Oaths are two, which are four: I swear that I shall eat, or that I shall not eat [These are the two which are explicitly written. Viz. (Leviticus 5:4): "to do ill or to do good," implying in the future: I shall not eat — "to do ill"; I shall eat — "to do good."]; (I swear) that I have eaten, or that I have not eaten [These are the additional two derived by the sages.] "I swear that I shall not eat," and he ate any amount, he is liable. These are the words of R. Akiva. They asked him: Where do we find that one who eats any amount is liable, that this one should be liable! He countered: And where do we find that one who speaks brings an offering [for breaking his word] that this one should speak and bring an offering! [And since it is because of breaking his word (that he is liable), this, too, is breaking his word. For when one says "I shall not eat," he means any amount.] "I swear that I shall not eat," and he ate and drank, he is liable only for one (offering). [Even though drinking is included in eating, he is liable only for one, for it is as if he eats, and eats again, in one act of forgetfulness.] "I swear that I shall not eat and that I shall not drink," and he ate and drank, he is liable for two. [This constitutes two oaths. And even though when he said "I shall not eat," drinking (too) was forbidden to him, drinking being included in eating, so that when he then said "I shall not drink," there is reason to say that one oath does not "take" on another (of the same kind), it is different here. For since he first said "I shall not eat," and then, "I shall not drink," it is made manifest that by "eat" he meant eating alone.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Shevuot
שבועות שתים. שאוכל ושלא אוכל – these are the two which are explained, as it is written (Leviticus 5:4): “[Or when a man utters an oath] to bad or good purpose –[whatever a man may utter in an oath] that implies in the future, I will not eat for a bad purpose. I will eat for a good purpose.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Shevuot
Introduction
Our mishnah begins to discuss oaths, the main topic of the tractate. The oaths discussed in the beginning of this chapter are oaths of utterance, whereby one swears that he has or has not done something, or that he will or will not do something. One who breaks such an oath is liable for a sliding scale sacrifice, described in chapters one and two and in Leviticus 5:6-13.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Shevuot
שאכלתי ושלא אכלתי – these are additional two from the exposition of the Sages.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Shevuot
Oaths are two, subdivided into four. “I swear I shall eat”, and “[I swear] I shall not eat”; “[I swear] I have eaten”, and “[I swear] I have not eaten”. The first line of this mishnah is a quote of the first mishnah of the tractate. After two chapters of digression, we return to the main topic at hand, oaths. Our mishnah lists all four types of oaths of utterance, two with regards to the past and two with regards to the future, two negative and two positive. Eating is just an example of a common oath. An oath can involve most types of actions.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Shevuot
מדבר ומביא קרבן – because of the abrogation/nullification of his speech, and since it is because of the abrogation of his speech, even this is an abrogation of his speech for when he says: “I will not eat”, his intention is to prohibit himself from any amount.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Shevuot
“I swear I shall not eat”, and he ate [even] a minute quantity, he is liable, the words of Rabbi Akiva. They [the Sages] said to Rabbi Akiva: “Where do we find that he who eats a minute quantity is liable, that this one should be liable?” Rabbi Akiba said to them: “But where do we find that he who [merely] speaks brings a sacrifice, that this one should bring a sacrifice?” According to Rabbi Akiva, one who swore not to eat and then ate is liable to bring a sacrifice even if he ate the most minute amount of food. The Sages raise a difficulty on this Rabbi Akiva’s position. Generally, a person is not obligated for having eaten a forbidden food unless he ate a minimum measure of the food, usually the size of an olive. Rabbi Akiva responds that we cannot compare the laws of oaths of utterance to any other laws, for an oath of utterance can obligate a person to bring a sacrifice of atonement just by his having said something. In all other realms of law in order to be liable to bring a sacrifice of atonement one has to actually perform a sin. Only with regards to oaths of utterance can a person merely retract on his words, and thereby be obligated for a sacrifice. Since the laws of oaths of utterance are already different, there is no room, according to Rabbi Akiva, to compare them to other laws.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Shevuot
שבועה שלא אוכל ואכל ושתה – evn though that drinking is included with eating, he is not liable other than for one [sacrifice], for it is to him like eating and he goes back and eats in one act of forgetfulness [as the cause of the transgression].
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Shevuot
[If a man says,] “I swear I shall not eat” and he ate and drank, he is liable only once. “I swear I shall not eat and I shall not drink,” and he ate and drank, he is liable twice. This section deals with the question is drinking subsumed under the category of drinking. According to the mishnah, generally drinking is considered a form of eating and therefore, if after having sworn not to eat, he eats and drinks, he is liable for only one sacrifice. Drinking is considered a separate violation from eating only if he specifically swore not to eat or drink. In this case if he ate and drank he would be obligated to bring two sacrifices.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Shevuot
שלא אוכל ושלא אשתה – these are two oaths to them. And even though when he stated “I will not eat,” he also forbids himself to drink, for drinking is included with eating, and he then retraced and stated: “and furthermore, I will not drink,” he should have said that an oath does not take effect on another oath, it is different here since he said at the outset [in the first part of the Mishnah], “I will not eat.” And then afterwards stated, “I will not drink,” he has revealed his intention that the “eating” that he stated at the outset [at the beginning of the Mishnah] was only for eating [and not anything else].
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Shevuot
Questions for Further Thought: • What might be other reasons behind Rabbi Akiva’s opinion? • What would be the ruling if someone swore not to eat and then drank but did not eat? Would he be liable to bring a sacrifice for having violated his oath?
