Nazir נזיר

Tractate Nazir is located in the order of Nashim, usually after tractate Nedarim and before tractate Sota. The content of the tractate is not directly related to the order of Nashim, and the Gemara (2a) discusses this problem. However, since the passage in the Torah that speaks of the nazirite (Numbers, chapter 6) is juxtaposed to the passage in the Torah that speaks of a woman suspected by her husband of having been unfaithful [sota] (Numbers, chapter 5), tractate Nazir was similarly placed next to tractate Sota in the Mishna. The entire tractate deals with the halakhot of a nazirite and with some of the halakhot of vows, offerings, and ritual purity and impurity.

A nazirite vow is a special form of a vow that one accepts upon himself. It obligates him in the rules and regulations established for a nazirite in the Torah. As with other types of vows, one might take a nazirite vow for a variety of reasons, e.g., to be absolved of a sin or to express gratitude to God for His kindness. Alternatively, one might take a nazirite vow in order to merit divine favor as one makes a request of God, or one might take the vow out of anger or spite. At its best, when accepted with pure intentions, naziriteship is considered a way to achieve holiness, as the Torah states: “All the days of his naziriteship he is holy to the Lord” (Numbers 6:8).

The term nazirite [nazir] refers to one who abstains [mitnazer] from certain actions. It also alludes to the uncut hair of the nazirite, which is comparable to a crown [nezer] (see Numbers 6:7). Although the Torah never establishes a general prohibition against becoming ritually impure or drinking wine, abstaining from these actions is considered a prerequisite for holiness, as demonstrated by the fact that it is prohibited for one to enter the Temple courtyard after drinking wine or while in a state of ritual impurity. Additionally, because of their inherent sanctity, priests are prohibited from becoming impure through contact with a corpse. A nazirite, who voluntarily accepts these prohibitions, is considered to have temporarily elevated himself to a status similar to that of a priest. A nazirite is called “a nazirite of God” (Judges 13:5), and the verse praises the Jewish people by saying (Amos 2:11): “And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for nazirites” (see Rambam Sefer Hafla'a, Hilkhot Nezirut 10:14).

The Rabbis differ with regard to their appraisal of naziriteship. Though according to all it is considered praiseworthy to abstain from contracting impurity and from inebriation, according to some it is considered a transgression to entirely prohibit oneself from becoming impure or from drinking wine. Additionally, sometimes people became nazirites due to ulterior motives or out of spite, and at times nazirites would regret ever having taken a nazirite vow. Under these circumstances, the observance of naziriteship is not considered praiseworthy.

The main halakhot of a nazirite are stated explicitly in the Torah. A nazirite is prohibited from cutting his hair, eating or drinking anything originating from a grapevine, and becoming ritually impure through contact with a corpse. When he completes the term of his naziriteship, he brings a sheep as a burnt-offering, a ewe as a sin-offering, and a ram as a peace-offering, along with unleavened loaves and unleavened wafers. Afterward, he is released from the restrictions of naziriteship. If a nazirite became impure through contact with a corpse during his term of naziriteship, then after completing the standard purification process of sprinkling on the third and seventh days and immersing in a ritual bath, he shaves his hair and on the eighth day brings two doves or pigeons, one for a sin-offering and the other for a burnt-offering, and a sheep in its first year as a guilt-offering. He then must begin his term of naziriteship anew.

As with most of the halakhot recorded in the Torah, even the halakhot that are explicitly delineated in the Torah with regard to naziriteship do not provide guidance for every scenario that could arise when one attempts to implement these halakhot practically. This tractate attempts to explain and clarify the halakhot of naziriteship as they apply in practice.

One of the main topics of this tractate is the clarification of the ways in which the halakhot of naziriteship conform to or deviate from the general halakhot of vows. As explained earlier, acceptance of naziriteship is a form of a vow. There is no obligation to become a nazirite, and naziriteship takes effect only when one willingly takes a nazirite vow. However, unlike a standard vow, the guidelines that pertain to one who takes this vow are not up to the discretion of the individual. The rules that apply to a nazirite have already been determined by the Torah. Therefore, one who takes a nazirite vow is bound by all of the halakhot incumbent upon a nazirite, even if he states that he is accepting only some of them. However, the duration of the period for which he becomes a nazirite is up to his discretion, provided that it is no less than thirty days.

