## Shevuot Daf 29a

###### Shevuot 29a:1
[Shevuot 29a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:1)

וְאָכַל תְּאֵנִים וְהִפְרִישׁ קׇרְבָּן, וְאַחַר כָּךְ אָכַל עֲנָבִים לְחוֹדַיְיהוּ – הָוְיָא לְהוּ עֲנָבִים חֲצִי שִׁיעוּר, וְאַחֲצִי שִׁיעוּר לָא מִיחַיַּיב קׇרְבָּן. הָכָא נָמֵי, כְּגוֹן דְּאָמַר: ״שְׁבוּעָה שֶׁלֹּא אוֹכַל עֶשֶׂר״, וְחָזַר וְאָמַר: ״שְׁבוּעָה שֶׁלֹּא אוֹכַל תֵּשַׁע״, וְאָכַל תֵּשַׁע וְהִפְרִישׁ קׇרְבָּן, וְאַחַר כָּךְ אָכַל עֲשִׂירִית; הָוְיָא לַהּ עֲשִׂירִית חֲצִי שִׁיעוּר, וְאַחֲצִי שִׁיעוּר לָא מִיחַיַּיב.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**and he** unwittingly **ate figs and set aside an offering** for breaking the second oath, **and afterward he** unwittingly **ate grapes alone,** he is exempt from liability for breaking the first oath. **The grapes are** tantamount to **a half-measure** of his first oath, which was not to eat figs and grapes together, **and one is not liable** to bring **an offering for a half-measure. Here also, where he said:** On my **oath I will not eat ten, and then said:** On my **oath I will not eat nine, and he ate nine and set aside an offering** for breaking his second oath, **and later he ate** the **tenth,** this **tenth is** tantamount to **a half-measure** of his first oath, **and one is not liable** to bring an offering **for a half-measure.**


###### Shevuot 29a:2
[Shevuot 29a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:2)

**מַתְנִי׳** אֵיזוֹ הִיא שְׁבוּעַת שָׁוְא? נִשְׁבַּע לְשַׁנּוֹת אֶת הַיָּדוּעַ לָאָדָם – אָמַר עַל הָעַמּוּד שֶׁל אֶבֶן שֶׁהוּא שֶׁל זָהָב, וְעַל הָאִישׁ שֶׁהוּא אִשָּׁה, וְעַל הָאִשָּׁה שֶׁהִיא אִישׁ;

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**MISHNA:** **Which** oath **is an oath** taken **in vain,** mentioned in the previous mishna (27b)? It is when one **takes an oath to deny that which is known to people** to be true, for example, one **says about a stone column that it is** made **of gold, or about a man that he is a woman, or about a woman that she is a man.**


###### Shevuot 29a:3
[Shevuot 29a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:3)

נִשְׁבַּע עַל דָּבָר שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לוֹ – ״אִם לֹא רָאִיתִי גָּמָל שֶׁפּוֹרֵחַ בָּאֲוִיר״ וְ״אִם לֹא רָאִיתִי נָחָשׁ כְּקוֹרַת בֵּית הַבַּד״;

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Another type of oath taken in vain is when one **takes an oath about a matter that is impossible,** e.g., if he says: **If I did not see a camel flying through the air, or: If I did not see a snake** as large **as the beam of the olive press.**


###### Shevuot 29a:4
[Shevuot 29a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:4)

אָמַר לְעֵדִים: ״בּוֹאוּ וְהַעִידוּנִי״, ״שְׁבוּעָה שֶׁלֹּא נְעִידֶךָ״; נִשְׁבַּע לְבַטֵּל אֶת הַמִּצְוָה – שֶׁלֹּא לַעֲשׂוֹת סוּכָּה וְשֶׁלֹּא לִיטּוֹל לוּלָב וְשֶׁלֹּא לְהַנִּיחַ תְּפִילִּין; זוֹ הִיא שְׁבוּעַת שָׁוְא, שֶׁחַיָּיבִין עַל זְדוֹנָהּ מַכּוֹת וְעַל שִׁגְגָתָהּ פָּטוּר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
In the case of one who **said to witnesses: Come and testify for me,** and they replied: On our **oath we will not testify for you,** that is an oath taken in vain, because it involves **taking an oath to refrain from** performing **a mitzva.** Other examples of this include an oath **not to build a *sukka*, or not to take a *lulav*, or not to don phylacteries. This** type of oath **is an oath taken in vain, for** which one is **liable** to receive **lashes** if he takes the oath **intentionally, and for** which he is **exempt** if he takes it **unwittingly.**


