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Week 75 - Tuesday - 1 May 2001

NAZIR: CHAPTER 3: MISHNAH 1

One who said, "I am a nazir," shaves on the thirty-first day. And if he shaved on the thirtieth day -- he has fulfilled. "I am a nazir thirty days," if he shaved on the thirtieth day -- he has not fulfilled his obligation.

Kehati

We have already mentioned that "on the day his nezirut term is completed" the nazir shaves the hair of his head and brings three sacrifices: hatat, olah, and shelamim, as listed in Num. 6:13-18. The mishnah refers to this as tiglahat (shaving the hair). This mishnah teaches which day is the tiglahat day for a thirty-day term of nezirut. There are two types of nezirim whose nezirut lasts for thirty days: (1) one who vowed an indeterminate period and said, "I am a nazir," as it has been taught, "An unspecified period of nezirut is for thirty days" (1:3, above); (2) one who specified his vow, and stated, "I am a nazir for thirty days." The mishnah teaches that there is a difference between these two types regarding the tiglahat day.

One who said, "I am a nazir" -- he adopted an indeterminate period of nezirut and he is a nazir for thirty days, as was explained above, then he shaves -- shaves his hair and brings his sacrifices on the thirty-first day -- i.e., after he counted thirty full days of his term of nezirut.

And if he -- the nazir acted prematurely and -- shaved -- his hair -- on the thirtieth day -- of his nezirut, he has -- after the fact -- fulfilled -- his obligation regarding his nezirut and tiglahat, for "part of the day is accounted an entire day," and since he observed nezirut at the beginning of the thirtieth day, before he shaved the hair of his head, he is considered to have observed nezirut all that day; it follows that he completed the thirty days of his period of nezirut. But the person who specified and said,

I am a nazir thirty days" -- he must also observe a thirty-day period of nezirut as he undertook, and shaves on the thirty-first day; if he -- acted prematurely and -- shaved -- performed his tiglahat,

On the thirtieth day -- he has not fulfilled his obligation -- since he specified thirty days, he had in mind thirty full days, and in this case we do not say that part of the day is accounted an entire day; therefore he is regarded as one who shaved during the term of his nezirut, and he is obligated to re-count a thirty day term of nezirut.

NAZIR: CHAPTER 3: MISHNAH 2

One who declared two periods of nezirut -- shaves the first on the thirty-first day, and the second on the sixty-first day. And if he shaved the first on the thirtieth day -- he shaves the second on the sixtieth day; and if he shaved the sixtieth day minus one -- he has fulfilled his obligation. And this testimony Rabbi Papias testified regarding one who vowed for two nezirut, that if he shaved the first on the thirtieth day -- he shaves the second on the sixtieth day; and if he shaved on the sixtieth day minus one -- he has fulfilled his obligation, for the thirtieth day may be included for him in the count.

Kehati

This mishnah mainly teaches that since we say, regarding an unspecified period of nezirut, that "part of the day is accounted an entire day," as was taught in the preceding mishnah, there are instances, therefore, in which the thirtieth day of nezirut is counted as two days, i.e., it is considered as the last day of one period of nezirut, and as the first day of the second, consecutive, period of nezirut.

One who declared two periods of nezirut -- e.g., he says, "I am a nazir for two periods of nezirut; he must count thirty days and shaves and brings sacrifices, and immediately begins to count his second term of nezirut, and he

Shaves the first -- at the end of his first term of nezirut, on the thirty-first day -- as was taught in the preceding mishnah: "Whoever said, 'I am a nazir,' shaves the thirty-first day," and -- shaves -- the second -- i.e., at the end of his second term of nezirut, on the sixty-first day -- since he shaved the first term on the thirty-first day, his second term began on the very same day, akin to one who undertakes to be a nazir in the middle o the day, that day counts for him as an entire day (Tosafot); it follows from this that the sixty-first day is the thirty-first day of his second term of nezirut, and he therefore, ab initio, shaves the second term on the sixty-first day.

And if he shaved on the first the thirtieth day -- for it was taught in the preceding mishnah that, after the fact, he has fulfilled his obligation, since part of the day is accounted an entire day; it follows that he begins his second term of nezirut on the thirtieth day, he shaves the second on the sixtieth day -- which is the thirty-first day of the count of his second term, and he ab initio shaves on it; and if he shaved -- the second term -- on the sixtieth day minus one -- which is the thirtieth day of the count of his second term, he has fulfilled his obligation -- for the person who shaves on the thirtieth day has, after the fact, fulfilled his obligation, as has already been mentioned above.

And this is the testimony Rabbi Papias testified -- before the Sages in Yavneh, regarding one who took a vow for two terms of nezirut, that if he shaved the first on the thirtieth day -- he shaves the second on the sixtieth day; and if he shaved on the sixtieth day minus one -- he has fulfilled his obligation -- as has been taught in our mishnah, for the thirtieth day may be included for him in the count -- for this one and for that one, i.e., this day is also included in the count of his second term of nezirut.

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