwingen, ihn zu bezahlen, denn er sagte ihm nicht: "Gib ihm und ich werde dich bezahlen." Und wenn er es ihm gesagt hat, ist es verboten, weil er ihn dadurch zu seinem Boten macht.] Wenn er (der erste) ein Haus zum Bauen, einen Zaun zum Aufstellen, ein Feld zum Ernten hätte, könnte er (der Nachbar) gehen zu den Arbeitern und sagen zu ihnen: "Dieser Mann hat geschworen, von mir zu profitieren, und ich weiß nicht, was ich tun soll." Sie können für ihn (den ersten) arbeiten und kommen und ihren Lohn von diesem (dem Nachbarn) nehmen.
Bartenura on Mishnah Nedarim
ואין לו מה יאכל – it (i.e., the Mishnah) took a usual incident, and the same law applies even if he has what to eat.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nedarim
Introduction
This mishnah deals with a situation in which Shimon is forbidden by a vow from receiving benefit from Reuven, yet is in need of financial help and Reuven wants to help him. The mishnah provides legal fictions by which Shimon may derive benefit from Reuven without actually transgressing his vow.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nedarim
ובא זה ונוטל מזה – if he wants to give him, and he doesn’t violate his vow. But he cannot force him to pay him, for this one did not say to him: “Give him and I will pay.” But if he said to him, yes, it is prohibited, for that makes him into an agent.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nedarim
If one is forbidden by vow to benefit from his neighbor, and he has nothing to eat, he [the neighbor] can go to the shopkeeper and say, “So-and-so is forbidden by vow to benefit from me, and I do not know what to do.” The shopkeeper may then provide for him, and come and receive payment from him [the neighbor]. Shimon, who may not benefit at all from Reuven, has nothing to eat, and Reuven wishes to help him. Reuven cannot, of course, give directly to Shimon, but he may go to a shopkeeper and tell him that Shimon has nothing to eat, and that Reuven would like to do something. Reuven should not directly tell the shopkeeper to give food to Shimon, but rather should hint at it. The shopkeeper may then provide Shimon with food and receive payment from Reuven, without Shimon breaking his vow. The crucial factor here is that Reuven did not actually tell the shopkeeper to feed Shimon.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nedarim
If he had to build his house, or his fence to set up, or his field to harvest, he [the neighbor] may go to laborers, and say, “So-and-so is forbidden by vow to benefit from me, and I do not know what to do.’ They may then work for him and come and receive wages from him [the neighbor]. In this case, Shimon had to (re)build his house, set up a fence, or harvest his field, but did not have any money to pay workers. Again, Reuven wants to help him (Reuven is quite a generous guy), but cannot do so directly because of the vow. As he did with the shopkeeper in the previous section, he may hint to laborers that Shimon needs work done for him, and that he would like to help Shimon, but doesn’t know what to do. The workers may then go to Shimon and afterwards collect their wages from Reuven. The mishnah needs to teach the second clause, even though the ruling should have been obvious after the first clause, in order to emphasize that this type of “legal fiction” is permitted even in cases not involving food. Since the case in section two is less likely to be a matter of life and death, we might have thought that in this case, the legal fiction would not be permitted. The mishnah therefore emphasizes that it is.