###### Shevuot 29a:5
[Shevuot 29a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:5)

״שְׁבוּעָה שֶׁאוֹכַל כִּכָּר זוֹ״, ״שְׁבוּעָה שֶׁלֹּא אוֹכְלֶנָּה״ – הָרִאשׁוֹנָה שְׁבוּעַת בִּיטּוּי, וְהַשְּׁנִיָּה שְׁבוּעַת שָׁוְא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
If one said: On my **oath I will eat this loaf,** and later said: On my **oath I will not eat it, the first** oath is **an oath on an utterance, and the second** is **an oath** taken **in vain,** as he took an oath to perform an action that would violate his previous oath.


###### Shevuot 29a:6
[Shevuot 29a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:6)

אֲכָלָהּ – עָבַר עַל שְׁבוּעַת שָׁוְא. לֹא אֲכָלָהּ – עָבַר עַל שְׁבוּעַת בִּיטּוּי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
If **he ate it, he violated** the prohibition against taking **an oath in vain.** If **he did not eat it, he violated** the prohibition against breaking **an oath on an utterance.**


###### Shevuot 29a:7
[Shevuot 29a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:7)

**גְּמָ׳** אָמַר עוּלָּא: וְהוּא שֶׁנִּיכָּר לִשְׁלֹשָׁה בְּנֵי אָדָם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**GEMARA:** With regard to an oath taken in vain that denies that which is known to people, **Ulla says:** It is considered known to people when **it is** a fact **that is known to three people.**


###### Shevuot 29a:8
[Shevuot 29a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:8)

נִשְׁבַּע עַל דָּבָר שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לוֹ – ״אִם לֹא רָאִיתִי גָּמָל פּוֹרֵחַ בָּאֲוִיר״. ״שְׁבוּעָה שֶׁרָאִיתִי״ לָא קָאָמַר, מַאי ״אִם לֹא רָאִיתִי״? אַבָּיֵי אָמַר: תָּנֵי ״שְׁבוּעָה שֶׁרָאִיתִי״. רָבָא אָמַר: בְּאוֹמֵר ״יֵאָסְרוּ כׇּל פֵּירוֹת שֶׁבְּעוֹלָם עָלַי, אִם לֹא רָאִיתִי גָּמָל פּוֹרֵחַ בָּאֲוִיר״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna describes an oath taken in vain where one **takes an oath about a matter that is impossible,** e.g., where one says: **If I did not see a camel flying through the air.** The Gemara points out: The *tanna* of the mishna **did not say:** On my **oath I saw. What** is the meaning of: **If I did not see? Abaye said:** Emend the language of the mishna and **teach:** On my **oath I saw. Rava said:** This is part of a larger statement **where one says: Let all the produce in the world be prohibited for me if I did not see a camel flying through the air.**


###### Shevuot 29a:9
[Shevuot 29a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:9)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רָבִינָא לְרַב אָשֵׁי: וְדִלְמָא הַאי גַּבְרָא צִיפּוֹרָא רַבָּא חֲזִי, וְאַסֵּיק לֵיהּ שְׁמָא ״גַּמְלָא״, וְכִי קָא מִשְׁתְּבַע – אַדַּעְתֵּיהּ דִּידֵיהּ אִישְׁתְּבַע?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
With regard to the oath: If I did not see a camel flying through the air, **Ravina said to Rav Ashi: Perhaps this man** who took this oath **saw a great bird and named it** for himself: **Camel, and when he took the oath, he took the oath according to his own understanding.**


