Nazir 18a — the Talmud in English

If it enters your mind

that

the impurity shaving

is what the beraita is discussing, and it distinguishes between the days of his impurity, which require shaving, and the days of his being a confirmed leper, which do not require shaving, then it is difficult:

And

do the days of his being a confirmed leper not require shaving

at the end of the days of his being a confirmed leper? For this is the law of a leper: he shaves at the end of the days of his being a confirmed leper?!

The Gemara rejects the necessity:

No

do not prove from here that we are dealing with the purification shaving, for that which we said—that during the days of his being a confirmed leper he does not require shaving—

it teaches the shaving of naziriteship:

he is not obligated to shave because of the law of naziriteship, but because he is no better than any other leper who requires shaving.

And this is what the beraita distinguishes between: a nazirite rendered impure through contact with the dead, who requires impurity shaving because of the law of naziriteship, and a leper nazirite, who requires shaving only like any other leper, and not because of the law of naziriteship.

Come and hear

to resolve that one who undertook naziriteship in a cemetery does not require shaving:

It is written: “And if a dead person dies upon him suddenly,

and he renders impure the head of his consecration

, and he shall shave his head on the day of his purification; on the seventh day he shall shave it. And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young doves, etc.”—

And therefore Scripture said, “and he renders impure the head of his consecration,” although it need only have said: “And if a dead person dies upon him suddenly, and he shall shave his head on the day of his purification,” in order to teach: only

a

nazirite

who was pure and became impure is meant by Scripture—

as it is stated: “And the first days shall fall,” which shows that he undertook naziriteship before his impurity—

who requires the removal of hair and the bringing of birds

[shaving and birds for an impurity offering; and likewise a guilt-offering]—

And in order to exempt

the verse came

the nazirite in the grave, who does not require the removal of hair and the bringing of birds

[and not a guilt-offering]. And had Scripture not excluded him, I would have said:

Is this not a matter of a kal va-chomer

that he is obligated in an impurity offering:

And if one who was pure and became impure requires the removal of hair and the bringing of birds, is it not all the more so that one who was impure from the outset should require the removal of hair and the bringing of birds?

Therefore

the verse states: “

and he renders impure the head of his consecration,”

Scripture is speaking of one who was pure and became impure, so that he should require the removal of hair and the bringing of birds, and in order to exempt

from these

the nazirite in the grave.

And we conclude:

learn from it

that the nazirite in the grave does not require shaving.

Who is the tanna

of

that which the Sages taught

[who is the one who taught the beraita brought above]:

There is no difference between one who undertook naziriteship while impure and a nazirite who was pure and became impure, except:

that

the

seventh day of one who undertook naziriteship while impure counts for him

in the naziriteship of purity, because he is not obligated in an impurity offering—

whereas

if

a nazirite who was pure and became impure, his seventh day does not count for him

because he is obligated in an impurity offering on the eighth day.

And we have thereby learned, according to the tanna of the beraita, that the nazirite does not begin counting “nazirite status of purity” before the eighth day, on which he brings his offerings. And who is the tanna who holds this?

Rav Hisda said: It is Rabbi, who says

in the beraita brought nearby:

A ritually impure nazirite who was sprinkled on the third and on the seventh [days] and immersed on the seventh,

“nazirite status of purity”

does not

take effect except on

the

eighth day.

For if you say that it is Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Yehuda

who disagrees with him in that beraita,

did he not say: Nazirite status of purity takes effect from the seventh

after the sprinkling and immersion—

it is that it takes effect

and the seventh day counts for him, whereas in our Mishna we learned that the seventh day does not count for him.

The Gemara explains:

What is [the meaning of] Rabbi, and what is [the meaning of] Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Yehuda—that is to say, in what did they disagree, and where is their disagreement brought?

It is

As it is taught:

It is written in the passage of the nazirite [Numbers 6:9 and onward]: “And if a dead person dies upon him suddenly and he renders impure the head of his consecration, and he shall shave his head on the day of his purification; on the seventh day he shall shave it. And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young doves to the priest, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. And the priest shall make one for a sin-offering and one for an elevation-offering, and he shall atone for him for that which he sinned through the person, and he shall sanctify his head on that day [to return and begin the count of his naziriteship, Rashi]. And he shall consecrate to the Lord the days of his naziriteship, and he shall bring a year-old lamb as a guilt-offering, and the first days shall fall, for his consecration was rendered impure.”

