Sr. and jr. partners TB Nedarim 70

We have already established the following facts. The father of the minor girl has the exclusive rights to dissolve her vows. Once the girl at age 12 1/2 years old reaches the age of majority, the father can no longer annul her vows.  The husband has the exclusive rights to dissolve his wife's vows. When the girl is a  na'arah hameorsah (נַעֲרָה הַמְאוֹרָסָה), a girl between the age of 12 and 12 ½ years old, by going through the first stage of marriage (which is imprecisely translated as betrothed) and makes a vow, she is under the joint jurisdiction of both her father and her husband. Today's daf TB Nedarim 70 delineates who is the "senior partner" and who is the "junior partner."

“MISHNA: If the father of a betrothed young woman dies, his authority does not revert to the husband, and the husband cannot nullify the young woman’s vows by himself. However, if the husband dies, his authority reverts to the father, who can now nullify her vows on his own. In this matter, the power of the father is enhanced relative to the power of the husband.” (Sefaria.org translation) The technical term for husband here is arus (ארוס), since the couple has only gone through the first stage of marriage, erusin (ארוסין). If the couple had gone if the couple had gone through the second stage of marriage nesuin (נשואין), then the husband would have exclusive rights to dissolve his wife's vows.

The Gemara gives scriptural proof that the father's exclusive rights to dissolve his daughter's vows reverts to him after the death of the arus. “What is the reason, i.e., what is the source for the fact that the authority over the young woman’s vows does not revert to the husband if her father dies? The source is that the verse states: “Being in her youth, in her father’s house” (Numbers 30:17). As long as she is a young woman “in her youth,” she is considered to be “in her father’s house” and under his jurisdiction, even if she is betrothed. Even if her father passes away, she is still considered to be in his house, and her betrothed does not assume authority over her vows.” (Sefaria.org translation) This makes sense because the father had exclusive rights before the arus entered the picture. We should also note that the Ron teaches us that these rights only belong to the father. If the father should die, his inheritors don't inherit to right to annul the girl's vows.

The Gemara goes on to prove that the father retains is exclusive rights to dissolve his daughter's vows when this unfortunate girl's first arus dies and before she becomes betrothed to a second arus. “The Gemara asks: From where do we derive that if the husband died his authority reverts to the father? Rabba said: We derive it from the fact that the verse states: “And if she be [hayo tihyeh] to a husband, and her vows are upon her” (Numbers 30:7). The phrase hayo tihyeh is a doubled usage of the verb to be. The Gemara understands this as referring to two different instances of being betrothed to a man, e.g., the woman’s first betrothed dies and then she is betrothed to another man. If both the father and the arus die, either the girl's vow stands or if she wants the vow to be dissolved, she has to go to a Sage.

“This verse juxtaposes the vows preceding her second instance of being betrothed, i.e., those that she took after her first husband’s death but before her second betrothal, to those vows preceding her first instance of being betrothed. Just as with regard to the vows preceding her first instance of being betrothed, her father nullifies them on his own, so too, with regard to those vows preceding her second instance of being betrothed, her father nullifies them on his own.” (Sefaria.org translation)