###### Shevuot 29a:10
[Shevuot 29a:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:10)

וְכִי תֵּימָא: בָּתַר פּוּמֵּיהּ אָזְלִינַן, וְלָא אָזְלִינַן בָּתַר דַּעְתֵּיהּ – וְהָא תַּנְיָא: כְּשֶׁמַּשְׁבִּיעִין אוֹתוֹ אוֹמְרִים לוֹ: ״הֱוֵי יוֹדֵעַ, שֶׁלֹּא עַל דַּעְתְּךָ אָנוּ מַשְׁבִּיעִין אוֹתְךָ, אֶלָּא עַל דַּעְתֵּנוּ וְעַל דַּעַת בֵּית דִּין״. מַאי טַעְמָא? לָאו מִשּׁוּם דְּאָמְרִינַן: דִּלְמָא אִיסְקוּנְדְּרֵי יְהַיב לֵיהּ וְאַסֵּיק לְהוּ ״זוּזֵי״, דְּכִי קָא מִשְׁתְּבַע – אַדַּעְתֵּיהּ דִּידֵיהּ קָא מִשְׁתְּבַע?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And if you would say** that **we follow his mouth,** i.e., the generally accepted meaning of what one says, **and we do not follow his understanding,** i.e., his own private meaning, **but isn’t it taught** otherwise in a *baraita*: **When they administer an oath to him** in court, the judges **say to him: Know that** it is **not according to your** own **understanding** that **we administer** this **oath to you, but according to our understanding and according to the understanding of the court? What is the reason** they say this? **Is it not because we say: Perhaps he gave tokens [*iskunderei*]** to his creditor **but he calls them** for himself: **Dinars,** so **that when he takes the oath, it is according to his own understanding that he takes the oath.** Since, in principle, it is possible for him to take an oath according to his private meaning of the words, the court insists that the oath it administers is to be understood according to the words’ generally accepted meaning.


###### Shevuot 29a:11
[Shevuot 29a:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:11)

לָא, הָתָם מִשּׁוּם קַנְיָא דְּרָבָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rav Ashi replies: **No,** the reason the court admonishes the oath taker is not that the oath can be interpreted according to a private meaning. **There,** when the court administers an oath, they explain that it is according to their meaning **due to** deceptions like that of **the reed** in **Rava’s** court. In that incident, someone handed his creditor a hollow reed, which he had secretly filled with coins, to hold for him, and proceeded to take an oath that he had given him the money owed to him, whereupon he took back the reed, as the creditor was unaware of its contents. The court admonishes oath takers so that they do not think that they have fulfilled their obligation to take an oath if they engage in such chicanery.


###### Shevuot 29a:12
[Shevuot 29a:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:12)

תָּא שְׁמַע: וְכֵן מָצִינוּ כְּשֶׁהִשְׁבִּיעַ מֹשֶׁה אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, אָמַר לָהֶן: ״דְּעוּ שֶׁלֹּא עַל דַּעְתְּכֶם אֲנִי מַשְׁבִּיעַ אֶתְכֶם, אֶלָּא עַל דַּעַת הַמָּקוֹם וְעַל דַּעְתִּי״. וְאַמַּאי? לֵימָא לְהוּ: ״קַיִּימוּ מַאי דַּאֲמַר אֱלוֹהַּ״! לָאו מִשּׁוּם דְּמַסְּקִי אַדַּעְתַּיְיהוּ עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara suggests: **Come** and **hear** a *baraita*: **And so we found** that **when Moses administered an oath to Israel** that they would keep the Torah (see Deuteronomy 29:9–12), **he said to them: Know that I am not administering this oath according to your understanding but according to the understanding of the Omnipresent and according to my understanding. And why** not **let him** simply **say to them: Keep that which God said? Is it not** that he insisted on admonishing them **because** he was concerned lest **they direct** the oath **in their minds** to **idolatry,** saying that they are taking an oath of loyalty to God but privately intending the oath to be for idolatry? This indicates that the content of an oath can be affected by an oath taker’s private meaning.


