Nazir 8B

Study Nazir folio 8B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.

Text Excerpt

דרבי יהודה סבר לה כרבי. דתנן, רבי אומר: אין זה מגלח אחת לשלשים יום. ואיזהו שמגלח אחת לשלשים יום? האומר ״[הרי] עלי נזירות כשער ראשי״ ו״כעפר הארץ״ ו״כחול הים״.

The Talmud answers: This is not possible, as R' Yehuda holds in accordance with the opinion of R' Yehuda HaNasi, as we learned in the Mishnah (8a) with regard to one who vows: I am hereby a nazirite like the hair of my head, R' Yehuda HaNasi says: This nazirite does not shave his hair once every 30 days, as he is considered to have accepted one long term of naziriteship. And who is the nazirite who has accepted distinct terms of naziriteship and therefore shaves his hair once every 30 days? One who says: It is 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 R' Yehuda agrees with R' Yehuda HaNasi, he holds that one who uses a formulation similar to that used in the first case in the Mishnah and says: I am hereby a nazirite according to the capacity of the basket, has accepted one long term of naziriteship.

ורבי יהודה מי סבר לה כרבי? והתנן: הריני נזיר כמנין ימות החמה וכו׳. אמר רבי יהודה: מעשה היה, וכיון שהשלים ⁠— מת.

The Talmud asks: And does R' Yehuda hold in accordance with the opinion of R' Yehuda HaNasi? But didn’t we learn in the Mishnah that if one says: I am hereby a nazirite in accordance with the number of days in a solar year, he counts 365 consecutive naziriteships, in accordance with the number of days in a solar year. R' Yehuda said: There was an incident where someone took this vow and observed 365 consecutive terms of naziriteship. Once he completed all these terms of naziriteship, he died.

Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.