Study Nazir folio 14B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
נטמא בימי צרעתו — רבי יוחנן אמר: סותר. ריש לקיש אמר: אינו סותר.
These two amora’im have a similar dispute in the case of one who contracted tzara'at during his naziriteship and became impure by coming into contact with corpse during the days of his tzara'at. Although the days of his tzara'at do not negate the previous days of his naziriteship, they are not counted as part of his naziriteship either. R' Yoḥanan says: Contraction of impurity from a corpse negates the days of naziriteship observed before his tzara'at, which means he must start counting afresh once he is purified of tzara'at. Reish Lakish says: It does not negate the days he has observed, and he need observe only the remaining days of his naziriteship after his purification.
רבי יוחנן אמר סותר, דהא בנזירות קאי. ריש לקיש אמר אינו סותר — צרעת לחוד ונזירות לחוד.
The Talmud clarifies their respective approaches. R' Yoḥanan says the impurity from a corpse negates the days he already observed, since he remains in a period of naziriteship even when he is a metzora, as his tzara'at does not negate his naziriteship. Reish Lakish says it does not negate the days he observed, since he maintains that tzara'at is discrete and naziriteship is discrete. One’s time as a metzora is not considered part of his naziriteship.
וצריכא, דאי איתמר בהך קמייתא, בההיא אמר רבי יוחנן סותר — שם נזירות אחת היא. אבל בהא אימא מודה ליה לריש לקיש, דנזיר לחוד וצרעת לחוד.
The Talmud comments: And it is necessary to teach this dispute in both cases. As, if it were stated in this first one, with regard to one who became impure during his term of naziriteship for the birth of his son, one might say that it is specifically in that case that R' Yoḥanan said it also negates the days of his standard naziriteship because there is one label of naziriteship that applies to both vows, but in this case, where the metzora became impure from a corpse, one might say he concedes to Reish Lakish that it does not negate the days of his naziriteship that he has counted, since a nazirite is discrete and tzara'at is discrete.