Nazir 60a (ס.) — the Talmud in English

Gemara:

The tanna

in the beraita that interprets the Mishna states:

In what case is this statement said

that he must wait sixty days before eating sacrificial meat and one hundred twenty days before the prohibitions of naziriteship are lifted?

In the case of a short naziriteship

of thirty days.

But in the case of a naziriteship lasting a year,

he

eats sacrificial meat after two years,

corresponding to the duration of two naziriteships [as explained in our Mishna],

and drinks wine and becomes impure through contact with the dead after four years,

corresponding to the duration of four naziriteships [as explained in our Mishna].

a. At the end of the days of his confirmed leprosy, the metzora brings for his purification two living, pure birds: one is slaughtered, and the priest dips the living bird, together with cedar wood, a crimson thread, and hyssop, into its blood and sprinkles it upon the metzora; afterward, he sends the living bird away over the open field. None of this service is performed in the Temple courtyard, but outside the Israelite camp. On the following day, when he shaves after the “days of his counting period,” if he is wealthy, he brings for his atonement a sheep as an asham, a sheep as an olah, and a female sheep as a sin-offering; and if he is poor, a sheep as an asham and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one as a sin-offering and one as an olah. A wealthy person may not bring the offering of a poor person, but he may renounce ownership of his property.

b. The two birds prevent the metzora from beginning to count his “days of his counting period.” The sin-offering prevents him from eating sacrificial meat, but the olah does not. As for whether the asham prevents him from doing so, this will be explained later in the sugya.

c. A nazirite who became impure through contact with the dead brings an offering on the eighth day: two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one as a sin-offering and one as an olah, and a sheep as an asham. When his days of naziriteship are completed, every nazirite brings a sin-offering, an olah, and peace-offerings from livestock.

d. According to this beraita, only the sin-offering prevents an impure nazirite from entering upon pure naziriteship; and one of the offerings of a pure nazirite prevents him from shaving. Once those offerings have been brought, he is permitted with regard to all the prohibitions of a nazirite.

e. A sin-offering may not be brought voluntarily, and an animal sin-offering may not be brought in a case of doubt either; but a bird sin-offering may be brought in a case of doubt. A bird or animal olah may even be brought voluntarily, and when a person is uncertain whether he is obligated to bring one, he may bring an olah conditionally. An asham may not be brought voluntarily, and Rabbi Shimon and the Sages disagree as to whether one may bring an asham conditionally, stipulating that if he is not obligated to bring it, the offering should be treated as a voluntary peace-offering.

And it teaches

another beraita

concerning it: And he shaves four times

[as explained]:

For the

first

shaving,

on the

thirtieth day of his naziriteship, when he is uncertain with regard to all the possibilities—whether he is a confirmed metzora, an impure nazirite, or a pure nazirite—he

brings:

Birds,

because of the doubt as to whether he is a confirmed metzora, in which case he requires birds for his purification.

And a bird sin-offering,

which is brought in a case of doubt because he may be an impure nazirite.

And an animal olah,

as a voluntary offering, because of the possibility that he is entirely a pure nazirite. For the second

shaving,

on the sixtieth day, when he is uncertain whether he has just completed his pure naziriteship if he was one who became impure through contact with the dead and not a metzora, or whether he is a metzora at the end of his counting period, he

brings

[some on the day of the shaving and some on the following day]:

A bird sin-offering,

which is brought in a case of doubt for his possible leprosy, he brings on the day following the shaving.

