Nazir 38a — the Talmud in English

And Rabbi Shimon ![](pamud.bmp "

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does not hold of joining,

that is: according to Rabbi Shimon, who holds everywhere that where a measure was not stated for prohibitions with regard to lashes, and for eating any amount he is lashed, it follows that there is no need at all to join prohibitions to one another in order to complete a measure, because even for any amount he is liable for lashes -

if so, this

“from anything that he makes”

from the grapevine of wine,

what does he expound from it [

what will he expound from it]!?

He can say to you

Rabbi Shimon:

That —

the verse “from anything that he makes from the grapevine of wine” -

is needed for him

in order to teach:

He is never a nazirite until he vows abstinence from all of them [

from all the prohibitions of a nazirite: shaving, impurity, and that which comes from the grapevine]. And so Rabbi Shimon holds in the beraita above, 3b -

But the tannai of the beraita, who derives from this verse that the prohibitions of a nazirite join one another, holds in accordance with the opinion of the Sages in the Mishna above, 3b, that one who says, “I am hereby a nazirite from wine,” or from the other prohibitions of a nazirite, is a complete nazirite, and all the details of naziriteship apply to him.

Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Elazar:

All prohibitions

in the Torah: permitted does not join with prohibited

to complete the measure -

Except for a quarter-log

of wine and other liquids that come from the grapevine

in naziriteship, for the Torah said “

soaked,”

to teach concerning one who soaks his bread in wine, and there is in the bread and the wine enough to join to a measure of a quarter-log, that he is liable.

And the Gemara explains:

What is there [

what practical difference is there]

between Rabbi Yohanan,

who said, “All prohibitions in the Torah: permitted does not join with prohibited, except for the prohibitions of a nazirite, for the Torah said ‘soaked,’”

and Rabbi Elazar,

who said, “All prohibitions in the Torah: permitted does not join with prohibited, except for a quarter-log of wine in naziriteship”?

And we explain:

There is between them:

For Rabbi Yohanan -

who said, except for the prohibitions of a nazirite -

expands

he expands the law of “permitted joins with prohibited”

even

in

foods

prohibited to a nazirite. And as he said: “All the prohibitions of a nazirite.”

And

if, according to

Rabbi Elazar,

who said, “Except for a quarter-log of wine in naziriteship,” only

liquids

prohibited to a nazirite,

does

permitted indeed join with them to complete the prohibited measure. But

anything else [

food prohibitions that were prohibited to a nazirite],

does not

permitted join with them to complete their measure.

Rabbi Elazar said:

There are ten quarter-measures,

in ten places we find the measure of a quarter-log, and he proceeds to explain them.

And Rav Kahana held them in his hand [

Rav Kahana grasped a sign with his hand] so that this teaching would not be forgotten:

Five

of these quarter-measures are of a

red

[

red], namely wine and blood.

And five of these quarter-measures are of a

pale

[

white], namely water and oil. Five

of the quarter-measures of the

red liquid

are:

a.

A nazirite;

b.

and one who makes the Passover offering;

c.

concerning whom they ruled;

d.

in the Temple;

e.

and they died.

And the Gemara explains:

a.

A nazirite -

a quarter-log of wine

that the Torah prohibited

to a nazirite.

b.

One who makes the Passover offering -

for Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel: These four cups

of wine, which a person is obligated to drink on Passover night -

must have in them the measure of a quarter-log.

c.

Concerning whom they ruled -

a sage who

drank a quarter-log of wine must not rule

a matter of halakha until the drunkenness from the wine has departed from him.

As it is stated [Leviticus 10:9]: “Wine and strong drink you shall not drink, you nor your sons with you, when you enter the Tent of Meeting,” and adjacent to it is [verse 11]: “And to teach the Children of Israel.”

d.

In the Temple -

if he drank a quarter-log of wine and entered

the Temple,

he

is liable for death,

for the Torah said: “Wine and strong drink you shall not drink, you and your sons with you, when you enter the Tent of Meeting, and you shall not die.” And a quarter-log of wine intoxicates.

e.

And they died -

as it was taught: From where is it derived concerning a quarter-log of blood that issues from two dead people, that

even

it conveys impurity through a tent,

like a quarter-log of blood issuing from one dead person?

As it is stated

in the section concerning the High Priest: “

And he shall not come to any dead persons” [

in the tent of the dead].

And “dead” implies that there be from him a measure of a quarter-log of blood, because this is the measure upon which a person’s life depends.

And from the fact that Scripture said “dead persons,” it implies that the measure of “dead” joins together, a quarter-log of blood coming from two souls who died.

