NEDARIM (Fol. 7b.) Rabbi Chanin said in the name of Rab: "Whoever hears his associate mentioning the name of the Lord [in vain] must put the latter under ban. And if the listener does not put him under ban, then he himself deserves to be placed under ban; for wherever the mentioning of God's name is frequent, poverty is frequent, and poverty is equal to death, as it is said (Ex. 4, 19) For all the men are dead, etc. And we are taught in a Baraitha, Simon b. Gamaliel says: 'Wherever our sages fixed their eyes, death or poverty followed.' "
R. Abba was standing before R. Huna and he heard how a woman uttered the Heavenly name in vain, whereupon he put her under ban and immediately after this he annulled the ban in her presence. From the above incident we may infer the following three things: First, that whoever hears the uttering of the Heavenly name in vain from his associate is in duty bound to place the one [who uttered it under ban]; secondly, we infer that a ban placed upon a man in his presence cannot be removed unless in his presence; thirdly, we infer that no specific period of time is necessary between the placing of the ban and its removal.
R. Gidel in the name of Rab said (Fol. 8) "Whence do we infer that one may bind himself with an oath to perform a commandment? It is said (Ps. 119, 106) I have sworn, and I will perform, etc." Behold every one is bound by the Sinaic oath to perform the commandments? We must therefore say that he means it is proper to swear [to perform a religious act] in order to urge upon himself its fulfillment. R. Gidel in the name of Rab said further: "Whoever says to his associate, let us get up in the morning and study this chapter, the one that proposed it is supposed to get up first, as it is said (Ezek. 3, 22) And He said unto him, arise, go forth into the valley, etc. And I arose, and went forth into the valley; and, behold, there was the glory of the Lord standing."
(Ib. b) R. Chanina said in the name of R. Myashia, who quoted R. Juda b. Eliah: "What does the passage (Mal. 3, 20) But unto you, that fear My name, shall the sun arise, mean? This refers to men who are afraid to mention the name of the Lord in vain." Shall the sun of righteousness arise, with healing in its wings. Said Abaye: "We infer from this that the sunbeams are healing to sickness." This will differ with the opinion of R. Simon b. Lakish, who said: "There is no Gehenna in the future world, but the Holy One, praised be He! — will bring forth the sun from its sheath, with which the righteous will be cured and the wicked will be punished; as it is said (Mal. 3, 19) For, behold, the day cometh it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall set them ablaze, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branches."
(Fol. 9b) We are taught in a Baraitha that Simon the just said: "I never ate a trespass-ofering of a Nazarite except one. It once happened that a Nazarite came to me from the South, and I observed that his eyes were beautiful, with a becoming appearance, and his locks arranged in curls. I then said to him: 'What made you consider destroying this, your beautiful hair?' Whereupon he answered me: 'I was a shepherd for my father, where I lived, and I once went to fill water from the well. [I was looking at my image in the water, causing my evil inclination to arise within me in pride of my beauty;] he wanted to drive me out of the [moral] world. I then said to him: Thou wicked one, why art thou exulting in a world which is not thine, with something that is destined to become worms. I swear that I shall shave you off for the sake of Heaven.' I immediately got up and kissed him on his head, saying to him: 'My son, I wish many Nazarites like you would multiply in Israel. Concerning your action the passage reads (Num. 6, 2) When a man pronounces an especial vow, the row of a Nazarite, to be abstained in honor of the Lord.' " R. Mani raised the following objection: "Why did not Simon the Just eat the offering of a Nazarite? Is it not because it was brought as a consequence of a sin? If so, then all the sacrifices of a Nazarite ought not to be eaten, for they also come for a sin?" Whereupon R. Jona said to him: "It is because of this that he did not eat: Whenever persons lament their evil deeds they become Nazarites, and when they become unclean the Nazariteship increases to such an extent that they regret the entire thing, and the consequence is that they bring profane sacrifices m the Temple-court."