Mishnah Nazir

1 All the substitutes for vows have the validity of vows. If one says, “I will be one,” he is a nazirite. If he says, “I will be beautiful,” he is a nazirite. If he says, “A nazik,” “a naziah,” or “a paziah,” he is a nazirite. If one says, “I will hereby be like this one,” or “I will hereby curl my hair,” or “I will hereby tend my hair,” or “I will hereby grow my hair long,” he is a nazirite. If one says, “I will hereby bring birds as offerings,” Rabbi Meir says he is a nazirite, but the sages say he is not a nazirite.

2 If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite abstaining from grape seeds, or from grape skins, or from shaving, or from contracting ritual defilement,” he is a nazirite and all the regulations of naziriteship apply to him. If one says, “I will hereby be like Samson,” “like the son of Manoah,” “like the husband of Delilah,” or “like the one who uprooted the doors of Gaza,” or “like the one whose eyes the Philistines put out,” he is a nazirite like Samson. What difference is there between a nazirite like Samson and a life-nazirite? If a life-nazirite’s hair becomes burdensome, he may thin it with a razor and then offer three animal sacrifices. If he becomes ritually defiled, he must offer the sacrifice prescribed for defilement. If the hair of a nazirite like Samson becomes burdensome, he may not thin it. And if he becomes ritually defiled, he does not offer the sacrifice prescribed for defilement.

3 A nazirite vow of unspecified duration is for thirty days. If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite for one long period,” or “I am hereby a nazirite for one short period,” or even if he says, “I am hereby a nazirite for as long as it takes to go from here to the end of the earth,” he is a nazirite for thirty days. If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite, plus one day,” or “I am hereby a nazirite, plus one hour,” or “I am hereby a nazirite, one and a half times,” he becomes a nazirite for two periods of naziriteship. If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite for thirty days plus an hour,” he becomes a nazirite for thirty-one days, since there is no naziriteship for hours.

4 If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite like the hairs of my head,” or “like the dust of the earth,” or “like the sand of the sea,” he becomes a life-nazirite, and he shaves his head every thirty days. Rabbi says: this one does not shave his head every thirty days. The one who shaves his head every thirty days is the one who says, “I hereby take on naziriteships like the hairs of my head,” or “like the dust of the earth,” or “like the sand of the sea.”

5 If he says, “I am hereby a nazirite for as much as this house holds,” or “for as much as this basket holds,” we question him. If he says, “I vowed one long period of naziriteship,” he becomes a nazirite for thirty days. But if he says, “I vowed without specification,” we regard the basket as though it were filled with mustard seed, and he becomes a nazirite for life.

6 If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite for as long as it takes to get from here to such-and-such a place,” we estimate the number of days’ journey from here to the place mentioned. If this is less than thirty days, he becomes a nazirite for thirty days. Otherwise, he becomes a nazirite for that number of days.

7 If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite for the number of days in a solar year,” he must count as many naziriteships as there are days in the solar year. Rabbi Judah said: such a case once occurred, and when the man had completed his naziriteships, he died.

1 If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite abstaining from dried figs and pressed figs,” Bet Shammai says: he is an ordinary nazirite. Bet Hillel says: he is not a nazirite. Rabbi Judah said: even though Bet Shammai did say that his formula is effective, they meant only one who says, “They are forbidden to me like a sacrifice.”

2 If one says, “This cow says, ‘I am hereby a nazirite if I get up,’” or “This door says, ‘I am hereby a nazirite if I open,’” Bet Shammai says: he is a nazirite, but Bet Hillel says: he is not a nazirite. Rabbi Judah said: even though Bet Shammai did say that his formula is effective, they meant only one who says, “This cow is forbidden to me like a sacrifice if it gets up.”

3 If they mixed a cup of wine for him and he said, “I am hereby a nazirite with regard to it,” he becomes a nazirite. It once happened that a woman was drunk, and they mixed a cup of wine for her, and she said, “I am hereby a nazirite with regard to it.” The sages ruled that she only meant to forbid it to herself like a sacrifice.

4 If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite on condition that I can drink wine, or can have contact with the dead,” he becomes a nazirite, and all these things are forbidden to him. If he says, “I knew that there is such a thing as naziriteship, but I did not know that a nazirite is forbidden to drink wine,” he is bound to his vow. Rabbi Shimon releases him. If he says, “I knew that a nazirite is forbidden to drink wine, but I assumed that the sages would permit me, since I cannot do without wine,” or “since my profession is to bury the dead,” he is released. Rabbi Shimon binds him to his vow.