It is written: “

And he shall sanctify his head on that day

,” to return and begin the count of naziriteship of purity. And concerning which day does Scripture speak?

On the day of the bringing of his offerings

on the eighth, and even before he brings his offerings,

the words of Rabbi.

Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Yehuda says: On the day of his shaving

that is, on the seventh day, and after the second sprinkling and the immersion.

Rav Hisda further explains a Mishna in tractate Keritot, which likewise can be explained only according to one of the tannaim mentioned above:

And that which we learned

in tractate Keritot 9a:

A nazirite who became impure through many impurities

that is, he became impure and became pure, and began counting naziriteship of purity, and became impure again; and again began counting naziriteship of purity, and became impure again,

brings only one offering

of impurity

one

for all the impurities, if he did not become obligated in an offering for the earlier impurities when he again became impure, as it explains and proceeds.

Who is the tanna,

who is the tanna who taught this Mishna, that for “many impurities”—that is, each one of them occurred after the beginning of the count of naziriteship of purity following the preceding impurity—he brings only one offering?

Rav Hisda said: It is Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Yehuda, who says: Nazirite status of purity takes effect from the seventh—

before the time at which he becomes obligated in an offering—

it takes effect.

And

according to his view

you find it

[you find] many impurities for which he brings only one offering:

for example, if he became impure

with a second impurity

on the seventh

day after the first impurity, after he became pure through sprinkling and immersion and naziriteship of purity took effect,

and he again became impure

with a third impurity

on the seventh

day after the second impurity, after sprinkling and immersion and the beginning of naziriteship of purity; thus he became impure through “many impurities”—

And

since there did not pass

for each impurity

a time suitable for bringing an offering

[that is, he did not become obligated in an offering] before the subsequent impurity occurred, which obligates an additional offering, for the obligation of the offering is on the eighth day, whereas the impurity occurred already on the seventh—

therefore

he is obligated in only one offering

for the three impurities.

For if you say that it is Rabbi,

who holds that naziriteship takes effect upon him only on the eighth day, then you will not find a manner in which he becomes impure through “many impurities”—that is, that each impurity occurred after naziriteship of purity had already taken effect, on the one hand, and that he had still not become obligated in an offering for one impurity until the subsequent impurity occurred, on the other hand.

For

if he became impure

with a second impurity

on the seventh

day after his first impurity,

and he again became impure

with a third impurity

on the seventh

day after his second impurity—

then

all of them—

the three impurities—

are one extended impurity; that is to say, since naziriteship of purity had not yet begun before he became impure a second and a third time, his many impurities are nothing but one long impurity, and these are not the “many impurities” mentioned in the beraita.

that is, since purification naziriteship had not yet begun before he became impure the second and third times, his many acts of impurity are regarded as one long period of impurity, and these are not the “many acts of impurity” mentioned in the beraita.

And if he became impure

with a second impurity

on the eighth

—before he brought an impurity offering, when naziriteship of purity had already begun—

and he again became impure

with a third impurity

on the eighth

before he brought an impurity offering,

then there passed

for the first and second impurities

a time suitable for bringing an offering

before he became impure with the subsequent impurity, and he is not exempted with one offering for several impurities.

Here the Gemara returns to explain the reason for the disagreement between Rabbi and Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Yehuda, whether naziriteship of purity takes effect on the seventh or on the eighth:

What is the reason of Rabbi,

who holds: naziriteship of purity takes effect only from the eighth?

For

the verse says: “

the verse says: “

And he shall atone for him for that which he sinned through the person

,” that is, the impurity offering,

and afterward

[and afterward] “

and he shall sanctify his head

,” that is, he shall begin counting naziriteship of purity.

And Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Yehuda—

who holds: from the seventh day, after sprinkling and immersion, he begins counting naziriteship of purity—what is his reason?

If so—

that he begins counting only on the eighth day—

let the verse say: “

And he shall sanctify his head

” alone, and we would know that after the atonement for the person he begins counting, for such is the order of the verses—