These are the five quarter-measures that are of red liquid, for all of them are either wine or blood.

And

these are

five

quarter-measures of

pale liquid:

a.

The loaves;

b.

a nazirite;

c.

and a person with leprosy;

d.

that became disqualified;

e.

on Shabbat.

a.

The loaves -

a quarter-log of oil for the loaf

of the thanksgiving offering.

Everyone who brings a thanksgiving offering must bring with it also forty thanksgiving loaves, made from four types of bread, ten loaves of each type.

Of the forty thanksgiving loaves, thirty loaves were unleavened - loaves [ordinary breads that had not leavened], wafers [flat unleavened breads], and boiled loaves [breads whose dough was scalded in boiling water before they were baked], and ten loaves were leavened.

And one must give a quarter-log of oil for ten loaves and ten wafers of unleavened bread -

an eighth of a log for the loaves, and an eighth of a log for the wafers.

And another quarter-log of a log for the boiled loaves.

And this measure is a halakha given to Moses at Sinai.

b.

A nazirite -

a quarter-log of oil for a nazirite.

It is stated regarding the offerings of a pure naziriteship: “And a basket of unleavened fine flour loaves mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil.”

For his purification, the nazirite brings ten loaves and ten wafers, and both types together require a quarter-log of oil. And this measure is a halakha given to Moses at Sinai.

c.

A person with leprosy -

a quarter-log of

“water

living”

for a person with leprosy.

As it is stated [Leviticus 14:2]: “This shall be the law of the person with leprosy on the day of his purification: And the priest shall command, and he shall take for the one being purified two living, pure birds, and cedar wood, and crimson wool, and hyssop. And the priest shall command, and he shall slaughter the one bird into an earthenware vessel over living water. The living bird he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the crimson wool, and the hyssop, and he shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the slaughtered bird, over the living water. And he shall sprinkle upon the one being purified from the leprosy seven times” -

And they expounded in the Gemara [Sota 16b] from the verses: “He brings water in which the blood of a bird is discernible, and how much? A quarter-log.”

d.

That became disqualified -

as we learned: And all the other liquids

that are

impure disqualify the body [

the body of a person who drinks them]

with a quarter-log.

Because the Sages decreed concerning a person who drinks impure liquids that he should be impure at the level of “second-degree impurity” until he immerses, and his measure of drinking is a quarter-log. But by Torah law, impure liquids do not convey impurity to a person at all.

e.

On Shabbat -

in tractate Shabbat [76b], the Mishna explains the measure of liability for carrying liquids from one domain to another on Shabbat: wine - enough for diluting a cup; and likewise the Mishna explains the measures for carrying milk, honey, oil, and water.

And

if

all the other liquids -

the measure for carrying them from one domain to another on Shabbat, in order to become liable for them - is

a quarter-log.

And

likewise,

all waste liquids [

foul water], their measure for carrying is

a quarter-log.

And we challenge Rabbi Elazar, who said: “There are ten quarter-measures”:

And is there no more!?

Are there not additional quarter-measures?

But there is

that which we learned:

From a quarter-log

of water

one washes the hands of

one

person, and even two!

That is: One person washes his hands from a vessel containing a quarter-log of water, and if he did not wash his hands with all the water, the one who comes after him may wash from the water that remains, even though it does not contain a quarter-log, since it is “remnants of purification.”

And we answer:

In a dispute -

this measure of a quarter-log, concerning which there is a dispute -

he did not discuss [

he did not speak] Rabbi Elazar.

And the Gemara continues to challenge:

But there is,

behold, there is an additional quarter-measure:

We learned [Sota 15b]:

Was

the priest

bringing a basin

a bowl

of earthenware, and putting into it half a log of water

from the laver,

in order to erase upon the water the passage of Sota, together with the Name contained in it, to give it to the Sota to drink?

And Rabbi Yehuda says: A quarter-log

of water he would put into it!

And we answer:

In

a matter taught as a

dispute -

he did not discuss.

We further challenge: And did we not learn in tractate Berakhot [25b]:

How much water does one put into it, [

into the vessel for urine] so that he may pray beside it? - Water in the measure of

any amount.

Rabbi Zakkai says: A quarter-log

of water must be put into it!

And we answer:

In a dispute -

he did not discuss.

We further challenge:

But there is

a quarter-log of water for the measure of a

ritual bath,

for this measure is fit for immersing needles and small tubes in it!?

And we answer:

Apart from that one!

That is, you may challenge from every other place, except for that law.

Since

the Sages nullified it

this law, and said: Even impure needles and tubes must be immersed in a ritual bath of forty seahs.