Usually, a husband can annul his wife's vow if it afflicts him or her. Suppose, however, she makes the following vow: she will be prohibited to derive any benefit from her husband if she ever does any service to his father. This vow does not yet exist. Nevertheless, it can be annulled for the following reasons: it involves self-affliction and is bound to happen.
A man prohibited himself from any benefit from the world if he married without first learning the laws of proper behavior. Ultimately, he could not learn, and due to his vow, he could not get married. Rav Acha tricked him into marrying by telling him the vow was invalid. Then, after the vow became valid, he pushed him into the dirt – so he needed a cleaning service, which his vow prohibited.
In this state, Rav Acha brought the man to Rav Chisda, a Sage empowered to annul vows. Who can be as wise as Rav Acha to act like this? Why did Rav Acha have to do this? – Because he disagreed with the ruling above that an inevitable vow can be annulled before it happens. Instead, according to him, the vow had to exist before anything could be done about it.
Art: Double Portrait of a Husband and Wife with Tulip Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt
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