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Nazir 33a

נזיר ל״ג ע״א

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Topic

How the person 'whose words were not fulfilled' can be a נזיר (אביי's answer), and an inference from the משנה's case of the man who turned back

Overview

The משנה (נזיר 32b) describes people who see someone approaching from far away. Each one vows to be a נזיר depending on who the man turns out to be. בית הלל rule that only the one 'whose words were not fulfilled' becomes a נזיר, which sounds backwards. אביי explains that this speaker also said, 'even if it is not so-and-so, I am a נזיר.' So 'not fulfilled' means only his first words failed, and his last words came true. The גמרא then turns to the משנה's next line: if the approaching man turned back and was never identified, no one is a נזיר. From this it infers that if the man had come close and been identified, the one who vowed would be a נזיר. The גמרא asks whose opinion this follows, and the answer comes on the next amud.

Opening lines

אַבָּיֵי אָמַר, כְּגוֹן דְּאָמַר:

Abaye said: For example, where he said:

״אִי נָמֵי לָאו פְּלוֹנִי הוּא — אִי הָוֵי נָזִיר״.

"Even if it is not so-and-so, I shall be a nazir."

וּמַאי ״לֹא נִתְקַיְּימוּ דְּבָרָיו״ —

And what is meant by "his words were not fulfilled"?

לֹא נִתְקַיְּימוּ דְּבָרָיו הָרִאשׁוֹנִים,

His first words were not fulfilled,

The steps (3)

  1. Resolutionאביי explains how 'not fulfilled' can still make someone a nazir
  2. StatementFrom 'he turned back' the גמרא infers that identification would make a nazir
  3. QuestionWhose opinion is this?