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Week 75 - Thursday - 3 May 2001

NAZIR: CHAPTER 3: MISHNAH 5

One who adopted nezirut in a cemetery, even if he was there thirty days -- they are not credited in his count, and he does not bring a sacrifice for uncleanness. If he left and came back -- they are credited in his count, and he brings a sacrifice for uncleanness. Rabbi Eliezer says, Not on the same day, as it is written, "but the first days shall be forfeit" (Num. 6:12) -- until he will have the first days.

Kehati

The previous mishnayot taught the law that a nazir who became unclean by a corpse related uncleanness forfeits the days of his term of nezirut, and is obligated to perform the tiglahat of uncleanness, after which he counts anew the term of his nezirut. It is taught below (in chap. 7), that there is corpse related uncleanness for which the nazir is not obligated to shave, and for which he does not forfeit the days he observed for his term of nezirut prior to becoming unclean, even for uncleanness which requires seven days of purification. However, even during such uncleanness, the days of uncleanness are not credited to him in the count of the days of the term of his nezirut, but rather after he cleansed himself he completes his count; and even during the period of uncleanness, he must observe nezirut in uncleanness, i.e., he is forbidden to shave his hair, drink wine, and to become unclean by a corpse related uncleanness. This mishnah discusses the case of an unclean person who has adopted nezirut, for whom "nezirut in uncleanness" takes effect immediately, and after he cleanses himself nezirut in a state of cleanness takes effect on him.

One who adopted nezirut in a cemetery -- i.e., he vowed nezirut when he was unclean, even if he was there thirty days -- even if he remained in the cemetery during the entire term of nezirut that he undertook, and observed all the detailed laws of nezirut, not to drink wine, shave his hair, or become unclean by a corpse related uncleanness,

They -- these days, are not credited in his count -- of the days of his term of nezirut, rather after he left the cemetery and cleansed himself, he is obligated to observe nezirut in a state of cleanness, for the number of days that he undertook, and he does not bring a sacrifice for uncleanness -- i.e., if in the cemetery he became unclean by a corpse related uncleanness, for which a nazir is obligated to shave, he does not shave and does not bring the sacrifices of uncleanness, for the tiglahat for uncleanness is observed only by one who has begun his term of nezirut in a state of cleanness and who then became unclean by a corpse related uncleanness during the term of his nezirut, and not by an unclean person who adopted nezirut but has not yet begun a term of nezirut in a state of cleanness.

If he left -- the cemetery, and they sprinkled the water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer on him on the third and seventh days, and he immersed and cleansed himself of his uncleanness, and he began to count the term of nezirut in a state of cleanness,

And -- then -- came back -- re-entered the cemetery, they -- the days during which he observed nezirut in a state of cleanness, before he re-entered the cemetery, are credited in his count -- those days of his observed nezirut, in a state of cleanness prior to his re-entry into the cemetery are credited towards the number of the days of his nezirut, for uncleanness of a cemetery is of the type that does not obligate a nazir to shave and he does not forfeit the days he observed in a state of cleanness, but rather he is obligated to observe a "term of nezirut in a state of uncleanness," as we explained in the introduction to this mishnah, and when he leaves the cemetery and is cleansed of his uncleanness, he completes his term of nezirut in a state of cleanness, and he brings a sacrifice for uncleanness -- i.e., if, after returning to the cemetery, he became unclean by one of the types of uncleanness for which the nazir is required to shave, he forfeits the days he counted, and he must shave and bring the sacrifices of uncleanness; since he had already begun a period of nezirut in a state of cleanness prior to returning to the cemetery, he is considered a nazir in a state of cleanness who became unclean.

Rabbi Eliezer says, Not -- if he became unclean -- same day -- on which he started his term of nezirut in a state of cleanness, for if he became unclean on the day on which he started his nezirut in a state of cleanness, he does not forfeit that day and does not bring a sacrifice for uncleanness, as it is written, "but the first days shall be forfeit" -- until he will have the first days -- the law of tiglahat for uncleanness and the forfeiture of the days of nezirut applies only if the nazir first days which will be forfeited from the count of his nezirut due to uncleanness, i.e., if he became unclean after he observed at least two days of nezirut in a state of cleanness, for the minimum number of "days" is two. If, however, he became unclean on the first day, or even on the second day, of his nezirut, he does not forfeit those days, and does not bring a sacrifice for uncleanness, rather after he has cleansed himself of his uncleanness he discounts the first day (if he became unclean on the first day) or the first two days (if he became unclean on the second day) and completes the count of the days of his nezirut (Rambam). According to Tosafot, only if he became unclean on the first day of his nezirut does he not forfeit the day, but if he became unclean on the second day of his nezirut, then he does forfeit it. The law is in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer.

