לזכות אבי מורי ואמי מורתי
לזכות ר' ישראל דניאל שליט"א בן שיינא דינה
לזכות הרב הגאון ר' שלמה איינהורן שליט"א
לרפואת הרב הצדיק ר' דוד העניך מרדכי שליט"א בן פרידה שמחה
לרפואת הרב יצחק חיים יחיאל שליט"א בן אסתר
בתוך שח"י
It says in the Mishna in Nedarim [16a] that if one takes an oath not to do a mitzva [נשבע לבטל את המצוה], the oath is not binding and it is considered a שבועת שוא - an oath in vain. So if one is נשבע not to eat matza on Pesach the שבועה is not valid.
What is the din if a person is נשבע not to fulfill a ספק מצוה?? F'rinstence....
A] He is not sure if he ate matza [and must eat again - ספק דאורייתא לחומרא] and then is נשבע not to eat matza. Does the שבועה take effect?
B] He has ספק מצה in front of him and that is the only matza he has. The ספק is that maybe it was baked לשם מצות מצה and maybe it wasn't. He is נשבע not to eat it.
C] The Chikrei Lev [Yo"d 87] asserted that according to many earlier sources one may also not take an oath to be מבטל a מכשירי מצוה such as GOING to a place where matza is sold or baking matza. So let us say that someone made an oath that he is not going to the Lower East Side matza bakery but he is not sure if there is actually a bakery there [and there are no other ones where he could buy matza. When I was a kid there was a bakery there and I went to watch the matza baking but the demographics have changed. The people there have a lot of חן. Or better, actually "Chen"]. So he must go there to purchase his matza because ספק דאורייתא לחומרא but now he swears that he won't go there. Does the שבועה take effect?
So here are the two sides: Do we say that since מן התורה he must eat matza, it is considered נשבע לבטל את המצוה and the שבועה is invalid? Or do we say that since it is only a ספק מצוה, the שבועה takes effect מספק - i.e. on the צד that it is really not a mitzva [e.g. the matza is not kosher]. So if he eats the matza he might be ACTIVELY transgressing an עבירה [the שבועה] while if he refrains from eating the matza he will only be possibly PASSIVELY transgressing an עבירה [not eating matza]. It is safer to stay on the passive side and not eat the matza - שב ואל תעשה עדיף!!
Maybe we can argue [and the LORD KNOWS that Jews like to argue!] that since he must do the mitzva when in doubt - the שבועה never took effect. But one can argue back that the שבועה does take effect מספק. [We have discussed at length in our public lectures (I don't know who is uploading them but he - or she - sure uploads a LOT of them😀😀) the מחלוקת between R' Akiva Eiger who holds that ספיקא דאורייתא does not create a ודאי חיוב but only a ספק חיוב unlike the opinion of the Pri Chodosh [🍉] who says that one who is only מחוייב מספק can be מוציא someone who is מחוייב בודאי because once one is מחוייב מספק he now has a ודאי חיוב because ספיקא דאורייתא is לחומרא].