5 If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite, and I take it on myself to bring the hair offering of another nazirite,” and his friend heard and said, “I too, and I take it on myself to bring the hair offering of another nazirite,” then if they are clever, they will bring each other’s hair offering. Otherwise, they must bring hair offerings on behalf of other nazirites.

6 If one says, “I take it on myself to bring the hair offering of half of another nazirite,” and his friend heard and said, “I too take it on myself to bring the hair offering of half of another nazirite,” each one brings a full hair offering, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the sages say: each brings half a hair offering.

7 If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite when I have a son,” and a son is born to him, he becomes a nazirite. If the child is a daughter, or a tumtum, or a hermaphrodite, he does not become a nazirite. If he said, “When I have a child,” then even if it is a daughter, or a tumtum, or a hermaphrodite, he becomes a nazirite.

8 If his wife miscarries, he does not become a nazirite. Rabbi Shimon says: in this case he should say, “If it was a viable child, I am hereby a nazirite by obligation. Otherwise, I am hereby a voluntary nazirite.” If his wife later bears a child, he becomes a nazirite. Rabbi Shimon says: he should say, “If the first was a viable child, the first naziriteship was obligatory, and this one is voluntary. Otherwise, the first one was voluntary, and the present one is obligatory.”

9 If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite now and a nazirite when I have a son,” and begins to count his own naziriteship, and then a son is born to him, he completes his own naziriteship and then counts the one on account of his son. If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite when I have a son, and a nazirite on my own account,” and begins to count his own naziriteship, and then a son is born to him, he interrupts his own naziriteship, counts the one on account of his son, and then completes his own.

10 If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite when I have a son, and I will be a nazirite for one hundred days on my own account,” then if a son is born to him before seventy days have passed, he loses none of this period. But if after seventy days, it voids anything over the seventy days, since there can be no shaving for a period of less than thirty days.

1 If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite,” he shaves on the thirty-first day. If he shaved on the thirtieth day, he has fulfilled his obligation. If, however, he says, “I am hereby a nazirite for thirty days,” and shaves on the thirtieth day, he has not fulfilled his obligation.

2 If a man vows two naziriteships, he shaves for the first one on the thirty-first day, and for the second on the sixty-first day. If he shaved for the first on the thirtieth day, he can shave for the second on the sixtieth day. If he shaved on the day before the sixtieth, he has fulfilled his obligation. For this was the testimony that Rabbi Papias gave concerning one who vows two naziriteships, that if he shaved for the first on the thirtieth day, he is to shave for the second on the sixtieth day. And if he shaved on the day before the sixtieth day, he has fulfilled his obligation, the thirtieth day counting toward the required number.

3 If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite,” and becomes impure on the thirtieth day, he voids the whole period. Rabbi Eliezer says: only seven days are void. If one says, “I am hereby a nazirite for thirty days,” and becomes impure on the thirtieth day, then he voids the whole period.

4 If he says, “I am hereby a nazirite for one hundred days,” and becomes impure on the hundredth day, he voids the whole period. Rabbi Eliezer says: only thirty days are void. If he becomes impure on the hundred-and-first day, thirty days are void. Rabbi Eliezer says: only seven days are void.

5 If one takes a nazirite vow while in a graveyard, then even if he remains there for thirty days, these do not count, and he does not have to bring the sacrifice prescribed for impurity. If he leaves and reenters, the period counts, and he must bring the sacrifice prescribed for impurity. Rabbi Eliezer says: not if he reenters on the same day, for it says, “But the former days shall be void,”Numbers 6:12 until there are former days.

6 If one vows a long naziriteship and completes his naziriteship and afterward comes to the land of Israel, Bet Shammai says that he is a nazirite for thirty days, but Bet Hillel says that his naziriteship begins again. It happened that Queen Helena, when her son went to war, said, “If my son returns safely from the war, I will be a nazirite for seven years.” Her son returned from the war, and she was a nazirite for seven years. At the end of the seven years, she went up to the land of Israel and Bet Hillel instructed her to be a nazirite for a further seven years. Toward the end of these seven years, she contracted ritual defilement, and so altogether she was a nazirite for twenty-one years. Rabbi Judah said: she was a nazirite for only fourteen years.