###### Shevuot 29a:13
[Shevuot 29a:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:13)

לָא; מִשּׁוּם דַּעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה נָמֵי אִיקְּרִי ״אֱלוֹהַּ״, דִּכְתִיב: ״אֱלֹהֵי כֶסֶף וֵאלֹהֵי זָהָב״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara rejects this: **No,** Moses explicitly indicated that the oath was according to God’s and his own understanding **because idolatry is also referred to** with the word: **God, as it is written:** “You shall not make with Me **gods of silver or gods of gold”** (Exodus 20:20). Therefore, the generally accepted meaning of the oath is ambiguous.


###### Shevuot 29a:14
[Shevuot 29a:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:14)

וְלֵימָא לְהוּ: ״קַיִּימוּ תּוֹרָה״! חֲדָא תּוֹרָה. וְלֵימָא: ״קַיִּימוּ שְׁתֵּי תּוֹרוֹת״! ״תּוֹרַת חַטָּאת״ ״תּוֹרַת אָשָׁם״. ״קַיִּימוּ כׇּל הַתּוֹרָה כּוּלָּהּ״! עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה, דְּאָמַר מָר: חֲמוּרָה עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה, שֶׁכׇּל הַכּוֹפֵר בָּהּ כְּמוֹדֶה בְּכׇל הַתּוֹרָה כּוּלָּהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara suggests: If private meanings do not affect the content of an oath, **let Moses** merely **say to them: Keep the Torah.** The Gemara explains: They could then have taken an oath to keep only **one Torah,** either the Written or the Oral Torah. The Gemara suggests: **And let him say: Keep two Torahs.** The Gemara explains: The word: Torah, also has a narrower meaning of a set of halakhic procedures. The Jewish people could then have limited the oath to **the law of [*torat*] the sin-offering** or **the law of [*torat*] the guilt-offering.** The Gemara suggests: Let Moses administer an oath to **keep the entire Torah.** The Gemara replies: That could have been understood as referring only to the prohibition of **idolatry, as the Master says:** The prohibition of **idolatry is** so **severe that** with regard to **one who denies** idol worship, **it is as if he affirms the entire Torah.**


###### Shevuot 29a:15
[Shevuot 29a:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:15)

וְלֵימָא לְהוּ: ״קַיִּימוּ מִצְוָה״! חֲדָא מִצְוָה. ״קַיִּימוּ מִצְוֹת!״ תַּרְתֵּי. ״כׇּל הַמִּצְוֹת כּוּלָּן״! מִצְוַת צִיצִית, דְּאָמַר מָר: שְׁקוּלָה מִצְוַת צִיצִית כְּנֶגֶד כׇּל הַמִּצְוֹת כּוּלָּן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara suggests: **And let him say to them: Keep** the **mitzva,** i.e., that which you are commanded. The Gemara replies: That could have been understood as referring to only **one mitzva.** The Gemara suggests: Let him say: **Keep mitzvot,** i.e., in the plural. The Gemara replies: That could be understood as referring to only **two** mitzvot. The Gemara suggests: Let him say: **All the mitzvot in their entirety.** The Gemara replies: That could be understood as referring to **the mitzva of ritual fringes, as the Master says: The mitzva of ritual fringes is equivalent to all the** other **mitzvot.**


###### Shevuot 29a:16
[Shevuot 29a:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shevuot/r/29a:16)

וְלֵימָא לְהוּ: ״קַיִּימוּ שֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת וּשְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה מִצְוֹת״! וּלְטַעֲמֵיךְ, לֵימָא לְהוּ: ״עַל דַּעְתִּי״; ״עַל דַּעַת הַמָּקוֹם״ לְמָה לִי?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara suggests: **And let him say to them: Keep 613 mitzvot.** The Gemara replies: **And according to your reasoning, let him** simply **say:** Take the oath **according to my understanding. Why do I** need for him to say: **According to the understanding of the Omnipresent?**