And an animal olah

he brings—on the day of the shaving and beforehand—for his pure naziriteship, and he brings it conditionally: if he is not required to bring it, it shall be a voluntary offering. For the

third

shaving,

when it is uncertain whether he is now obligated to bring the offerings of an impure nazirite, if he had been both a metzora and one who became impure through contact with the dead, or whether he is a pure nazirite, if he had been a metzora but not one who became impure through contact with the dead, he

brings

on the day of the shaving:

a bird sin-offering

brought in a case of doubt for his naziriteship after impurity,

and an animal olah

as a voluntary offering, for his pure naziriteship, if he had been a metzora but not one who became impure through contact with the dead. At the

fourth

shaving,

when there is now only the possibility that he is a pure nazirite, he

brings a complete purification offering:

he brings the olah conditionally as a voluntary offering, since perhaps he already fulfilled his obligation with one of his earlier olot, and he brings the rest of his offerings to complete his obligation.

You said

[the Master said] in the beraita:

At the first shaving he brings

birds, a bird sin-offering, and an animal olah.

The Gemara explains:

In any event—

according to all the possible alternatives—

he is acting properly

[he properly brings these three offerings at the first shaving]!

For if he is certainly a metzora and not

one who became impure

through contact with the dead,

he is:

The Rashash had difficulty with the wording “and not one who became impure,” since all the words of the Gemara here are also correct if he is both a leper and one who became impure through contact with the dead.

Then

the birds are his obligatory offering, and the bird sin-offering is a doubtful offering—

which he brought for his naziriteship after impurity—

it goes to burial

[it goes to burial],

and the olah

that he brought for his pure naziriteship

is a voluntary offering,

since an olah may be brought voluntarily.

And to shave him,

the second shaving of a metzora,

at the end of seven days

from the first shaving, before thirty days have elapsed,

is impossible, for perhaps he is not a confirmed metzora

but was one who became impure through contact with the dead, and if so, he is now a pure nazirite,

and the Torah

has

said: “

A razor shall not pass over his head until the completion.”

The Gemara now returns to the matter of the offerings that he brings for every possible alternative:

And if he is certainly not a metzora,

that is, if he is not a metzora,

and

yet

he is impure

through contact with the dead, then

the bird sin-offering

that he brought

is his obligatory offering, and the birds

that he brought even though he did not require them cause no loss, since

they are performed outside

[they are performed outside]

and are not unconsecrated animals in the Temple courtyard; and the animal olah

that he brought

is a voluntary offering.

And if he is neither a metzora nor one who became impure

through contact with the dead,

he is

rather, a pure nazirite:

The birds

are

performed outside

[they are performed outside and are not unconsecrated animals in the Temple courtyard].

The bird sin-offering

that he brought

goes to burial

.

The animal olah

that he brought

is his obligatory offering.

The Gemara raises an objection:

But he requires—

at the second shaving at the end of his “counting period”—

an asham

of a metzora, and it prevents him from eating sacrificial meat; why is it not mentioned in the beraita? The Gemara answers: The statement that the asham prevents him from being permitted to eat sacrificial meat

is only Rabbi Shimon,

alone,

who says: He brings it and stipulates

[a person brings an asham and stipulates that if he is not obligated to bring an asham, it shall be a peace-offering], because according to his view it indeed prevents him from eating sacrificial meat.

But according to the Sages, who do not permit him to bring an asham conditionally, if you say that the asham prevents him from doing so, there would be no remedy for this person. Necessarily, therefore, the asham does not prevent him from eating sacrificial meat.

The Gemara continues to explain the beraita:

The second and third shavings,

which we learned in the beraita that he brings a bird sin-offering, and that the birds are not mentioned as they were at the first shaving, are so stated because

he does not need the birds, as he already performed

[he already performed that rite at the first shaving]!

And

what is there

left to doubt at the second and third shavings?

Perhaps he was certainly a confirmed metzora;

in that case, he lacks the bird sin-offering for his leprosy at the second shaving and the bird sin-offering for his impurity at the third shaving. Therefore he brings:

One

bird sin-offering at the second shaving

for the doubt concerning his counting period, and one

bird sin-offering at the third shaving

for the doubt concerning his impurity.

And at the

fourth shaving he brings

a

offering

of

pure

na ziriteship, meaning an olah for his pure naziriteship,

and stipulates

concerning it: