Nazir 48B

הא מה תלמוד לומר ״לאביו ולאמו״, לאביו ולאמו הוא דלא מיטמא, אבל מיטמא הוא למת מצוה.

If so, what is the meaning when the verse states: “For his father, or for his mother” (Numbers 6:7)? It emphasizes that it is to bury his father and to bury his mother that he may not become impure; however, he may become impure to bury a met mitzva.

עד שלא יאמר יש לי בדין: נאמרו כללות בכהן גדול, ונאמרו כללות בנזיר. מה כללות האמורות בכהן גדול ⁠— לאביו אינו מיטמא, אבל מיטמא למת מצוה, אף כללות האמורות בנזיר ⁠— לאביו אינו מיטמא, אבל מיטמא למת מצוה.

The baraita questions the need for this derivation: Even if the verse had not stated this halakha, I have a way of deriving it by right, i.e., logically, with an a fortiori inference: General prohibitions are stated in the Torah with regard to a High Priest contracting impurity from a corpse, i.e., “neither should he go in to any dead bodies” (Leviticus 21:11), and similar general prohibitions are stated with regard to a nazirite: “He should not come near to a dead body” (Numbers 6:6). The baraita explains: Just as the general prohibitions stated with regard to a High Priest teach that it is to bury his father that he may not become impure, but he may become impure to bury a met mitzva, so too, the general prohibitions stated with regard to a nazirite indicate that it is for his father that he may not become impure, but he may become impure to bury a met mitzva. Accordingly, there is no need for the derivation from the phrase “for his father or for his mother.”

או כלך לדרך זו: נאמרו כללות בכהן הדיוט, ונאמרו כללות בנזיר. מה כללות האמורות בכהן הדיוט ⁠— מיטמא לאביו, אף כללות האמורות בנזיר ⁠— מיטמא לאביו.

The baraita refutes this proof: Or perhaps you can go this way and accept a different interpretation: General prohibitions are stated with regard to a common priest contracting impurity imparted by a corpse, i.e., “there should none defile himself for the dead among his people” (Leviticus 21:1), and general prohibitions are stated with regard to a nazirite. Just as the general prohibitions stated with regard to a common priest teach that he may become impure to bury his father (Leviticus 21:2), so too, the general prohibitions stated with regard to a nazirite say that he may become impure to bury his father. Perhaps a nazirite is compared to a common priest, not a High Priest.