7 If two sets of witnesses testify about someone, one saying that he vowed two naziriteships and the other that he vowed five, Bet Shammai says: the evidence is conflicting, and there is no naziriteship at all. But Bet Hillel says: “five” includes “two,” so that he becomes a nazirite for two naziriteships.

1 If one said, “I am hereby a nazirite,” and his friend overheard and said, “I too,” and another said, “I too,” all are nazirites. If the first one is released from his vow, all are released. If the last one is released, he alone is released, and the others remain bound by their vows. If he said, “I am hereby a nazirite,” and his companion overheard and said, “My mouth is like his mouth and my hair like his hair,” he becomes a nazirite. If he said, “I am hereby a nazirite,” and his wife overheard and said, “I too,” he can annul her vow, but his own remains binding. If a woman says, “I am hereby a nazirite,” and her husband overhears and adds, “I too,” he cannot annul her vow.

2 If he says in conversation with his wife, “I am hereby a nazirite. What about you?” and she answers, “Amen,” he can annul her vow, but his own remains binding. But if she says, “I am hereby a nazirite. What about you?” and he answers, “Amen,” he cannot annul her vow.

3 If a woman takes a nazirite vow and then drinks wine or is defiled by a corpse, she receives forty lashes. If her husband annuls her vow and she did not know that he annulled it, and she drinks wine or is defiled by a corpse, she does not receive the forty lashes. Rabbi Judah says: even though she does not receive the forty lashes, she should receive lashes for disobedience.

4 If a woman takes a nazirite vow and sets aside the requisite animal for the sacrifice and then her husband annuls her vow, If the animal belonged to him, it may go out to pasture with the herd. If it belonged to her, the sin offering is left to die, the burnt offering is offered as an ordinary burnt offering, and the peace offering is offered as an ordinary peace offering, and it may be eaten for one day only, and it does not require loaves of bread. If she has a lump sum of money set aside for the purchase of these sacrifices, it is to be used for voluntary offerings. If she has specified money, the money for the sin offering is to be taken to the Dead Sea, and its use is forbidden, but the laws of sacrilege do not apply. With the money for the burnt offering they bring a burnt offering, and the laws of sacrilege do apply. With the money for the peace offering they bring a peace offering, and it may be eaten for one day only, and it does not require loaves of bread.

5 If one of the kinds of blood has been sprinkled on her behalf, the husband can no longer annul the vow. Rabbi Akiva says: even if one of the animals has been slaughtered on her behalf, he can no longer annul the vow. When is this so? When she is shaving after observing the naziriteship in purity, but if she is shaving after ritual defilement, he can still annul the vow, because he can say, “I do not want a disgraced woman.” Rabbi says that he can annul her vow even if she is shaving after observing the naziriteship in purity, since he can say, “I do not want a woman who is shaved.”

6 A man may impose a nazirite vow on his son, but a woman cannot impose a nazirite vow on her son. How so? If the boy shaves himself or is shaved by his relatives, or if he protests or his relatives protest on his behalf, then if the father had set aside an animal for the sacrifice, the sin offering is left to die, the burnt offering is offered as an ordinary burnt offering, and the peace offering is offered as an ordinary peace offering, and it may be eaten for one day only, and it does not require loaves of bread. If he had a lump sum of money set aside for the purchase of these sacrifices, it is to be used for voluntary offerings. If he had specified money, the money for the sin offering is to be taken to the Dead Sea, and its use is forbidden, but the laws of sacrilege do not apply. With the money for the burnt offering they bring a burnt offering, and the laws of sacrilege do apply. With the money for the peace offering they bring a peace offering, and it may be eaten for one day only, and it does not require loaves of bread.

7 A man can shave with offerings set aside for his father’s naziriteship, but a woman cannot shave with offerings set aside for her father’s naziriteship. How so? If a man’s father had been a nazirite, and had set apart a lump sum of money for the sacrifices of his naziriteship and died, and the son said, “I am hereby a nazirite on condition that I may shave with my father’s money,” Rabbi Yose said: this money is to be used for freewill offerings, and this man cannot shave with offerings set aside for his father’s naziriteship. Who is the one who can shave with offerings set aside for his father’s naziriteship? One who was a nazirite together with his father, and whose father had set apart a lump sum of money for his nazirite sacrifices and died. This one can shave with offerings set aside for his father’s naziriteship.

