When can I get a Mulligan? TB Makkot 28

In golf the golfer can ask for a Mulligan which is a do over. Similarly if a person regrets the shavuah he has taken, he can ask a Sage to release him from his vow. Today’s daf TB Makkot 28 discusses when it’s too late to be released from the vow. “Rava says: If one took an oath about a (whole-gg) loaf and then ate it, if he left an olive-bulk of it, he may request that his oath about the loaf be dissolved. If he ate the whole loaf, he may no longer request that his oath about it be dissolved.” (daf 27b, Sefaria.org translation) Obviously after the person has completely violated the vow, the opportunity to be released has passed. There’s no point of return.

What is that point of no return? As long as the “story” hasn’t come to a conclusion, a person can ask to be released from the oath. Ameimar defines the conclusion of the oath’s violation.

“Ameimar said, in contrast to the opinion of Rava: Even if he ate the entire loaf he may still request dissolution of the oath. If he ate it unwittingly, i.e., he forgot the oath, it is a situation where he has not yet brought the offering he is liable to bring. If he ate it intentionally, it is a situation where he has not yet received lashes. But if he was already tied to the stake in order to receive lashes, he can no longer request that his oath be dissolved, in accordance with the opinion of Shmuel. As Shmuel says: If one had already been tied to the stake in order to receive lashes, and he ran away from the court and escaped, he is exempt from receiving lashes, as being tied to the stake is regarded as the beginning of receiving the lashes; once he has escaped, he is treated as though he were already flogged.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Rambam poskins like Ameimar. “When a person takes a sh'vuat bitui regarding the future and violated his oath, e.g., he took an oath that he would not eat a loaf of bread and ate it, if he changes his mind, he may ask a sage to repeal it after eating it before bringing his sacrifice if he [ate it] inadvertently or before he was lashed if he did so willingly. [If the sage] releases the oath, he is exempt from the sacrifice or from the lashes. Moreover, even if they bound him [in preparation for lashes], he asked for the repeal of the oath and it was released before they began to administer lashes, he is exempt.” (Mishneh Torah, Oaths 6:18, Sefaria.org translation)