Reuven tells Shimon: "I am forbidden to you like a dedication offering." Who is prohibited from benefiting, and who is liable for lashes if he violates it?
The prohibition falls on Shimon (he may not benefit from Reuven), but since Shimon did not say anything himself, he is not liable for lashes if he transgresses. Reuven remains free to benefit from Shimon. Only if Reuven says "You are forbidden to me" does Reuven bear liability for lashes.
Question 2
A man says "my loaf is forbidden to you" and then gifts it to the other person. What is the status of the loaf?
Even as a gift, the loaf remains forbidden — there is no way for the recipient to acquire it in a permitted manner while the vow stands. However, if the vow-maker dies and the recipient inherits it, or a third party (who received it) gives it to him, it becomes permitted, since it is no longer "the vow-maker's" loaf.
Question 3
Someone vows not to eat meat. May he eat vegetables that were cooked together with meat and absorbed its flavor?
A vow on a general category of food ("meat" or "wine") forbids only the direct consumption of that item — it does not extend to absorbed flavor. He may eat soup or vegetables cooked with meat even if they taste of meat. He is forbidden only to eat meat by itself or drink wine by itself.
Question 4
A person's vow forbids him from drinking a specific cup of wine. That wine accidentally falls into a full barrel of permitted wine. What is the ruling?
Since the vow can be released by a sage, the forbidden wine is classified as a "davar she'yesh lo matirin" — a thing that has a permissible outlet. Such a substance is never nullified even within its own kind. Even a single drop renders the entire barrel forbidden. It is preferable to release the vow than to consider it dissolved by nullification.
Question 5
A person vows not to eat onions and then plants some. What is the status of the produce that grows from them?
Onions are a crop whose seed does not decompose in the earth — the original onion head remains itself in the new plant. Therefore the vow's prohibition extends even to the growths of growths (third generation). The releasable nature of the vow also prevents the original from being "nullified" by the larger volume of permitted new growth.