Nazir 39a

נזיר ל״ט ע״א

Learn Nazir 39a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Closing the discussion of a נזיר's lashes and grape parts; a new משנה on the thirty-day נזירות and shaving; and whether hair grows from the root or the tip

Overview

The גמרא first asks why רב פפא challenged אביי with a version of a ברייתא that does not actually say 'five.' רב פפא explains that he was testing whether אביי's view was a received tradition, and it turned out that it was. Next, רב יוסף notes that the standard תרגום of 'מחרצנים ועד זג' follows רבי יוסי. A new משנה then teaches that an unspecified נזירות lasts thirty days. Shaving cancels thirty days, even when bandits do it, and a נזיר who removes hair in any way is liable. The גמרא asks whether hair grows from the bottom or from the top. This matters for a נזיר whose hair was only partly shaved. Proofs from live lice, dead lice and braided hair are each pushed off. The גמרא then brings proofs from dyed sheep wool and old men's dyed beards, and that discussion continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (16)

1. QuestionWhy did רב פפא object using five?
2. Responseרב פפא was testing whether אביי had a tradition
3. StatementThe תרגום of 'from seeds to skins' follows רבי יוסי
4. Statementמשנה: unspecified נזירות is thirty days, and shaving cancels thirty days
5. Statementמשנה: any way of removing hair makes the נזיר liable
6. QuestionDoes hair grow from the bottom or from the top?
7. ResponseWhy it matters: a נזיר whose hair was not fully shaved
8. ResponseThe two sides: is the sanctified hair gone or still there?
9. ProofProof from a live louse sitting at the root
10. RejectionA live louse crawls back down
11. ProofProof from a dead louse at the tip
12. RejectionA dead louse gets stuck and carried up
13. ProofProof from braided long hair going loose at the bottom
14. RejectionThe braid loosens from being slept on
15. ProofProof from dyed sheep wool
16. ProofProof from old men who dye their beards