Nazir 9A

״הריני נזיר מן הגרוגרות ומן הדבילה״, בית שמאי אומרים: נזיר. ובית הלל אומרים: אינו נזיר. אמר רבי יהודה: אף כשאמרו בית שמאי, לא אמרו אלא באומר ״הרי הן עלי קרבן״.

Mishnah: If one says: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from dried figs and from cakes of dried figs, Beit Shammai say: His statement renders him a full-fledged nazirite, and his addition: From dried figs, is insignificant, as this fruit is not included in the prohibitions of a nazirite, which include only products of the grapevine. And Beit Hillel say: He is not a nazirite, since he did not accept naziriteship upon himself. R' Yehuda said: Even when Beit Shammai said that this vow takes effect, they said that only in a case where one said that he meant: They are hereby forbidden to me as an offering. In that case it is as though he took a vow rendering the figs forbidden to him. However, Beit Shammai concede that although the vow takes effect, it is not a vow of naziriteship.

גמ׳ ״הריני נזיר מן הגרוגרות ומן הדבילה״⁠ — בית שמאי אומרים: נזיר. ואמאי? ״מכל אשר יעשה מגפן היין״ אמר רחמנא! בית שמאי סברי לה כרבי מאיר, דאמר: אין אדם מוציא דבריו לבטלה.

Talmud: It is stated in the Mishnah that if one says: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from dried figs and from cakes of dried figs, Beit Shammai say: He is a nazirite. The Talmud asks: But why? God states in the Torah in the passage dealing with naziriteship: “From anything that is made of the grapevine…he should not eat” (Numbers 6:4). In naziriteship, only the fruit of the vine is prohibited. The Talmud answers: Beit Shammai hold in accordance with the opinion of R' Meir, who says: A person does not utter a statement for naught. In other words, if one utters a statement that cannot be fulfilled as stated, his statement is interpreted in a manner that renders it relevant. Here too, Beit Shammai say that he misspoke and actually intended to take a vow of naziriteship.