Pushing Things Off

Some lomdus from this weeks parsha.

The Beis Yosef cites the Agudah [please - no politics...] that if someone makes a neder that he is going to do something within the next thirty days, such as buy a tub of delicious Ben and Jerry's ice cream, and he waits until the last day [we NEVER push things off, so this is clearly talking about other people:-)]  and LO AND BEHOLD, the supermarket is closed because the manager's great aunt died [may she rest in peace] and the נודר cannot purchase the ice cream, it is NOT considered אונס and he is חייב עונש. This is because אונס ביום אחרון is not considered אונס. You can't push something off until the last day and then claim אונס.

GREAT MUSSAR HASKEL!!

The Agudah proves his thesis from a gemara in Erchin [31]. The Torah in Parshas Behar says that if someone sold a house in a walled city he has one year to redeem it. What the buyers would do is hide on the last day so that the sellers wouldn't find them and redeem their homes. So a decree was promulgated [GOOD WORD, EHRMAN!] that the sellers could place the redemption money in a chamber of the beis hamikdash and wouldn't need to find the buyer. Fregggttttt the Agudah, why was such a decree necessary? Even if he doesn't find the buyer on the last day the house should be considered redeemed, because the seller is אנוס. From here we can prove the אונס ביום אחרון us not אונס. That is why the decree was necessary.

We have concluded that according to the Beis Yosef, אונס ביום אחרון us not אונס.

Nooot soooo pashut.

The very same Beis Yosef [or as my Sefardi brothers call him the "Beit Yosef"] rules [או"ח סי' ק"ח ס"ח] that if one waited before davening until the last minute and then an אונס transpired, he nevertheless has to daven twice next time as תשלומין. The reason apparently is because he is אונס and if one is אונס he davens twice next time. If one is not אנוס then he doesn't daven twice. But wait a second - this is like אונס ביום אחרון - he waited until the last minute, so it should NOT be considered אונס. So why does the Beis Yosef consider it אונס??    

Much has been written about this question including this delicious piece.So there for a discussion and many sources.