משנה: יוֹדֵעַ אֲנִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ נְדָרִים אֲבָל אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁיֵּשׁ מְפֵירִין יָפֵר. יוֹדֵעַ אֲנִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ מְפֵירִין אֲבָל אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁזֶּה נֵדֶר. רִבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר לֹא יָפֵר. וְחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים יָפֵר. MISHNAH: ‘I knew that there are vows but I did not know that they can be dissolved.’ ‘I knew that one can dissolve but I did not realize that this was a vow.’ Rebbi Meĩr says, he cannot dissolve, but the Sages say, he can dissolve66R. Meïr holds that he had his chance; if he did not use it because of his ignorance, it is his fault. The Sages hold that the time for dissolution starts only when he is instructed about the law. In the Babli, 87b/88a, R. Meïr’s position is explained by his interpretation of the biblical verses..
הלכה: יוֹדֵעַ אֲנִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ נְדָרִים כול׳. אָמַר רִבִּי זְעִירָא. טַעֲמָא דְרִבִּי מֵאִיר עִילָּה הִיא רוֹצֶה שֶׁתִּדּוֹר וִיגָרְשֶׁנָּהּ. דַּל כֵּן הָיָה לוֹ לְגָֽרְשָׁהּ מִשָּׁעָה רִאשׁוֹנָה. HALAKHAH: “ ‘T knew that there are vows,” etc. Rebbi Ze‘ira said, the reason of Rebbi Meïr: It is a subterfuge. He wants her to make vows so he can divorce her67This refers to the second case, when he admits that he knew he could dissolve his wife’s vows. Then he should have dissolved the vow immediately even if it was a borderline case. If it was a vow, it would be dissolved; if it was not a vow, no harm would have been done. We suspect that he wants to encourage his wife to make vows so he could claim that she always makes vows and one cannot expect from him to live with such a wife; he asks permission from the court to divorce her without payment of the ketubah sum (Mishnah Ketubot 7:6).. That is not so, he could have divorced her on the first occasion68This gives the position of the Sages who note that he could have started complaining at the first vow. Therefore, they accept his words at face value..