Nazir 42b

נזיר מ״ב ע״ב

Learn Nazir 42b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Whether a נזיר who is already impure gets new lashes for a second impurity or for entering a place with a dead body

Overview

The גמרא brings two versions of what רב הונא said. In רבה's version, a נזיר gets separate lashes for becoming impure and for entering a place with a dead body, but not for becoming impure twice. רב יוסף swears that רב הונא held he is liable even for impurity after impurity, and he proves it from רב הונא's ruling about a נזיר in a cemetery. אביי objects from a ברייתא about a כהן already holding a dead body, and רב יוסף answers that our משנה makes a נזיר liable for each warning even though he is already impure. The גמרא settles the clash: the ברייתא is about someone still touching the first body, and the משנה is about someone who let go first. It then shows that direct contact with a body counts on a תורה level, unlike רבי ינאי's case of contact through another person. So impurity on top of impurity while still connected brings no new liability, just as רבה said. Finally, רבי יוחנן explains that entering brings separate lashes when a pure נזיר walks into a house, but not when he was already impure from a field.

Opening lines

The steps (13)

1. Statementרבה's version of רב הונא: impurity and entering, but not impurity twice
2. Statementרב יוסף's version: רב הונא said even impurity twice
3. ProofProof: the נזיר in the cemetery who touches a body
4. ConclusionHe was already impure, so רב הונא must hold impurity twice counts
5. Challengeאביי objects from the כהן holding a dead body
6. Challengeרב יוסף pushes back: the משנה then troubles you
7. ChallengeThe משנה and the ברייתא clash
8. ResolutionStill touching the first body versus already let go
9. ChallengeIs connected impurity really a rule from the תורה?
10. ResolutionPerson-to-person versus person-to-body
11. ConclusionNo new liability for impurity on top of impurity
12. ChallengeShouldn't the same logic cancel the extra punishment for entering?
13. Resolutionרבי יוחנן: a house is different from a field