פירוש על נדרים 11:10

תשע נערות נדריהן קימים – not specifically lasses/young women.

Introduction At the end of the previous mishnah we learned that a girl who leaves her husband’s domain even for one moment does not return to have her vows annulled by this same husband. Our mishnah teaches that the same is true for a girl who leaves her father’s domain either by reaching majority age, by being married or by her father dying. The mishnah lists nine types of such women. The first three left their father’s domain by being married, the next three by their father dying and the final three by reaching majority age. Hence I have broken this mishnah down in three subsets of three.

בוגרת והיא יתומה – who married and her husband died when she was a young woman/lass, and she is an orphan in her father’s lifetime for after she married, her father does not have domain over her, when she became an adult woman/reached maturity afterwards and made a vow, her vow is upheld, for the father is not able to absolve her vow when she is an adult woman/reached maturity, and furthermore, she is an orphan during her father’s lifetime.

Usually “young girl” refers to a girl who has not yet reached majority age (12 ½). However, here the term is used more loosely and includes even those girls who are already past 12 ½.

נערה ובגרה והיא יתומה – that she married and her husband died. Hat she made a ow when she was a young woman and she reached maturity after this ,and she is an orphan in her father’s lifetime, as I explained.

There are nine young girls whose vows stand: [1a] a girl who reached majority age who is [like] an orphan; [1b] a young girl [who vowed] and [then] reached majority age who is [like] an orphan; [1c] a young girl who has not yet reached majority age, who is [like] an orphan; [2a] a girl who reached majority age and whose father died; [2b] a young girl [who vowed] and [then] reached majority age and whose father died; [2c] a young girl who has not yet reached majority age and whose father died; [3a] a young girl whose father died, and after her father died she became of majority age; [3b] a girl who has reached majority age whose father is alive; [3c] a young girl who has reached majority age and whose father is alive. Rabbi Judah says: also one who married off his daughter while a minor, and she was widowed or divorced and returned to him [her father] and is still a young girl. The first section lists girls who were married off by their fathers when they were young (before 12 ½) and then were widowed or divorced. Since they were married, their fathers no longer have the ability to annul the vows. Halakhically they are considered “orphans during their father’s lifetime.” There are three types of girls in this category: 1) a girl who vowed after she had reached majority age; 2) a girl who vowed before reaching majority age and has now reached majority age; 3) a girl who is still considered a “young girl” (12-12 ½). Since all three of these girls have no husband and no father, their vows stand.

נערה – [a young woman/lass] at the time that she made a vow. She didn’t reach maturity/become an adult woman as yet, and she is an orphan in the lifetime of her father. And these three: orphan girl during her father’s lifetime are measurements for them.

All three of these girls vowed after their fathers died and have never been married off. Since they have no husbands or fathers, their vows stand. The age categories are the same as in the previous section.

בוגרת ומת אביה – that at the hour/time that she vowed, she was an adult woman/reached maturity, and her father died, that is an actual orphan.

This section lists three girls whose fathers have no authority over them and therefore there is no one to annul their vows. In the first case the father is dead. In the second case she vowed after she had already reached majority age At this point the father may no longer annul her vows. In the third case she vowed before reaching 12 ½ but then reached majority age. According to one interpretation of the last section of this mishnah, Rabbi Judah adds a tenth girl to the list, the girl who was married off as a minor and then widowed or divorced and is still a young girl who has not reached 12 ½. Since she has been married, her father may no longer annul her vows, even though she is still a young girl.

נערה ובוגרת וכו' – and these three also, her father’s passing is measured/generalized to them.

נערה שמת אביה ומשמת אביה בגרה כו' – these three [things] that they taught, her having reached maturity/become an adult woman is measured to them, But in the Gemara (Tractate Nedarim 89b) we stated, that the Sages did not teach any other than three young women: an adult woman/who reached maturity, an orphan, and an orphan during her father’s lifetime.

ור"י אומר כו' – that since she entered the marriage canopy, she left/departed from the domain of her father, through these marriages.