1 Bet Shammai says: something consecrated in error is consecrated, but Bet Hillel says: it is not consecrated. How so? If someone says, “The black bull that leaves my house first is consecrated,” and a white one comes out, Bet Shammai says: it is consecrated, but Bet Hillel says: it is not consecrated.

2 If he says, “The gold denar that comes into my hand first is consecrated,” and a silver denar came into his hand, Bet Shammai says: it is consecrated, but Bet Hillel says: it is not consecrated. If he says, “The cask of wine that comes into my hand first is consecrated,” and a cask of oil came into his hand, Bet Shammai says: it is consecrated, but Bet Hillel says: it is not consecrated.

3 If a man vowed to be a nazirite and then asked a sage to be released from his vow but the sage bound him to his vow, he counts the naziriteship from the time that the vow was made. If he asked a sage to be released from his vow and he released him, then if he had an animal set aside for a sacrifice, it goes out to pasture with the rest of the herd. Bet Hillel said to Bet Shammai: do you not agree that here where the consecration is in error, the animal goes out to pasture with the herd? Bet Shammai said to them: do you not agree that if a man in error calls the ninth animal the tenth, or the tenth the ninth, or the eleventh the tenth, each is consecrated? Bet Hillel said to them: it is not the staff that makes these consecrated. For suppose that by mistake he placed the staff on the eighth or on the twelfth, would this have any effect? Rather, Scripture, which consecrated the tenth, also declared the ninth and the eleventh consecrated.

4 If one vowed to be a nazirite and went to bring his animal for the sacrifice, and found that it had been stolen, then if he had taken the nazirite vow before his animal was stolen, he is still a nazirite. But if he had taken the nazirite vow after his animal was stolen, he is not a nazirite. It was this mistake that Nahum the Mede made. When nazirites arrived in Jerusalem from the Diaspora and found the Temple destroyed, Nahum the Mede said to them, “Had you known that the Temple would be destroyed, would you have become nazirites?” They answered, “No,” and Nahum the Mede released them from their vow. When the matter came before the sages, they said to him: whoever vowed a nazirite vow before the destruction of the Temple is a nazirite, but whoever vowed after the destruction of the Temple is not a nazirite.

5 If people were walking along the road and saw someone coming toward them, and one said, “I am hereby a nazirite if it is so-and-so,” and another said, “I am hereby a nazirite if it is not so-and-so,” and a third said, “I am hereby a nazirite if one of you is a nazirite,” and a fourth said, “I am hereby a nazirite if neither of you is a nazirite,” and a fifth said, “I am hereby a nazirite if both of you are nazirites,” and a sixth said, “I am hereby a nazirite if all of you are nazirites”: Bet Shammai says: all of them are nazirites. Bet Hillel says: only those whose words were not fulfilled are nazirites. Rabbi Tarfon says: not one of them is a nazirite.

6 If the person approaching suddenly turned back without being identified, he is not a nazirite. Rabbi Shimon says: he should say, “If it was as I said, I am hereby a nazirite by obligation, and if not, I am hereby a voluntary nazirite.”

7 If one saw a koy and said, “I am hereby a nazirite if this is a wild animal,” and another said, “I am hereby a nazirite if that is not a wild animal,” a third said, “I am hereby a nazirite if that is a domestic animal,” and a fourth said, “I am hereby a nazirite if that is not a domestic animal,” a fifth said, “I am hereby a nazirite if that is both a wild animal and a domestic animal,” and a sixth said, “I am hereby a nazirite if that is neither a wild animal nor a domestic animal,” and a seventh said, “I am hereby a nazirite if one of you is a nazirite,” and an eighth said, “I am hereby a nazirite if one of you is not a nazirite,” and a ninth said, “I am hereby a nazirite if you are all nazirites,” then all of them are nazirites.

1 Three things are forbidden to a nazirite: ritual defilement, shaving, and products of the vine. All products of the vine join together to add up to a minimum measure, and he is not liable until he eats an olive’s worth of grapes. According to the earlier mishnah, not until he drinks a quarter of a log of wine. Rabbi Akiva says: even if he soaked his bread in wine and it is enough to make an olive’s worth, he is liable.

2 He is liable for wine on its own, for grapes on their own, for grape skins, hartzanim, on their own, and for seeds, zagim, on their own. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said: there is no penalty unless he eats two grape skins and one seed. What are hartzanim and what are zagim? The hartzanim are the outer part, and the zagim are the inner part, according to Rabbi Judah. Rabbi Yose says: so that you do not err, think of the zug, the bell, of an animal: the outer part is called the zug, the hood, and the inner part the inbal, the clapper.

