Matot: How Vows Are Like Idol-Worship

by several Rabanim, translated by Hillel Fendel

The beginning of this week's Torah portion of Matot focuses on certain important details pertaining to the laws of vows and oaths. A Torah-mandated oath is one by which one forbids himself to engage in one or more otherwise permitted activities. 

This leads us to ask a very fundamental question:

The Torah, including all its prohibitions and commandments, is the precise word of G-d. Can we not assume that if G-d wanted something to be forbidden, He would have done so in His Torah? We are not allowed to detract from the precepts of the Torah; why then are we permitted to add to them by forbidding something to ourselves that the Torah did not forbid? 

The Jerusalem Talmud (Tr. Nedarim 9,1) asks this question slightly differently: "Is it not enough for you that which the Torah has forbidden, that you add still more prohibitions?"

Nevertheless, the Torah does allow us to obligate ourselves, on the level of a Torah mandate, by taking a vow. Why does the Torah enable us this option of fashioning for ourselves "private" mitzvot (commandments)?

Maimonides relates to this question in his Laws of Vows (13,23) and states: "One who made a vow in order to properly establish his traits and correct his deeds, is considered eager [to fulfill mitzvot] and is praiseworthy. For instance, one who [knows himself to be] a glutton and vows not to eat meat for a year or two; or one who is obsessed with wine and takes a vow forbidding himself from drinking wine for a prolonged period, or from ever becoming intoxicated; or one who is money-hungry, constantly running wildly to attain more, and vows not to accept gifts or benefit from people in a particular locale; or a person who is too proud of his beauty and vows to be like a Nazir [and grow his hair wildly]; etc. - all of these are paths in the service of G-d, and concerning such vows, our Sages taught (Avot 3,13 [17]), 'Vows are a safeguard for the attribute of abstinence.'" 

The Rambam thus holds that the purpose of vows is to help one improve his ways and fulfill his best potential. The oath serves as a balancing force for specific needs and problems that any individual person can face. 

It would seem from this that it is generally advisable to contemplate where one might be suffering from an "imbalance," and avail himself of this tool in the service of G-d, by vowing to correct his specific faults. Why, then, do we find that the Rambam does not actually favor oaths, even for a lofty purpose such as character improvement? Instead, he writes, "One should not accustom himself to make vows, but should rather refrain from inappropriate things without vowing. The Sages said: Whoever takes a vow, has built a platform [for idol-worship]."

Puzzling: If vows are a helpful and positive aid, why must they be limited? And why do we find, hovering over the option of vows, the threatening image of idol-worship?!

Delving into the Rambam's words, we find the answer to this as well: "Upright people do not make vows out of anger or in forbidden ways" (Laws of Vows 1,26). That is, the tremendous power that the Torah grants to every individual to use for self-improvement is easily liable to be released in the opposite direction. 

In truth, it appears that the Rambam understands the Sages' admonishment against vows as referring only to those made out of anger and the like. But this is a very fine line indeed. One must have "cleanliness of spirit," a very deep awareness, and strong self-control in order to determine whether his perceived need to vow stems from a positive place in his soul – or perhaps is rooted in uncontrolled frustration or something similar.

Still, however: Why is the negative urge to vow likened so extremely to the building of a bamah, a platform for idol-worship?

Here we find an even deeper level of understanding. One who builds a bamah has not yet worshiped idols. He wishes to come closer to G-d and offer Him a sacrifice. But he is taking his own individual path, detached from the communal Torah. Similarly, a bamah is a private altar, in contrast with the altar in the Holy Temple, which represents the bonds between G-d and all of Israel. 

As the Maharal of Prague writes: "He who builds a special bamah thus separates himself from the collective, just as he who vows about a specific thing, similarly separates himself." 

Every oath and vow, even if it is positive and a safeguard for abstinence, is problematic. Even well-intentioned oaths, unlike those of the wicked that stem from anger, are tainted and marred by the person's differentiating himself from the commandments of all of Israel. Yes, sometimes one must depart from the routine and take a bitter medicinal pill – but he must do everything he can to ensure that he does not take sick with an even worse disease, in which the medicine becomes part of his daily diet.