Torah Community Connections

Week 75 - Wednesday - 2 May 2001

NAZIR: CHAPTER 3: MISHNAH 3

Whoever said, "I am a nazir," if he became unclean on the thirtieth day -- he forfeits all. Rabbi Eliezer says, He forfeits only seven. "I am a nazir thirty days," if he became unclean on the thirtieth day -- he forfeits all.

Kehati

If a nazir becomes unclean by a corpse related uncleanness during the term of nezirut, he forfeits all the days he counted for his term of nezirut. How does the nazir conduct himself? First he purifies himself as one who has become unclean by a corpse related uncleanness, by the sprinkling of the water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer on the third day and on the seventh day o his uncleanness (see Num. 19:11-19), and at the end of these seven days he shaves his hair, as it is written in the Torah about the nazir: "But if someone die suddenly beside him, and contaminate his nazir head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his purification, on the seventh day shall he shave it. And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons...And the kohen shall prepare one as a sin-offering, and one as a burnt-offering ... and he shall bring a he-lamb of the first year as a guilt-offering" (Num. 6:9-12); this is the law of "tiglahat of uncleanness" (as will be explained in 6:6, below). After this he starts to count the period of his nezirut all over again, according to the number of days that he undertook, as it is written, "And he shall then dedicate unto the Lord the days of his nezirut ... but the first days shall be forfeit, because his nezirut was contaminated" (Num. 6:12). If, however, he became unclean with a corpse related uncleanness after the completion of his nezirut term, on the day of the tiglahat of cleanness, but he had not yet shaved and brought his sacrifices, the Torah law is that he does not forfeit his term of nezirut at all, he rather waits seven days for the sprinkling, in order to be purified of his uncleanness, and after this he performs the tiglahat of cleanness.

This mishnah discusses an indeterminate nazir, who became unclean on the thirtieth day of the term of his nezirut. It was taught above (mishnah 1) that if a person who has taken an indeterminate nezirut shaves on the thirtieth day, he has fulfilled his obligation. Hence the Sages and Rabbi Eliezer disagree in our mishnah regarding one who undertook an unspecified period of nezirut, and who became unclean on the thirtieth day of his nezirut.

Whoever said, "I am a nazir" -- he undertook an unspecified period of nezirut, which is thirty days, if he became unclean -- by a corpse related uncleanness -- on the thirtieth day -- of his nezirut,

He forfeits all -- the days which he counted for his term of nezirut, and must wait seven days to cleanse himself, shave and bring the sacrifices of an unclean nazir, and starts counting the term of his nezirut all over again. If, however, he had shaved and brought his sacrifices on the thirtieth day before he became unclean, he would not forfeit the thirty days of his nezirut, for he had fulfilled his obligation of nezirut, as was taught above (mishnah 1): "And if he shaved on the thirtieth day -- he has fulfilled his obligation." But since he became unclean before he brought his sacrifices, his term of nezirut has not yet been completed, and he therefore must forfeit all.

Rabbi Eliezer says, He forfeits only seven -- i.e., even though he became unclean before he brought his sacrifices, he does not forfeit the term he was a nazir at all, but rather waits seven days to cleanse himself, after which he performs the tiglahat of cleanness, i.e., he shaves and brings his sacrifices as a nazir who has completed his term of nezirut in a state of cleanness; since, if he had shaved and brought his sacrifices on the thirtieth day he would have fulfilled his obligation, for part of the day is accounted an entire day, then this is considered as if he had become unclean after the completion of the period of his nezirut. Rabbi Eliezer holds that a nazir who became unclean after the completion o the term of his nezirut, but before he brought his sacrifices, only forfeits seven days (as will be explained in the following mishnah).

But if one says, "I am a nazir thirty days" -- regarding whom it was taught above (mishnah 1), if he shaved on the thirtieth day, he has not fulfilled his obligation --

If he -- the nazir, became unclean on the thirtieth day -- of his nezirut, he forfeits all -- even according to Rabbi Eliezer, for since he is not fit to bring his sacrifices on the thirtieth day, for we do not say here, "part of the day is accounted an entire day," as was explained above (mishnah 1), it follows that he became unclean before the period of his nezirut ended; he therefore forfeits all the thirty days that he counted.

