In the Torah: To a prohibition from Torah a refined character and Eidel person would most certainly not be able to cope.
Possuk States: לֹא־יְאֻנֶׁה לַצַדִיק כָל־אָוֶׁן ורְ שָעִים מָלְאו רָע: No sin shall be caused for the righteous, but the wicked are full of evil. Rashi says on the words No sin shall be caused for the righteous: “It will not happen. No sin will chance before him inadvertently”. From this Possuk it is apparent that anything to do with sin is completely disassociated with a Tzaddik.
Brought down in Tanya: The Alter Rebbe describes these levels of Tzaddik, Rosha and Beinoni in a different manner, in a deeper and more internal manner.
Incomplete Tzaddik: A Tzaddik who still has a small measure of bad which he has not yet transformed into Kedusha.
Non-descript Tzaddik: A Tzaddik on a higher level that already has no evil at all, nevertheless there is a Tzaddik who is righteous in one particular situation, and his title Tzaddik is only a borrowed term, and in his situation he is at best mainly good.
However, a ‘Chossid’ parallels the spiritual world of ‘Atzilus’ which tolerates no evil at all. The Alter Rebbe writes in his own holy handwriting in ‘Torah Ohr’ that the spiritual world of ‘Atzilus’ or the ‘Sefiros’ referred to as ‘Ze’eir Anpin’ within ‘Atzilus’ are at the end of the infinite worlds of the ‘Ein Sof’ and [it is only] below ‘Ze’eir Anpin’ [that there is an initiation] of ‘worlds’ of ‘creations’ and ‘created beings’.
The Two K’ruvim and Spiritual Worlds
This is the concept of the two K’ruvim. As the Torah writes כְרוב אֶׁחָד מִקָצָה מִזֶׁה “one cherub from the one end” this symbolises ‘Ze’eir Anpin’ of the world of ‘Atzilus’ which constitutes the last of the ‘Sefiros’ of the upper ‘worlds of the Ein-Sof’. There then follows כְרוב אֶׁחָד מִקָצָה מִזֶׁה “one cherub from the [other] one end” [and this] is the Sefirah of Malchus from where the worlds of ‘Briyah’, ‘Yetzirah’ and ‘Asyah’ come into being. And their legs drop down etc.
Now, according to what has been mentioned above, we can begin to understand why we need the concept of ‘Vows’. This is because it does not suffice [merely to refrain from] what the Torah forbids because in this kind of world where evil exists... there is an imperative [also] for an abstinence (from the physicality of the world).
The Impetus for Abstinence and Chassidus
The impetus for this comes from the spiritual world of Atzilus which has no evil at all. This is the concept of מִילֵּי דַחֲסִידותָא, of being a ‘Chossid’. This also explains the inference in the expression ‘מִילֵּי דַחֲסִידותָא’ that Chassidus does not just remain in the spiritual world of ‘Atzilus’ [so] that he is a ‘Chossid’ for himself. On the contrary, it shall also be extended into the world of matter (‘Milei’) - in the ‘Olom’ (world) from the expression “Heh’elam and Hester” meaning ‘concealed’ into there, where the concept of ‘abstinence’ shall be extended, which is the concept of ‘Chassidus’.
However, [let us not forget that] there is also the concept of הַתָרַת נְדָרִים - ‘Annulling the vows’ which can be done via a ‘Chochom’ and the ‘father’.
Abstinence, Annulment, and Spiritual Refinement
This is due to the fact that the world of ‘Atzilus’ itself, is [even] higher than the ‘מִילֵּי דַחֲסִידותָא’ where there is no place for evil. [As a consequence] therefore, ‘vows’ and ‘fences’ don’t exist there. This concept is just like Aharon Hakohen who is a kind person in essence.
And therefore, according to ‘Torah’ which is ‘Toras Chessed’ vows can be annulled.
This is a spiritual state of ‘אוֹר אַבָא’ because אַבָא nests in Atzilus and because of this there is a refinement and not just an abstinence and this is because the concept of abstinence is ‘DeChiyah’ whereas a ‘Chochom’ and a ‘father’ are even higher than someone who ‘swears by the life of the King’ because ‘Yisroel’ are called the sons of Kings and they are called Kings as is elucidated in the introduction to ‘Tikkunei Zohar.’
Further, they can annul vows because they can even refine those oaths that ‘she’ made before she reached the age of that which the Possuk states: “In her youth in her father’s house” so that they can even annul her vow retroactively. This means that they refine the past...
Vows, Annulment, and the Virtues of Kodshim
It can be said that the difference between making a vow and the annulment of vows is akin to the two virtues of ‘Kodshim’: that which is consumed by the ‘Kohen’ and that which is consumed by the ‘Mizbei’ach’.
As the ‘Tzemach Tzedek’ writes in his book ‘Derech Mitzvosecho’ and is also written elsewhere: there is a virtue in the consumption of the Altar which surpasses the consumption by the Kohen as is apparent from the virtues of a Korbon Oloh (Similar to Nedorim) and there is a virtue in the consumption of the Kohen that surpasses the consumption of the Altar (similar to the annulment of vows).
With this we will also understand why in this directive the Torah chooses to use the term זֶׁה הַדָבָר because the word ‘זֶׁה’ alludes to the spiritual world of Atzilus. As our sages of blessed memory have said on this Possuk that all the other prophets would prophesise using the more vague term ‘כֹה’ which means ‘like this’, but Moshe would prophesise using the term ‘זֶׁה’ which means ‘this is’.
This is because the term ‘כֹה’ symbolises the lower three spiritual worlds of ‘Briyah’, ‘Yetzirah’ and ‘Asyah’ whereas the state of ‘זֶׁה’ symbolises the spiritual world of ‘Atzilus’. The term הַדָבָר applies to speech.
Vows are like ‘Hekdesh’ which are primarily pledged by speech (there are long discussions as to whether a pledge made in one’s mind is valid). The reason why vows and the annulment of vows is specifically connected with speech is, because the root of the ability to speak is in the innermost depths of the soul, as is illustrated in ‘Iggeres Hakodesh’.
This is generally a person’s Avodah, firstly his Avodah...
