Study Nazir folio 47A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
מתני׳ מי שנזרק עליו אחד מן הדמים ונטמא, רבי אליעזר אומר: סותר את הכל. וחכמים אומרים: יביא שאר קרבנותיו ויטהר. אמרו לו: מעשה במרים התרמודית שנזרק עליה אחד מן הדמים, ובאו ואמרו לה על בתה שהיתה מסוכנת, והלכה ומצאה שמתה. ואמרו חכמים: תביא שאר קרבנותיה ותטהר.
Mishnah: With regard to one on whose behalf the blood of one of his nazirite offerings was sprinkled on the altar, and he became ritually impure before bringing the rest of his offerings, R' Eliezer says: His impurity negates the entire tally, and he remains a nazirite. And the Rabbis say: Let him bring the rest of his offerings and be purified. The Rabbis said to R' Eliezer: An incident occurred involving Miriam of Tarmod who was a nazirite, that the blood of one of her offerings was sprinkled on her behalf, and they came and told her that her daughter was mortally ill. And she went and found that her daughter was dead, and thereby contracted impurity. And the Rabbis said: Let her bring the rest of her offerings and be purified.
גמ׳ קתני, רבי אליעזר אומר: סותר את הכל. והאמר רבי אליעזר: כל אחר מלאת שבעה סותר! אמר רב: מאי ״סותר״ נמי דקאמר רבי אליעזר — סותר קרבנותיו.
Talmud: It is taught in the Mishnah: R' Eliezer says that this negates the entire tally. The Talmud asks: But didn’t R' Eliezer say (16b): With regard to any nazirite who became ritually impure after the completion of his term, this negates only 7 days. Rav said: What does: Negates, that R' Eliezer said in the Mishnah here mean? It means that his impurity negates all his offerings. R' Eliezer did not mean that the nazirite must count his entire term of naziriteship afresh; rather, he must bring all his offerings a second time, including the one whose blood was sprinkled before he became impure.
הכי נמי מסתברא, דקתני: וחכמים אומרים תביא שאר קרבנותיה ותטהר, שמע מינה.
The Talmud comments: So too, it is reasonable that this is the meaning of R' Eliezer’s statement, as the Mishnah later teaches: And the Rabbis said: Let her bring the rest of her offerings and be purified. Learn from here that they disagree only with regard to the offerings, but not the naziriteship itself.