NAZIR: CHAPTER 3: MISHNAH 6

One who undertook many terms of nezirut, and completed his term of nezirut, and afterwards came to the Land -- Bet Shammai say, He is a nazir thirty days; and Bet Hillel say, He is a nazir from the beginning. It once happened with Queen Helene that her son went to war, and she said, "If my son will return safely from the war, I will be a nezirah seven years," and her son returned from the war, and she was a nezirah seven years, and at the end of seven years she went up to the Land -- and Bet Hillel instructed her that she be a nezirah again for another seven years. And at the end of seven years she became unclean, and she was a nezirah twenty-one years. Rabbi Yehudah said, She was a nezirah only fourteen years.

Kehati

The Sages decreed the lands of non-Jews outside Israel to be unclean because of doubt regarding the graves of non-Jews, and whoever walked in these lands or touched their soil is considered to have become unclean by a corpse related uncleanness. After having taught in the preceding mishnah the law of "One who adopted nezirut in a cemetery," this mishnah teaches the law of one who adopts nezirut outside Eretz Yisrael. Indeed if one adopts nezirut outside Eretz Yisrael, all the laws of the nazir apply to him; due, however, to the uncleanness of the land of the non-Jews outside Eretz Yisrael, the Sages penalized him by not including the days of nezirut outside Eretz Yisrael in the count of the term of nezirut that he undertook. He is obligated to go up to Eretz Yisrael and re-count the days of his nezirut in a state of cleanness, and to bring his sacrifices at the conclusion of the term of his nezirut. How does he count the days of his nezirut in Eretz Yisrael? Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel disagree on this question in the mishnah.

One who undertook -- outside Eretz Yisrael, many terms (nezirut harbeh) of nezirut -- he undertook nezirut for many days, i.e., more than thirty days; according to another version, "nezirut merubah," a protracted nezirut (see Mishnah Eduy. 4:11), and completed his term of nezirut -- there, according to the number of days that he undertook, and afterwards came to the Land -- because all the time that he is outside of Eretz Yisrael, he cannot fulfill the law of the nazir, due to the uncleanness of the land of the non-Jews outside Eretz Yisrael, as was explained above; he therefore is obligated to go up to Eretz Yisrael in order to re-count his nezirut, in a state of cleanness, and to shave and bring his sacrifices.

Bet Shammai say, He is a nazir thirty days -- after he has cleansed himself of the uncleanness of the land of the non-Jews outside Eretz Yisrael, he observes only a thirty-day term of nezirut, which is an unspecified term of nezirut, even though he had undertaken an extended period of nezirut; since the uncleanness of the land of the non-Jews is only Rabbinical law, and the Sages only obligated him to go to Eretz Yisrael as a penalty. Bet Shammai therefore hold that we are lenient with him when he comes to Eretz Yisrael, and we obligate him only to complete an unspecified term of nezirut; and Bet Hillel say, He is a nazir from the beginning -- he must re-count in Eretz Yisrael the term of his nezirut, according to the number of days he had originally vowed, for the days which he counted as nezirut outside Eretz Yisrael are not credited to his count at all.

It once happened with Queen Helene -- the queen of Adiabene, near Assyria, who, together with the members of her household, converted to Judaism during the Second Temple period, that her son went to war, and she said, "If my son will return safely from the war, I will be a nezirah seven years," and he son returned from the war, and she was a nezirah seven years -- while she was in her land, and at the end of seven years she went up to the Land -- to complete her term of nezirut and to fulfill the law of the nazir,

And Bet Hillel instructed her that she be a nezirah again for another seven years -- in Eretz Yisrael, in accordance with their words mentioned above; and Queen Helene obeyed the instruction of Bet Hillel, and observed an additional seven-year period of nezirut in Eretz Yisrael, And at the end of seven years she became unclean -- with a corpse related uncleanness, and she forfeited the entire period she was a nezirah, and she counted anew a seven-year term of nezirut, and she was a nezirah twenty-one years -- seven years outside Eretz Yisrael, and fourteen years in Eretz Yisrael.

Rabbi Yehudah said, She was a nezirah only fourteen years -- because she did not become unclean at all (Gemara). Other commentaries write that, according to Rabbi Yehudah, she became unclean on the day she completed her term of nezirut, and he holds in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer (in mishnah 4, above), that if a nazir becomes unclean on the day he completes his term of nezirut, he forfeits only thirty days; therefore, when she became unclean at the end of fourteen years she was obligated to re-count only thirty days, and these are not mentioned in Rabbi Yehudah's calculation, and it is as if he had said, "She was a nezirah only fourteen years and thirty days" (Rambam; Bartenura).

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