3 A nazirite vow of unspecified duration is for thirty days. If the nazirite shaved himself or bandits shaved him, it cancels thirty days. A nazirite who shaves himself, whether with scissors or a razor, or who singes the ends of his hair, even a minimal amount, is liable. A nazirite may shampoo his hair and part it with his fingers, but may not comb it. Rabbi Ishmael says: he may not wash it with earth, because it causes the hair to fall out.

4 A nazirite who drank wine all day long is liable for only one penalty. If they said to him, “Do not drink! Do not drink!” and he drank, he is liable for a penalty for each time they warned him. A nazirite who was shaving all day long is liable for only one penalty. If they said to him, “Do not shave! Do not shave!” and he shaved, he is liable for a penalty for each time they warned him. A nazirite who was defiling himself with the dead all day long is liable for only one penalty. If they said to him, “Do not become defiled! Do not become defiled!” and he was defiled, he is liable for a penalty for each time they warned him.

5 Three things are forbidden to a nazirite: ritual defilement, shaving and products of the vine. Defilement and shaving have a stringency that products of the vine do not have, in that defilement and shaving annul the period of naziriteship already observed, whereas partaking of products of the vine does not. Products of the vine have a stringency that defilement or shaving do not have, in that products of the vine allow no exception to the general prohibition, whereas defilement and shaving are allowed as exceptions to the general prohibition where shaving is a religious duty, or where there is a neglected corpse. And defilement has a stringency that shaving does not have, in that defilement annuls the whole period of naziriteship already served, and a nazirite who is defiled is liable for a sacrifice, whereas shaving annuls only thirty days and he is not liable for a sacrifice.

6 How was shaving on account of defilement done? He would sprinkle with purification water on the third and seventh days, shave on the seventh day and bring his sacrifices on the eighth day. If he shaved on the eighth day, he would bring his sacrifices on that same day, the words of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Tarfon said to him: what difference is there between this one and a person with scale disease? He said to him: the purification of this one depends on his days, whereas the purification of one with scale disease depends on his shaving, and he cannot bring a sacrifice unless the sun has set on him after his purification.

7 How was shaving in a state of purity done? He would bring three animals, a sin offering, a burnt offering, and a peace offering, slaughter the peace offering, and shave afterward, the words of Rabbi Judah. Rabbi Elazar says: he shaves after the sin offering, for in all cases the sacrifice of the sin offering takes precedence. But if he shaved after the slaughter of any one of the three, he has fulfilled his obligation.

8 Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: if he brought three animals without specifying what they were for, the one suitable for a sin offering is sacrificed as a sin offering, the one for a burnt offering as a burnt offering, and the one for a peace offering as a peace offering. He would then take the hair of his nazirite head and throw it under the cauldron. If he shaved in the provinces, he also would throw it under the cauldron. When does this apply? To shaving in ritual purity, whereas when shaving after ritual defilement, he does not throw it under the cauldron. Rabbi Meir says: all nazirites throw it under the cauldron, except for the defiled nazirite who shaved in the provinces.

9 He would then cook or boil the peace offering. The priest then took the boiled shoulder of the ram, an unleavened cake from the basket, and an unleavened wafer, placed them on the nazirite’s hands and waved them. After this, the nazirite was allowed to drink wine and defile himself for the dead. Rabbi Shimon says: as soon as one kind of blood had been sprinkled on his behalf the nazirite could drink wine and defile himself for the dead.

10 If he shaves after one of the sacrifices and the sacrifice is found to be invalid, his shaving is invalid and his sacrifices do not count. If he shaves after the sin offering, which was not offered under its correct designation, and then he brought the other sacrifices under their correct designations, his shaving is invalid and none of his sacrifices counts for him. Similarly, if he shaves after the burnt offering or the peace offering, which were not offered under their correct designation, and then he brought the other sacrifices under their correct designation, his shaving is invalid and none of his sacrifices counts for him. Rabbi Shimon says: that particular sacrifice does not count, but his other sacrifices do count. If he shaved after all three sacrifices and one of them was found to be valid, his shaving is valid and he need only bring the other sacrifices.

11 If a nazirite on whose behalf one kind of blood has been sprinkled becomes unclean, Rabbi Eliezer says: everything is annulled. But the sages say: he should bring his remaining sacrifices after purification. They said to him: it happened that Miriam the Tadmorite had one kind of blood sprinkled on her behalf, and they came and told her that her daughter was dangerously ill. She went and found her dead, and the sages told her to offer her remaining sacrifices after purification.