Tractate Nazir also addresses the language that effects a nazirite vow. When one accepts naziriteship using clear and precise language, the halakha is clear. However, sometimes the wording that one uses is so ambiguous and confusing that it must be clarified whether the statement is considered a nazirite vow and how long the term of naziriteship will last. Sometimes, one takes a vow using substitutes for the language of nazirite vows, e.g., by saying the word nazik instead of nazir, or using intimations of nazirite vows. In these cases, it must be clarified which expressions obligate the speaker in a nazirite vow. Similarly, the implication of one's statement must be determined in cases where it is not clear whether the speaker accepted upon himself a nazirite vow or a different vow, or where he accepted upon himself a partial term of naziriteship. Sometimes, one accepts a nazirite vow conditionally, because of a mistake, as a result of outside intervention, or to demonstrate that he is telling the truth in a different context. In all of these cases, it is necessary to determine whether one has become a nazirite.

Although the Torah explicitly states the restrictions that apply to a nazirite, there are halakhot pertaining to naziriteship that were transmitted via oral tradition. One of these traditions is that an unspecified term of naziriteship lasts for thirty days, which is the minimum term of naziriteship. Another is that one can become a permanent nazirite, in which case he is a nazirite forever but may trim his hair once a year. Additionally, one can become a nazirite like the judge Samson, whereby one is a nazirite for his entire life but with unique halakhot. It is permitted for him to become impure through contact with a corpse but prohibited for him ever to cut his hair or drink wine. These halakhot lead to questions concerning one who took a nazirite vow obligating himself in partial periods of naziriteship, e.g., half of a term of naziriteship or naziriteship for one hour. They also lead to questions pertaining to a situation where one took several nazirite vows simultaneously. Additionally, the Gemara must clarify the practical differences between a permanent nazirite; one who takes upon himself a term of naziriteship that will, in practice, last for the duration of his lifetime; and one who takes a vow whereby he is obligated in continuous, consecutive terms of naziriteship.

Another unique halakha of nazirite vows relates to minors. The halakha is that a father, and only a father, can obligate his son in a vow of naziriteship. Additionally, a minor who is close to the age of majority can take a nazirite vow and become a nazirite.

The prohibitions specified in the Torah as pertaining to a nazirite require elaboration and explanation. The Torah specifies that “all the days of his vow of naziriteship no razor shall come upon his head” (Numbers 6:5). However, it must be clarified whether this prohibition applies only to one who shaves off all his hair with a razor, as with the prohibition against removing one's beard, or if it applies to any removal of hair. Similarly, it is necessary to clarify how much hair one must remove in order to be liable to receive lashes. The tractate clarifies the circumstances in which one is liable to receive lashes, and whether it is only the nazirite who is liable or also one who cuts the nazirite's hair. Additionally, a variety of circumstances could result in the nazirite's hair being cut. This could occur because the nazirite intentionally or accidentally had his hair cut or because he was obligated for a separate reason to shave his hair. The question then becomes whether a nazirite can complete his term of naziriteship with his hair shaven.

It is prohibited for a nazirite to eat anything that is “made of the grapevine” (Numbers 6:4), although the prohibition primarily applies to drinking wine. This is supported by the language of the Torah: “He shall abstain from wine and strong drink” (Numbers 6:3), and: “And after that the nazirite may drink wine” (Numbers 6:20). It is necessary to clarify whether this prohibition applies to all or only parts of the grape and what quantity the nazirite has to ingest of each part or combination of different parts of the grape to violate this prohibition. Another question that arises is with regard to the status of a mixture of grape products and other foods.

It is prohibited for a nazirite to contract ritual impurity from a corpse. If he does become impure, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the days of his term of naziriteship that he already observed are void and he must begin his term anew. Ritual impurity is imparted not only through touching a corpse, but also from carrying a corpse without direct contact or by standing under the same structure as a corpse. Even parts of an incomplete corpse, such as limbs, bones, blood, and skin, impart ritual impurity. An individual also becomes impure by touching certain items after they have made contact with a corpse. The Gemara clarifies when a nazirite becomes impure in a manner that negates his term of naziriteship and when his term is not negated despite his impurity. Additionally, the Gemara discusses whether there are unique circumstances where even a nazirite is obligated to become ritually impure from a corpse.

