Talmud - Nazir 11a נזיר י״א א׳

MISHNA: If they poured one a cup of wine and he said: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from it, he is a full-fledged nazirite who must observe all the halakhot of naziriteship. An incident occurred with regard to a certain woman who was intoxicated from wine, and they poured a cup for her and she said: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from it. The Sages said: This woman did not intend to accept naziriteship but rather, meant to say: It is hereby forbidden to me as an offering. She vowed against deriving benefit from that cup alone, since she did not want to drink any more.

GEMARA: The Gemara asks: Was an incident cited to contradict the previous ruling? You said in the first clause of the mishna that if one said that he is hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from a cup that was poured for him, then he is a nazirite. And the tanna then teaches: An incident occurred with regard to a certain woman who said: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from it, which the Sages interpreted as a vow rendering the cup forbidden to her like an offering. Apparently it is only with regard to this cup of wine that is forbidden to her; consequently, any other wine is permitted, and she is not a nazirite.

The Gemara answers: The mishna is incomplete and is teaching the following: If they poured a cup of wine for one and he said: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from it, he is a nazirite. And if he is intoxicated and they pour a cup of wine for him and he said: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from it, he is not a nazirite. What is the reason for this? He is considered to be like one who said: This cup is forbidden to me like an offering. The Gemara asks: And if you would say that this was his meaning, let him say so explicitly; why would he say: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from it? The reason is because he maintains: If I specify this cup, they will bring me another cup and aggravate me with it. It is better that I say to them this statement, which is definitive to them, and they will understand that I do not want to drink any more wine. The mishna continues: And an incident also occurred with regard to a certain woman who was intoxicated and took this vow, and the Sages explained her statement accordingly.

MISHNA: If one says: I am hereby a nazirite on the condition that I will be allowed to drink wine and may become ritually impure from corpses, i.e., he wishes to be a nazirite only with respect to the growth of his hair, he is a full-fledged nazirite and is prohibited from engaging in all of the behaviors forbidden to a nazirite, including consuming products of the vine and contracting impurity from a corpse.

If one stated a vow of naziriteship and then said: I know that there is naziriteship, but I do not know that a nazirite is prohibited from wine, he is prohibited in all the prohibitions of naziriteship. But Rabbi Shimon permits him, since he holds that naziriteship takes effect only if the person accepts all the relevant prohibitions. If one said: I know that a nazirite is prohibited from wine, but I thought that the Sages would permit me to drink wine because I cannot live without wine, or: I thought that the Sages would allow me to contract impurity from corpses because I bury the dead, he is permitted and the vow of naziriteship does not take effect, but Rabbi Shimon prohibits him.

GEMARA: In the second case of the mishna, where one states that he did not know that the prohibitions of naziriteship include wine, Rabbi Shimon says that the naziriteship does not take effect because he did not include all of the prohibitions in his vow. The Gemara therefore asks: Let Rabbi Shimon disagree with the first tanna in the first clause in the mishna as well, where one said: I am hereby a nazirite on the condition that I may drink wine. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: In fact, Rabbi Shimon disagrees even with the first tanna in the first clause of the mishna, and the mishna’s statement: Rabbi Shimon permits him, is referring to both clauses.

Ravina said: Rabbi Shimon does not disagree with the first tanna in the first clause of the mishna. What is the reason for that? It is because one was stipulating counter to that which is written in the Torah by attempting to limit an explicit Torah law, and with regard to anyone who stipulates counter to that which is written in the Torah, his stipulation is void. The statement: I am hereby a nazirite, remains valid, and he is therefore a nazirite in all regards. Conversely, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi could have said to you: This phrase: On the condition, does not mean he accepts upon himself all the halakhot of naziriteship and then adds a stipulation counter to that which is written in the Torah; rather, it is considered like he said: Apart from. It is as though he stated from the outset that he will be a nazirite apart from one particular aspect. According to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, Rabbi Shimon holds that since he is not trying to stipulate alternative halakhot for full naziriteship but is instead accepting a partial naziriteship, his vow takes effect.

The Gemara comments: It is taught in the Tosefta (Nazir 2:2) in accordance with the opinion of Ravina. If one said: I am hereby a nazirite on the condition that I will be allowed to drink wine and may become ritually impure from corpses, he is a nazirite and is prohibited from all of them because he stipulates counter to that which is written in the Torah, and with regard to anyone who stipulates counter to that which is written in the Torah, his stipulation is void.

§ The final clause of the mishna teaches that if one says: I know that a nazirite is prohibited from drinking wine but I thought that the Sages would permit me to drink, the Rabbis say that the vow is void, but Rabbi Shimon disagrees. The Gemara asks: But didn’t you say in the earlier clause of the mishna that with regard to one who says: But I did not know that a nazirite is prohibited from wine, the first tanna holds that he is prohibited and Rabbi Shimon permits him? What is the difference between the two cases? The Gemara answers: Emend the text and say in the final clause as well: He is prohibited, and Rabbi Shimon permits him. And if you wish, say instead: Actually, do not reverse the opinions, and leave the text as it is. Instead, distinguish between the two cases, as there

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Nazir 11a explores whether declaring nazirite status over a poured cup of wine truly binds one to naziriteship, using a woman's intoxicated vow as a test case.