In the beginning of
the Parsha we have the idea of Hafaras Nedarim, that a father or a husband under given
circumstances has the right to nullify the (vow) Neder that was made by a daughter or a wife. In
Halacha we find that a husband is Maifir a Neder Mikan Ul'haba. Which means to say that if a
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woman made a Neder on Sunday and the husband found out about it on Wednesday and he was
Maifir Neder, he declared the Neder invalid,that invalidation only applies from Wednesday and on.
On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday the Neder was intact. That is what the Gemara says in
Maseches Nazir 22.
On the other hand, a Chochom or a Bais Din that is Mattir Neder, is
Oker L'mafrai'a. Which means to say there are two ways in which a Neder can be undone. Either a
husband or father in the case of a woman in the beginning of the Parsha or in the case of the Bais
Din or a Chochom who is what we call Mattir Neder. When a Chochom is Mattir Neder it is
retroactive. It dissolves the Neder retroactively. So it is interesting that the Torah makes a
distinction between two similar ideas. A husband and father cut the Neder from that point and on
and the Chochom is Oker L'mafrai'a, rips it out retroactively.
Maran HaRav Hutner in the Pachad Yitzchok on Yom Hakippurim Maimar 23:3 gives a beautiful deep
explanation for the concept of OkerL'mafrai'a, of dissolving things retroactively and I will try to
explain it in my own words as best as I can. The concept of retroactive change, of L'mafrai'a is
something we are familiar with in Shas. There are a number of Sugyos that talk about it. The
concept of Yeish B'reira which we have in the Gemara many times. But that concept of retroactive
change is not true in the physical world. In the physical world it is not possible to change things
retroactively. If a table broke on Sunday and you didn't get around to fixing it until Tuesday then
it can't be fixed as of Monday. You can only fix things from that moment and on. If you forgot to
water a plant and the plant died, there is no way to retroactively water it from yesterday so that it
should not have died. There is no such thing. In the physical world everything is within the
limitations of time which doesn't allow things to happen L'mafrai'a, to happen retroactively. Only
in a world which is above the physical limitations. Only in a spiritual world can we declare
ourselves above the physical world, above the creation of time, and in that way things can happen
retroactively. Chochom Oker, a wise man, a Talmid Chochom, or a Bais Din, they are
Oker L'mafrai'a. The idea of retroactive action can apply to a Chochom who is steeped in Torah
and who is above the physical limitations of the world. Without Chochmo there is no
Oker L'mafrai'a. Therefore, the idea of L'mafrai'a, retroactive dissolving of a Neder is limited to a
Chochom.
Rav Hutner goes on, that the concept of Teshuva, somebody who does Teshuva for an Aveira he
did is also retroactive because Teshuva too requires a person to lift himself above his physical
limitations. Lift himself higher. If a person lifts himself higher than he can throw away the
limitations of time and do something that has an affect retroactively.
So Rav Hutner mentions
Nedarim and Teshuva.
I would like to add Kinyan EretzYisrael. It is a very interesting thing that when Klal Yisrael enters
Eretz Yisrael, when the Jewish people come to Eretz Yisrael for the first time and conquer it in the
time of Yehoshua, the conquest is Chal L'mafrai'a so to speak. The Gemara says that when they
conquered Eretz Yisrael it became the possession of the YotzeiMitzrayim, the generation that left
Egypt that was no longer alive. They in turn passed it on as an inheritance to those who actually
physically conquered it. So that the conquest of EretzYisrael from the very beginning was
L'mafrai'a, was a retroactive conquest as if they had actually conquered it a generation earlier. The
idea of Bnei Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael from the very beginning is something which requires
spirituality. From the very beginning we declare the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael it's not a
Davar Gashmi, it is not something that can be explained within the physical world. Where our ability to be here, to stay here, to thrive here, is not limited by the physical. In 1947 the British
commanded a study as to how many human beings can live in Eretz Yisrael. How much this land
could sustain. They came up interestingly enough with 600,000. That the land can only really keep
600,000 people going. What a joke. Baruch Hashem there are 10 times that many here. Klal Yisrael
in Eretz Yisrael is above the physical limitations of human beings. We need to understand that as
we appreciate being in Eretz Yisrael and the difficulties, there are difficulties today in Eretz Yisrael.
We have to really feel part of it, a real part of it.
Rabbi Reisman