It is explained in the Torah that if a nazirite becomes ritually impure, the days of naziriteship that he has already observed are negated. The Gemara discusses whether or not this halakha is equally true throughout the entire term of naziriteship. The Gemara also discusses whether this is unique to the prohibition against becoming impure from a corpse, or whether it also applies to one who violates the other prohibitions of naziriteship. There is also a discussion concerning one who becomes impure after his term of naziriteship is completed but before he has brought the requisite offerings, which release him from nazirite restrictions. The Gemara also raises a question as to whether one who is ritually impure can take a nazirite vow and when such a vow would take effect. The Gemara also discusses the halakha in situations where a nazirite violates one of the prohibitions of naziriteship multiple times.

For a variety of reasons, a situation could arise where a nazirite never completed his term of naziriteship. This could occur if a husband nullified the nazirite vow of his wife, or a nazirite vow was dissolved by a Sage, or if the nazirite died before completing his term of naziriteship. In these situations, if the nazirite had already designated money or animals for his offerings, many questions arise with regard to the status of these items. The many halakhot in these cases are dependent on the manner in which the nazirite set aside his offering, whether he set aside only money or the animals themselves, and if he set aside animals, whether he specified which offering each animal was intended for or if he set them aside without specification. Additionally, the Gemara discusses whether a nazirite may use animals for his offerings after they were designated by another nazirite for his offerings. This tractate addresses the principle halakhot of the offerings brought by both a nazirite who became impure and a nazirite who completed his term of naziriteship. However, many of the details relevant to the offerings are discussed in tractates Zevahim and Menahot, which deal more generally with the halakhot of offerings. It should be noted that the commentary printed on the inside column of the Vilna Talmud for tractate Nazir is not the commentary of Rashi but a commentary of unknown authorship, which is referred to here as the Commentary on Nazir.

Tractate Nazir contains nine chapters. Some of the chapters deal with one clearly defined topic. Others deal with several issues, some of which are spread out over several chapters.

Chapter One deals with the language of nazirite vows, including substitutes for nazirite vows, intimations of nazirite vows, nazirite vows for unspecified lengths of time, and vows that specify short or extensive periods of naziriteship. It also addresses the halakhot of a permanent nazirite and a nazirite like Samson. The chapter also addresses manners in which one can take a vow by extending the forbidden status of a forbidden item.

Chapter Two discusses the level of intent that is required to accept naziriteship upon oneself, cases where it is uncertain if the vow is considered a nazirite vow, and situations where different terms of naziriteship overlap.

Chapter Three deals primarily with how impurity negates naziriteship. It discusses when ritual impurity obliterates the entire period observed by the nazirite, when it prevents naziriteship from taking effect, and the negation of a term of naziriteship because of the impurity decreed upon lands outside of Eretz Yisrael.

Chapter Four discusses taking a nazirite vow by extending the prohibition of particular items that are already forbidden. It also addresses the dissolution of a nazirite vow and the question of what is done with animals that a nazirite designated as offerings but that were never sacrificed. The chapter also discusses the halakha that a father can obligate his son in a vow of naziriteship and the halakha that a son inherits the nazirite offerings of his father.

Chapter Five deals with statements that constitute nazirite vows or that declare items consecrated, when the statements were made mistakenly, conditionally, or due to uncertainty.

Chapter Six compares and contrasts the different prohibitions incumbent upon a nazirite, primarily the prohibitions against drinking wine and becoming impure from a corpse. It also compares and contrasts the halakhot of the process whereby a nazirite shaves and brings offerings at the completion of his term of naziriteship to those of the process by which he shaves and brings offerings if he becomes impure from a corpse.

Chapter Seven deals with the halakhot of ritual impurity imparted by a corpse, as pertains to a nazirite.

Chapter Eight deals with individuals whose status as a nazirite is uncertain and discusses how they fulfill their vows.

Chapter Nine discusses who can become a nazirite and uncertainties that exist with regard to different types of ritual impurity.