Study Nazir folio 48A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
״ולאמו״ — לגזירה שוה, לכדרבי. דתניא, רבי אומר: גבי נזיר ״במותם״ אינו מיטמא, אבל מיטמא הוא לנגעם ולזיבתם. ואין לי אלא בנזיר, בכהן גדול מנין?
The phrase “or for his mother” serves as a verbal analogy, in accordance with the opinion of R' Yehuda HaNasi, as it is taught in a baraita: R' Yehuda HaNasi says: It states with regard to a nazirite: “He should not become defiled for them when they die” (Numbers 6:7), which indicates: It is only when his relatives die that he may not become impure for them. However, he may become impure for their tzara'at and for their emission of a zav, i.e., a nazirite is not forbidden to contract those forms of ritual impurity. And I have derived only that this halakha applies to a nazirite, the subject of this verse. From where do I derive that this applies to a High Priest as well?
אמרת: לא יאמר ״אמו״ בכהן גדול, שאין תלמוד לומר, שהרי קל וחומר הוא: ומה אם במקום שכהן הדיוט מיטמא לאחיו מאביו — אין כהן גדול מיטמא לאביו, מקום שאין כהן הדיוט מיטמא לאחיו מאמו — אינו דין שאין כהן גדול מיטמא לאמו?
You can say as follows: The verse need not say “his mother” with regard to a High Priest, as there is no need for the verse to state this, since this halakha is derived a fortiori: And if in a case where a common priest becomes impure to bury his paternal brother, a High Priest may not become impure even to bury his father, then in a case where a common priest may not become impure to bury his maternal brother, who is not considered a relative with regard to impurity, is it not logical that a High Priest may not become impure to bury his mother herself?
אם זכיתה מהדין, מה תלמוד לומר ״אמו״ בכהן גדול? מופנה להקיש ולדון הימנו גזירה שוה: נאמר ״אמו״ בנזיר, ונאמר ״אמו״ בכהן גדול,
And if you have successfully derived this halakha from the a fortiori inference, what is the meaning when the verse states “his mother” with regard to a High Priest? It is free to teach a novel halakha, and one can compare and learn a verbal analogy from it as follows: It is stated “his mother” with regard to a nazirite (Numbers 6:7), and it is stated “his mother” with regard to a High Priest (Leviticus 21:11).