(ג) הַנּוֹדֵר צְדָקָה וְלֹא יָדַע כַּמָּה נָדַר יִתֵּן עַד שֶׁיֹּאמַר לֹא לְכָךְ נִתְכַּוַּנְתִּי:
(3) One who took a vow for tzedakah without knowing how much he vowed should give until he says, "This is not what I intended."
Questions:
The question one might pose to Rambam here is simply what is the point of this Halacha? We certainly know that a vow creates a Biblical demand to adhere to the intent of the vow, and in general whenever on is in doubt as to the performance of a Biblical demand they must be stringent. If so, why is it not obvious to have to give until there is no room for doubt?
This should be similar to the law that on a cloudy day, one should observe Shabbat until all doubt is removed from their mind that nightfall has passed. (See Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 293:2). So what is Rambam doing by providing another seemingly random aspect of vows?
Explanation:
It is hard to say for certain why Rambam would have chosen this law, perhaps he felt this concept is somehow not obvious and simply needed to be stated. However, if Rambam is looking to advance our understanding of the connection between vows and Tzedakah, we might conjecture the following to explain what of our understanding has been furthered through this Halacha.
It appears that the thrust of this chapter - at least the first half of it - looks to define the relationship between man and his coin. Tzedakah, for all that we have seen it to be in Chapter 7, ultimately distills into the reality of man’s obssession with and emotional bond to money - his money.
If we are to define this rudimentary feeling of attachment to the coin itself, we must discuss the sanctity of the coin conferred upon it by the very will to give Tzedakah. The fact that a human can take a coin, coddle it fondly in their hand, allow the emotions of affordability and stability to course through their palm, up their arm and spread into their heart and despite this be able to conjure the strength to give the coin away, this must be impart Kedusha to the coin itself.
The act of vowing, committing oneself to Tzedakah is the first step towards making the coin sacrosanct. That is because this vow is the first sensation of the release of one’s hold on the coin. The vow stands as the first step towards breaking the intuitive bond we have with our money. This, by definition, is an act of Kedusha.
Insofar as Rambam in Chapter 8 looks to focus on the coin, versus the action of giving as it were in Chapter 7, he has zeroed in on the element of vows which signify the committment to give up our stake in our money.
That being said, this Halacha is a perfect next-step. This Halacha presents a hypothetical scenario in which the person is forced to come to terms with their limits of giving. “This much I know I would never commit to”. When we simulate this Halacha in our mind as we learn it, we become fully aware of just how much we have fallen in love with our money. Is $20 already beyond our range of generosity? $150? This is absolutely the next trait we need discover within ourselves - what is our limit? How generous are we really?
Only after presenting this mind exercise through a hypothetical Halacha is Rambam confident we can proceed to discover the true depths of sanctity in this coin. Through this exercise we are aware of the self that is about to walk through the next few Halachot. With this self-awareness alone is it possible to grow and apply with truth and meaning the following laws.
The question one might pose to Rambam here is simply what is the point of this Halacha? We certainly know that a vow creates a Biblical demand to adhere to the intent of the vow, and in general whenever on is in doubt as to the performance of a Biblical demand they must be stringent. If so, why is it not obvious to have to give until there is no room for doubt?
This should be similar to the law that on a cloudy day, one should observe Shabbat until all doubt is removed from their mind that nightfall has passed. (See Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 293:2). So what is Rambam doing by providing another seemingly random aspect of vows?
Explanation:
It is hard to say for certain why Rambam would have chosen this law, perhaps he felt this concept is somehow not obvious and simply needed to be stated. However, if Rambam is looking to advance our understanding of the connection between vows and Tzedakah, we might conjecture the following to explain what of our understanding has been furthered through this Halacha.
It appears that the thrust of this chapter - at least the first half of it - looks to define the relationship between man and his coin. Tzedakah, for all that we have seen it to be in Chapter 7, ultimately distills into the reality of man’s obssession with and emotional bond to money - his money.
If we are to define this rudimentary feeling of attachment to the coin itself, we must discuss the sanctity of the coin conferred upon it by the very will to give Tzedakah. The fact that a human can take a coin, coddle it fondly in their hand, allow the emotions of affordability and stability to course through their palm, up their arm and spread into their heart and despite this be able to conjure the strength to give the coin away, this must be impart Kedusha to the coin itself.
The act of vowing, committing oneself to Tzedakah is the first step towards making the coin sacrosanct. That is because this vow is the first sensation of the release of one’s hold on the coin. The vow stands as the first step towards breaking the intuitive bond we have with our money. This, by definition, is an act of Kedusha.
Insofar as Rambam in Chapter 8 looks to focus on the coin, versus the action of giving as it were in Chapter 7, he has zeroed in on the element of vows which signify the committment to give up our stake in our money.
That being said, this Halacha is a perfect next-step. This Halacha presents a hypothetical scenario in which the person is forced to come to terms with their limits of giving. “This much I know I would never commit to”. When we simulate this Halacha in our mind as we learn it, we become fully aware of just how much we have fallen in love with our money. Is $20 already beyond our range of generosity? $150? This is absolutely the next trait we need discover within ourselves - what is our limit? How generous are we really?
Only after presenting this mind exercise through a hypothetical Halacha is Rambam confident we can proceed to discover the true depths of sanctity in this coin. Through this exercise we are aware of the self that is about to walk through the next few Halachot. With this self-awareness alone is it possible to grow and apply with truth and meaning the following laws.