1 A high priest and a nazirite may not defile themselves with their dead relatives, but they may defile themselves with a neglected corpse. If they were walking on the road and found a neglected corpse: Rabbi Eliezer says: the high priest should defile himself but not the nazirite. But the sages say: the nazirite should defile himself but not the high priest. Rabbi Eliezer said to them: the priest should defile himself, for he does not offer a sacrifice for his defilement, and the nazirite should not defile himself, for he does offer a sacrifice for his defilement. They said to him: the nazirite should defile himself, for his holiness is not permanent, and the priest should not defile himself, for his holiness is permanent.

2 For which types of defilement must the nazirite shave? For defilement contracted from a corpse, or an olive’s bulk of the flesh of a corpse, or an olive’s bulk of corpse ooze, or a ladleful of corpse mold, or the spinal column, or the skull, or any limb severed from a corpse, or any limb severed from a living body that is still properly covered with flesh, or a half-kav of bones, or a half-log of blood. This is so whether the defilement was contracted from contact with them, from carrying them, or from overshadowing them. For defilement contracted from a barley grain’s bulk of bone, whether by contact or carrying. On account of these, a nazirite must shave and be sprinkled on the third and seventh days, and such defilement annuls the previously served period, and he does not begin to count a new naziriteship until he has become clean and brought his sacrifices.

3 But for defilement contracted from overhanging branches, or protruding stones, or a field that may once have been a cemetery, or land of the Gentiles, or the stone that covers a tomb or the supporting stone of a tomb, or a quarter-log of blood, or a tent, or a quarter-kav of bones, or utensils that have been in contact with a corpse, or on account of the days of counting after contracting scale disease or the days during which he is certified unclean because of scale disease, for all these the nazirite is not required to shave, but they do sprinkle him on the third and seventh days, and the defilement does not annul the formerly served period, and he resumes counting his naziriteship immediately after purification, and there is no sacrifice. Indeed, they said: the days of defilement of a male or female sufferer from gonorrhea and the days that a leper is quarantined count toward his naziriteship.

4 Rabbi Eliezer said in the name of Rabbi Joshua: for every defilement conveyed by a corpse on account of which a nazirite must shave, people are liable for entering the sanctuary, and for every defilement conveyed by a corpse on account of which a nazirite does not shave, people are not liable for entering the sanctuary. Rabbi Meir said: such defilement should not be less serious than defilement through a dead creeping thing. Rabbi Akiva said: I argued in the presence of Rabbi Eliezer: If a nazirite shaves when he touches or carries a barley grain’s bulk of bone, which does not defile a person by overshadowing, then surely he should shave when he touches or carries a quarter-log of blood, which does defile a person by overshadowing? He replied: what is this, Akiva! Here we do not make an argument of “all the more so,” a kal vehomer. When I later went and recounted these words to Rabbi Joshua, he said to me, “You spoke well, but this is how they ruled the halakhah.”

1 If someone says to two nazirites, “I saw one of you defiled, but I do not know which of you it was,” both must shave and together bring sacrifices for defilement and sacrifices for completing a naziriteship in purity, and one of them must say, “If I am unclean, the sacrifices for defilement are mine, and the sacrifices in purity are yours, whereas if I am the one who is clean, the sacrifices in purity are mine and the sacrifices for defilement are yours.” Then they must count thirty more days and bring sacrifices in purity, and one of them must say, “If I am the one who was unclean, the sacrifices for defilement were mine, the sacrifices in purity were yours, and these are my sacrifices in purity, whereas if I was the one who was clean, the sacrifices in purity were mine, the sacrifices for defilement were yours, and these are your sacrifices in purity.” If one of them dies, Rabbi Joshua said that the other should ask someone from the marketplace to take a nazirite vow together with him, and say, “If I am unclean, you are to be a nazirite immediately, but if I was clean, you are to become a nazirite at the end of thirty days.” They then count thirty days and bring sacrifices for defilement and sacrifices for completing a naziriteship in purity, and the first one says, “If I am the one who was unclean, the sacrifices for defilement are mine and the sacrifices in purity are yours, whereas if I am the one who is clean, the sacrifices in purity are mine and the sacrifices for defilement are sacrifices offered in doubt.” They then count another thirty days and bring one set of the sacrifices in purity, and the first one says, “If I am the one who was defiled, the sacrifice for defilement offered previously was mine and the sacrifice in purity was yours, and this is my sacrifice in purity, whereas if I was the one who was clean, the sacrifice in purity was mine and the sacrifice for defilement was offered in doubt and this is your sacrifice in purity.” Ben Zoma said to him: who will listen to him and take a nazirite vow together with him? Rather, he must bring a bird as a sin offering and an animal as a burnt offering and say, “If I was defiled, the sin offering is part of my obligation and the burnt offering is a voluntary offering, whereas if I remained clean, the burnt offering is part of my obligation and the sin offering is a sacrifice offered in doubt.” He must then count thirty days and bring the sacrifices in purity and say, “If I was defiled, the former burnt offering was a voluntary offering and this is part of my obligation, whereas if I remained clean, the former burnt offering was part of my obligation and this is the voluntary one. And these are the rest of my sacrifices.” Rabbi Joshua said: the result is that he brings his sacrifices half at a time! But the sages agreed with Ben Zoma.

