Study Nedarim folio 8A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
From where is it derived that one may take an oath to fulfill a mitzva? It is as it is stated: “I have sworn and I have confirmed it, to observe Your righteous ordinances” (Psalms 119:106).
The Talmud asks: Is he not already under oath from when each Jew took an oath at Mount Sinai to fulfill all the mitzvot? An oath cannot take effect if one is already bound by a different oath. Rather, it teaches us this: It is permitted for a man to motivate himself to fulfill the mitzvot in this m
And Rav Giddel said that Rav said: One who says: I will rise early and study this chapter, or: I will study this tractate, has taken a great vow to the God of Israel. This clearly indicates that the vow takes effect. The Talmud asks: Is he not already under oath due to the general obligation to st
The Talmud answers: It teaches us this: Since if he desires he can exempt himself from the obligation to study Torah with the recitation of Shema in the morning and evening, due to that reason the oath takes effect upon him and he is obligated to study the chapter or tractate that he specified.
Rav Giddel said that Rav said: With regard to one who says to another: Let us rise early and study this chapter, and they agree to do so, it is incumbent upon him to rise early and be the first to arrive, because it was his initiative. There is an allusion to this in a verse, as it is stated: “And