Talmud - Nazir 19b נזיר י״ט ב׳

Rava said: What is the reason for the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer, according to Ulla’s explanation? The verse states: “But the first days shall be void because his consecration was ritually impure” (Numbers 6:12), which he explains as follows: Why are his first days rendered void? They are void because he took a vow of naziriteship, consecrating himself, when he was in a state of ritual impurity.

Abaye raised an objection to Rava from a baraita that is not in accordance with the opinion of Ulla: One who said: I am hereby a nazirite for one hundred days, and he became ritually impure immediately, at the beginning of the one hundred days, one might have thought it should negate the time he spent as a nazirite. The verse therefore states: “But the first days shall be void” (Numbers 6:12), which indicates that this halakha does not apply until he will have “first days” as a nazirite, and in this case the nazirite does not have his first days completed, as he became ritually impure right away.

The baraita continues: If one became ritually impure at the end of one hundred days, that is, on the hundredth day, one might have thought it should negate the days he had counted. The verse therefore states: “But the first days shall be void,” indicating by inference that there are other days that can be called the last ones, while this nazirite does not have last days, as he has already completed the tally of his naziriteship. If he became impure on the one hundredth day less one, one might have thought it should not negate the days he had counted. Therefore, the verse states: “But the first days shall be void,” indicating by inference that there are last ones, and this nazirite has first ones and last ones.

Abaye now concludes his objection to Rava: But with regard to this halakha of the baraita, you cannot say it is referring to an impure person who took a vow of naziriteship from the fact that it teaches: I am hereby a nazirite for one hundred days, and he became impure immediately at the beginning of the one hundred, indicating that it is discussing one who became impure after his term had already started. And it further teaches: Until he will have “first days,” which proves that Rabbi Eliezer states his halakha even with regard to a pure nazirite who later became impure. This is a conclusive refutation of Ulla, and his opinion is rejected.

Rav Pappa said to Abaye: Those first days that we said he must observe in ritual purity according to Rabbi Eliezer, does it mean that one day has finished and a second has started, so that if he became impure on the second day it negates his tally, or perhaps it means that two days have finished, and a third has started, which would mean it negates his tally only if he became impure after the beginning of the third day? An answer was not available to him, so Rav Pappa went to ask Rava, who said to him: It is written: “But the former days shall be void [yippelu]” (Numbers 6:12) in the plural, which means at least two days need to have passed.

The Gemara comments: And it was necessary for the verse to write “days” and it was also necessary for it to write “shall be void” in the plural. For if the Merciful One wrote in the Torah only “days” and had not also written “shall be void” in the plural, I would say that the halakha applies only if two days have finished and a third has started. The Merciful One therefore wrote in the Torah the plural form of “shall be void.” And if the Merciful One wrote in the Torah “shall be void” and had not also written “days,” I would say even one day, that is, the halakha applies even if he became ritually impure on the first day. The Merciful One therefore wrote in the Torah “days,” indicating that he must have observed at least part of the second day.

MISHNA: One who vowed many days of naziriteship while outside Eretz Yisrael, and completed his naziriteship, and afterward came to Eretz Yisrael, in order to bring the offerings at the end of his naziriteship, Beit Shammai say: He must be a nazirite for thirty days, so that he has observed a term of naziriteship in ritual purity in Eretz Yisrael, and Beit Hillel say: He is a nazirite from the beginning, that is, he must observe his entire naziriteship again.

The mishna cites a related story: An incident occurred with regard to Queen Helene, whose son had gone to war, and she said: If my son will return from war safely, I will be a nazirite for seven years. And her son returned safely from the war, and she was a nazirite for seven years. And at the end of seven years, she ascended to Eretz Yisrael, and Beit Hillel instructed her, in accordance with their opinion, that she should be a nazirite for an additional seven years. And at the end of those seven years she became ritually impure, and was therefore required to observe yet another seven years of naziriteship, as ritual impurity negates the tally of a nazirite. And she was found to be a nazirite for twenty-one years. Rabbi Yehuda said: She was a nazirite for only fourteen years and not twenty-one.

GEMARA: The first clause of the mishna teaches that Beit Shammai say: He must be a nazirite for thirty days, and Beit Hillel say: He is a nazirite from the beginning. The Gemara suggests a possible explanation of their dispute: Let us say that they disagree about this, that Beit Shammai hold that when the Sages declared that the land of the nations outside of Eretz Yisrael is impure, they decreed so with regard to its earth. In other words, they decreed that only the earth of the land of the nations is impure, but its airspace remains pure. If so, it is not a severe level of ritual impurity, and one who observed a vow of naziriteship outside of Eretz Yisrael is not considered to be impure to the extent that he would be required to start his naziriteship afresh once entering Eretz Yisrael,

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

Nazir 19b explores Rabbi Eliezer's ruling on nullified nazirite days and how ritual impurity timing affects a vow of one hundred days.