2 A nazirite who was in doubt whether he had been defiled and in doubt whether he had been a confirmed leper may eat consecrated food after sixty days, and drink wine and come into contact with the dead after one hundred and twenty days, since shaving on account of leprosy overrides the prohibition against the shaving of the nazirite only when the leprosy is certain, but when it is doubtful it does not override it.

1 Gentiles are not subject to the laws of naziriteship. Women and slaves are subject to the laws of naziriteship. The nazirite vow is more stringent in the case of women than in the case of slaves, for a man can compel his slave to break his vow, but he cannot compel his wife to do so. The nazirite vow is more stringent in the case of slaves than in the case of women, for he can void the vows of his wife, but he cannot void the vows of his slaves. If he voids his wife’s vow, it is void forever, but if he voids his slave’s vow, if the slave is freed, he must complete his naziriteship. If the slave leaves his master’s presence, Rabbi Meir says: he may not drink wine. Rabbi Yose says: he may drink wine.

2 If a nazirite shaves and then discovers that he was defiled, then if the defilement was certain, it voids the naziriteship, but if it is a “defilement of the depth,” it is not rendered void. If he discovers that he was defiled before shaving, in either case it voids the naziriteship. What is the law regarding “defilement of the depth”? If he goes down into a cavern to bathe, and a corpse is found floating at the mouth of the cavern, he is definitely unclean. If it is found embedded in the floor of the cavern, then if he went in merely to cool off, he remains clean, but if he went in to purify himself after defilement through contact with the dead, he remains unclean, because the assumption concerning an unclean person is that he is unclean, and the assumption concerning a clean person is that he is clean.

3 If a man finds a corpse for the first time, lying in the usual position, he may remove it together with the soil that it occupies. If he finds two, he may remove them together with the ground they occupy. If he finds three, then if the distance between the first and the last is from four to eight cubits, it is a graveyard. He must check from that point twenty cubits in all directions. If he finds one twenty cubits away, he must check from it another twenty cubits, for there are grounds for thinking that it is a graveyard. For if he had found it at the outset, he would have removed it and the soil that it occupies.

4 Any matter of doubt regarding leprous affliction at the outset is clean before a decision is made to declare it unclean. Once a decision has been made to declare it unclean, any matter of doubt is regarded as unclean. A person suffering from gonorrhea, a zav, is examined regarding seven things, before it has been decided that it is gonorrhea: food, drink, carrying things, jumping, sickness, something seen, or an impure thought. Once gonorrhea is established, he is no longer examined. Any flux resulting from an accident, doubtful flux, and his semen are unclean, for there are grounds for this assumption. If one strikes his fellow, and they expected him to die, and he partially recovered and then grew worse and died, the other is liable for murder. Rabbi Nehemiah exempts him, for there are grounds for this assumption.

5 Samuel was a nazirite, according to the words of Rabbi Nehorai, as it says, “And no razor, morah, shall touch his head.”1 Samuel 1:11 It says of Samson, “And no razor,”Judges 13:5 and it says of Samuel, “And no razor.” Just as “razor” in the case of Samson teaches that he was a nazirite, so “razor” in the case of Samuel teaches that he was a nazirite. Rabbi Yose says: but does “morah” not refer to fear of flesh and blood? Rabbi Nehorai said to him: but does it not also say, “And Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me,’”1 Samuel 16:2 which shows that he was afraid of flesh and blood?