NAZIR: CHAPTER 3: MISHNAH 4

"I am a nazir one hundred days," and he became unclean on the one hundredth day -- he forfeits all. Rabbi Eliezer says, He forfeits only thirty. If he became unclean on the one hundred and first day -- he forfeits thirty days. Rabbi Eliezer says, He forfeits only seven.

Kehati

This mishnah is the continuation of the preceding mishnah, and continues to teach the law of forfeiting the term of nezirut as a result of being unclean, about which the Sages and Rabbi Eliezer disagree on the following two matters: (1) in the case in which the nazir became unclean on the day on which his term of nezirut is completed -- the Sages hold that even in the case of an extended term of nezirut is completed -- the Sages hold that even in the case of an extended term of nezirut he must forfeit all, as a nazir who becomes unclean during his term of nezirut; and Rabbi Eliezer holds that he forfeits only thirty days, whether for a minimal term of nezirut or for an extended term, as explained in the mishnah;
(2) in the case in which the nazir became unclean after the completion of his period of nezirut, and according to Torah law he does not forfeit his term of nezirut, as was mentioned already in the introduction to the preceding mishnah, above -- the Sages hold that since he became unclean before the bringing of the sacrifices, according to Rabbinic law he forfeits thirty days; and Rabbi Eliezer holds that he forfeits only seven, as is the law regarding an unspecified nazir who became unclean on the thirtieth day, as was taught in the preceding mishnah.

If one says, "I am a nazir one hundred days" -- and the law is that he may only shave and bring his sacrifices after the completion of his term of nezirut, on the one hundred and first day, and he became unclean -- by a corpse related uncleanness -- on the one hundredth day -- of his term of nezirut, he forfeits all -- the one hundred days he counted of the term of his nezirut, and must wait seven days to cleanse himself, shaves and brings sacrifices of an unclean nazir, and starts counting anew the hundred days of his nezirut; the Sages are consistent with their opinion (in the preceding mishnah) that a nazir who becomes unclean on the day his term of nezirut is completed is regarded as one who became unclean during his term of nezirut.

Rabbi Eliezer says, He forfeits only thirty -- since he became unclean on the day his term of nezirut was completed, he does not forfeit all, but rather starts counting anew another thirty days after he cleanses himself. The reason for Rabbi Eliezer's opinion is explained in the Gemara (Naz. 6b): it is written, "And this is the law of the nazir, when the days of his nezirut period is completed" (Num. 6:13) -- the Torah says, if he became unclean on the day when his term is completed, apply to him the law of the nazir, i.e., an unspecified period of nezirut which is thirty days. If he became unclean on the one hundred and first day -- i.e., after the completion of his term of nezirut, on the day on which he should shave and bring his sacrifices, and he became unclean before he performed his tiglahat,

He forfeits thirty days -- the Sages enacted a decree on a nazir who became unclean on the one hundred and first day as an extension of the law of the nazir who became unclean on the one hundredth day; nevertheless they were not stringent with him to forfeit the entire term, as is the law regarding one who become unclean on the one hundredth day, but rather decreed that he forfeits an unspecified period of nezirut, which is only thirty days (Rabbeinu Asher; Bartenura). Others explain the reason for the Sages' ruling: they decreed this on the day of the tiglahat, i.e., the one hundred-and-first day, as an extension of the thirtieth day of an unspecified term of nezirut a nazir, which is the day of the tiglahat by Torah law, and according to the opinion of the Sages (in the preceding mishnah), one who becomes unclean on the thirtieth day forfeits all, i.e., the entire thirty days which he had counted for his term of nezirut, by Torah law; therefore, in this case as well he forfeits only thirty days (Tosafot; see also Tosefot Yom Tov).

Rabbi Eliezer says, He forfeits only seven -- since he is fit on the same day to bring his sacrifices, he does not forfeit his term of nezirut at all, but rather waits seven days of cleansing, after which he performs the tiglahat of cleanness, according to Torah law, as was taught in the preceding mishnah, regarding the unspecified nazir who became unclean on the thirtieth day. The law is in accordance with the Sages.

Return to Mishna Yomit Index

Visit the Mishna Yomit Archives