Gemara

72b (Mishnah): A Chacham annuls his daughter's vows before she leaves his Reshus. He tells her 'all vows that you made in my house are annulled.'

Similarly, an Arus annuls her vows before she enters his Reshus (Nisu'in). After Nisu'in, he cannot annul prior vows.

Question (Rami bar Chama): Can a husband annul his wife's vows without hearing them?

Is "her husband heard" essential, or not?

Answer #1 (Rava - Mishnah): A Chacham annuls his daughter's vows before she leaves his Reshus. He tells her 'all vows that you made in my house are annulled.'

This shows that he annuls even without hearing them!

Rejection: (This annulment does not work.) He annuls them after he hears them.

Even though it doesn't work, he says it because a Chacham strives to annul his daughter's vows. (Perhaps this will prompt her to mention her vows.)

Answer #2 (Mishnah): Similarly, an Arus annuls them before she enters his Reshus.

Rejection: Here also, he can truly annul them only after he hears them.

Answer #3 (Mishnah): If a man told his wife 'all vows you take from now until I return from Ploni (a certain place) are affirmed', this has no effect;

R. Eliezer says, if he said 'they are annulled', they are annulled.

This shows that he annuls them before he hears them!

Rejection: Here also, they are truly annulled only after he hears them.

He does not wait until he hears them, lest he be distracted then, and will forget to annul.

Answer #4 (Beraisa - R. Yoshiyah): If a man told an overseer 'annul all vows that my wife will make from now until I return from Ploni'; the overseer's annulment is invalid;

R. Yonason says, the rule is, if Reuven's Shali'ach did an act, it is as if Reuven did it!

Even R. Yoshiyah disqualifies the Hafarah only due to the verse. Without the verse, the Hafarah would work, even though he did not hear the vow!

Rejection: The case is, he said that the vow will be annulled when he hears it.

Question (Rami bar Chama): Can a deaf man annul his wife's vows?

If you will say that a (hearing) husband can annul without hearing the vow, this is because he could hear it, but a deaf man cannot annul, for he cannot hear, like R. Zeira's law (if something could be done, it is not Me'akev).

Or, perhaps we do not even require that the husband can hear!

Answer (Rava - Beraisa): "And her husband heard" excludes a deaf man's wife.

Rishonim

The Rif and Rosh (10:5) say that we did not resolve whether or not a husband can annul without hearing the vow.

Ramban: We infer from Rava's Beraisa teaches that a deaf man cannot annul, but a hearing man can annul without hearing.

Rebuttal #1 (Rosh): The Gemara did not bring this to deduce that a hearing man can annul without hearing, for perhaps the Tana was unsure about this.

Rebuttal #2 (Ran 73a DH mi'Shum): Perhaps the Tana merely discussed a typical case. However, the Ramban's law is true. The Gemara brought several proofs; we do not rely on the flimsy rejections.

Rambam (Hilchos Nedarim 11:20): A Chacham annuls his daughter's vows before she leaves his Reshus. He tells her 'all vows that you made in my house are annulled.'

Rambam (21): Similarly, a husband annuls her vows before she enters his Reshus. He says 'all vows that you made from when I was Mekadesh you until you enter my house are annulled.' A husband can annul his wife's vows without hearing them.

Rambam (12:13): A father or husband can annul vows without hearing them.

Rambam (13:9): If a man told his wife or daughter 'all vows that you will take from now until I return from Ploni are affirmed' or 'they are annulled', this has no effect.

Poskim

Shulchan Aruch (YD 234:10): A Chacham tells his wife before Nisu'in 'all vows that you made from when I was Mekadesh you are annulled.' Similarly, a father tells his daughter before she leaves his house 'all vows that you vowed are annulled.'

Question: An Arus can annul, with the father, his wife's vows from before Kidushin. Why does he annul only vows after Kidushin?

Answer #1 (Prishah 18, Bach DH v'Nir'eh, Taz 11 and Shach 21): It is not incumbent on him to do so. Presumably, her father annulled them himself before Kidushin.

Note: Why is this presumable according to those who say that one can annul only what he hears, and he merely coaxes her to tell her vows? Perhaps she did not tell all of them to her father!

Answer #2 (Bach DH v'Od) and Shach: The Rambam and SMaG say that he can annul vows without hearing them, but only what she vowed in his Reshus, but not what she vowed before he was Mekadesh her.

Shulchan Aruch (25): A husband (Rema - or father) can annul vows without hearing them.

Prishah (40): The Rambam rules that a husband can annul without hearing because it says "v'Shoma Aviha", but it does not say "v'Shoma Ishah".

Rebuttal (Taz 27): A Talmid mistakenly wrote these words. It explicitly says "v'Shoma Ishah"! The Rambam explicitly equates a father and a husband! The Rambam rules that they can annul without hearing because he rules like every 'if you will say that.'

Lechem Mishneh (Nedarim 12:13): We cannot distinguish a father from a husband. The Gemara asked about a husband, and the Gemara tried to answer from the Mishnah that discusses a father annulling!

Rema: Some say that he cannot annul until he hears them. However, if he annulled and afterwards heard it, it is annulled.

Beis Yosef (DH Ein): The Rambam, SMaG and Ran hold like the Ramban, who says that Rava's Beraisa is used to prove that a hearing man can annul without hearing. The Rosh holds that the question was not resolved, i.e. and therefore we are stringent. R. Yerucham says that the Rosh agrees that if he annulled and afterwards heard it, it is annulled.

Shach (43): The Gemara (72b) explicitly says that all agree that if he annulled and afterwards heard it, it is annulled. However, he must say 'the vow will be annulled when I will hear it.' Regarding the father, this helps only if she is still in his Reshus when he hears it (Ran 72b DH Orchei).