If someone in their struggle to quit smoking—or stop abusing drugs—made a neder (vow) to stop, but now wishes to have their neder annulled, should the bet din acquiesce? The halachah is that a bet din should not annul a vow that was made to stop one from violating an issur (a prohibition). However, some poskim argue that if there’s a chance that the person will violate the issur—and leaving the neder in place poses an additional pitfall for them, possibly resulting in transgressing both the issur and the neder—the neder should be annulled. It can be countered that the last point applies only if the neder is regarding a rabbinic prohibition, but not to a biblical prohibition.
Smoking and drug abuse pose a physical danger and should therefore be treated even more severely than a biblical prohibition. For this reason many poskim rule not to annul a vow, saying it’s preferable to keep the neder in place on the chance it may serve as a deterrent, even if it might be breached.
Rav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, shlita, member of the Badatz of Crown Heights, One Minute Halacha #559, crownheightsconnect.com
