1MISHNA: One who vows that dates are forbidden to him is permitted to eat date honey. One who vows that late grapes are forbidden to him is permitted to eat vinegar of late grapes. Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says: In the case of any food that the name of its derivative is called after its name, i.e., the liquid that emerges from it bears its name, e.g., date honey or vinegar of late grapes, and one vows that the item itself, e.g., the grape, is forbidden to him, he is also prohibited from consuming the liquid that emerges from it. But the Rabbis permit this.
2GEMARA: The statement of the Rabbis is identical to the statement of the first tanna of the mishna, who rules that one who vows that dates are forbidden to him is permitted to eat date honey. What is the difference between them?
3The Gemara answers: There is a difference between them with regard to that which is taught in a baraita : Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said this principle: With regard to anything that is commonly eaten in its existing form, and it is also common to eat the liquid that emerges from it, for example, dates and date honey, if one vowed that it is forbidden to him, he is also prohibited from consuming the liquid that emerges from it. Similarly, if one vows that the liquid that emerges from it is forbidden to him, he is also prohibited from partaking of it.
4The baraita continues: Conversely, with regard to anything that is not commonly eaten as it is, and it is common to eat the liquid that emerges from it, if one vowed that he will not eat from it, he is prohibited from consuming only the liquid that emerges from it, as this person intended to prohibit himself from eating only from the liquid that emerges from it. The first tanna does not distinguish between dates, which are commonly eaten in their original state, and late grapes, which are not. In both cases, he rules that the produce itself is forbidden and the derivative is permitted. By contrast, the Rabbis agree with Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar’s ruling with regard to produce that is not commonly eaten in its original state. They permit the produce itself and prohibit that which has emerged from it. Therefore, in the last case of the mishna, they permit eating the late grapes and prohibit eating their vinegar, whereas in the first case they prohibit both dates and date honey.
5MISHNA: One who vows that wine is forbidden to him is permitted to partake of apple wine, i.e., cider, as the unspecified term wine refers only to grape wine. One who vows that oil is forbidden to him is permitted to partake of sesame oil, as the unspecified term oil refers only to olive oil. One who vows that honey is forbidden to him is permitted to eat date honey, as the unspecified term honey refers only to bee honey.
6One who vows that vinegar is forbidden to him is permitted to partake of vinegar of late grapes, as vinegar is typically made from wine. One who vows that leeks are forbidden to him is permitted to eat kaflutot , a type of leek. One who vows that vegetables are forbidden to him is permitted to eat wild field vegetables, as this type of vegetable has a modifier and is not referred to by the unspecified term vegetable.
7GEMARA: It is taught in a baraita : With regard to one who vows that oil is forbidden to him, if he is in Eretz Yisrael he is permitted to eat sesame oil and is prohibited from eating olive oil, as in Eretz Yisrael the unspecified term oil refers to olive oil. And if he took the vow in Babylonia, sesame oil is forbidden to him, as oil in Babylonia was generally made from sesame seeds, and it is permitted for him to eat olive oil, which was rarely used there. If he takes the vow in a locale where people use both this type of oil and that type, he is prohibited from eating both this type and that.
8The Gemara asks with regard to the last statement: Isn’t it obvious that he is prohibited from eating both types of oil? The statement seems superfluous. The Gemara answers: No, it is not superfluous. It is necessary only to teach that this is the halakha even where most people use only one type of oil. Lest you say: I should follow the majority and permit the other kind of oil, the baraita teaches us that an uncertain Torah prohibition is treated stringently. Therefore, the other type is forbidden as well, as it is possibly included in the meaning of the vow, although it is used only by a minority of the residents.
9The baraita continues: With regard to one who vows that vegetables are forbidden to him, if he takes the vow during the first six years of the seven-year Sabbatical cycle, he is prohibited from eating garden vegetables and permitted to eat field vegetables. But if he takes the vow during the Sabbatical Year, he is prohibited from eating field vegetables, which are commonly eaten in the Sabbatical Year, and he is permitted to eat garden vegetables, which are rarely consumed during that period, as it is prohibited to work the land. Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Gamliel: