Nazir 8A

מתני׳ ״הריני נזיר כשער ראשי״, ו״כעפר הארץ״, ו״כחול הים״⁠ — הרי זה נזיר עולם, ומגלח אחת לשלשים יום.

Mishnah: If one says: I am hereby a nazirite like the hair of my head, or: Like the dust of the earth, or: Like the sand of the sea, he is a nazirite forever. He has accepted a separate term of naziriteship for every hair or particle of dust or sand, which in practice means that he will be a nazirite forever. And he shaves his hair once every 30 days.

רבי אומר: אין זה מגלח אחת לשלשים יום. ואיזהו מגלח אחת לשלשים? האומר: ״הרי עלי נזירות כשער ראשי״, ו״כעפר הארץ״, ו״כחול הים״.

R' Yehuda HaNasi says: This nazirite does not shave his hair once every 30 days, as he has accepted upon himself one long term of naziriteship lasting for as many days as there are hairs or particles of dust or sand. And who is the nazirite who shaves his hair once every 30 days? One who says: It is hereby incumbent upon me to observe naziriteships like the hair of my head, or: Like the dust of the earth, or: Like the sand of the sea. Since he used the plural term naziriteships, it is clear that he is accepting distinct terms of naziriteship.

״הריני נזיר מלא הבית״, או ״מלא הקופה״⁠ — בודקין אותו, אם אמר: אחת גדולה נזרתי ⁠— נזיר שלשים יום. ואם אמר: סתם נזרתי ⁠— רואין את הקופה כאילו היא מלאה חרדל, ונזיר כל ימיו.

If one says: I am hereby a nazirite in accordance with the capacity of the house, or: The capacity of the basket, one checks with him what he had in mind. If he said: My intention was to take a nazirite vow for one long term of naziriteship, he is a nazirite for only 30 days, in accordance with the ruling of the Mishnah that the words long or short are of no account when used in a nazirite vow (7a). And if he said: I took a nazirite vow without specification, it is assumed that he meant to accept upon himself terms of naziriteship corresponding to the number of items that fit into the basket, and the smallest items normally placed in baskets are used for this evaluation. Consequently, one views the basket as though it were full of mustard seeds, which are extremely small, and he is a nazirite for his entire life.