A husband mentally decides to nullify his wife's vow but says nothing aloud. Is the vow nullified?
Nullification requires a verbal statement. Thinking the nullification, or merely acting against it, does not legally dissolve the vow. Words are the legal vehicle.
Question 2
A husband says: 'All vows you take while I am traveling are nullified in advance.' Before he even leaves, his wife takes a vow. Is it nullified?
A pre-emptive blanket nullification is valid. Halacha permits a husband to nullify future vows in advance. Any vow she takes after his declaration is covered.
Question 3
A wife vows not to eat meat. Her husband hears and says: 'And I am also forbidding myself from meat.' Can he now nullify her vow?
When a husband extends his wife's vow to himself, he becomes a co-party. A party to a vow cannot unilaterally nullify it — that detached authority is gone.
Question 4
A woman vows 'wine will be forbidden to me when I marry' before she is engaged. She then marries. Can her husband nullify this vow?
A vow made conditional on marriage — structured to survive and activate at marriage — is beyond the husband's nullification authority. It predates his jurisdiction and was crafted to continue within it.
Question 5
According to the Sages, a person who takes many vows is compared to what?
The Sages (Nedarim 22a) compare frequent vow-takers to one who built an unauthorized altar. Vow-proliferation is discouraged — vows are sacred instruments to be used sparingly and purposefully.