Nazir 7b — the Talmud in English

And if it taught

only “I am a nazirite for

one hour”,

and it did not teach “I am a nazirite for one and a half”—

I would have said that specifically when he says “one hour” does he count two nazirite periods,

because he did not descend to precision.

That is, for it is a matter that cannot be: since one does not undertake nazirite status for hours, for even if he says, “I am a nazirite for thirty days and one hour,” he is a nazirite for thirty-one days; and since it is necessary to add to his utterance, we add a complete nazirite period.

But

one who says, “I am a nazirite for

one and a half,”

who descended to precision,

for it is possible to be a nazirite for forty-five days, which are one and a half nazirite periods,

say that he should not count two [

I would have said that he should not count two nazirite periods].

It teaches us

our Mishna, that in

all of them

he is

a nazirite for two.

Mishna:

If a person said, “

I am a nazirite for thirty days and one hour,”

he is

a nazirite for thirty-one days, for there is no nazirite status for hours,

as it is stated: “the days of his nazirite status,” and not hours. But he is not liable for two nazirite periods [as is the law of one who says: “I am a nazirite and one hour,” as explained in the preceding Mishna], since he interrupted with the words “thirty days” between the word “nazirite” and “and one hour”; therefore, the meaning of his language does not contain two nazirite periods, but rather one long nazirite period.

The same law applies if he said, “I am a nazirite for thirty and one day”: he does not observe two nazirite periods, since he interrupted with the word “thirty” between the word “nazirite” and “and one day”.

Gemara:

Rav said: They taught this only when he said

“I am a nazirite for

thirty-one days”

then he is a nazirite for only thirty-one days.

But

if

he said:

“I am a nazirite for

thirty days and one day”—

since he repeated the word “day”—he is

a nazirite for two.

And the Gemara explains the reason of

Rav,

that he

holds in accordance with Rabbi Akiva, who expounds superfluous language [

who expounds the superfluous language of people], that is: one who derives from language that was not stated explicitly, but is implied by the precision of the language

as we learned

in the chapter “One Who Sells a House” [in Bava Batra 64a]: [

One who sells a house] does not sell

either the cistern [

a pit dug in the ground for storing water],

or the covered cistern [

a pit dug in the ground, for which a stone wall is built],

even though he wrote for him

in the deed of sale that he sells to him “

depth and height [

depth and height],” unless he also wrote for him, “from the ground of the abyss to the height of the firmament”.

And

the seller

must acquire for himself a way

from the buyer to the cistern and the covered cistern that he retained for himself,

the words of Rabbi Akiva.

Because Rabbi Akiva holds: everyone who sells, sells generously; therefore, he sold the entire field and did not retain a way for himself.

And the Sages say: he does not need

the seller

to acquire for himself a way

from the buyer in order to go to the cistern and the covered cistern, because the seller sells begrudgingly, and he retained a way for himself to go there.

And Rabbi Akiva concedes

who holds that he must acquire a way for himself,

when he said to him

the seller to the buyer: “

apart from these,”

that is: I sell to you everything except the cistern and the covered cistern,

that he does not need to acquire a way for himself.

And because that condition which he said, “apart from these,” is an unnecessary condition, since in any event they are not included in the sale, rather, certainly his intention is that he leaves these for himself together with the way to go to them.

And likewise concerning our matter: since he added saying “day,” his intention is to divide his acceptance into two: one acceptance concerning nazirite status for thirty days, and a second acceptance concerning nazirite status for one day; and since nazirite status is not less than thirty days, he is a nazirite for two.