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Nazir 46b

נזיר מ״ו ע״ב

Learn Nazir 46b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Whether the waving and shaving of a נזיר are essential when he cannot do them, and what happens when a נזיר shaves over an offering that turns out to be פסול

Overview

The amud opens by asking whether the waving (תנופה) really holds back a נזיר, as רבי אליעזר holds. A ברייתא says the law of the נזיר applies 'whether he has palms or not.' The גמרא answers with a matching ברייתא about hair and the argument about a bald נזיר. רבינא explains that for בית שמאי a bald נזיר has no remedy, and רבי פדת links this to רבי אליעזר's ruling that a מצורע with no thumb can never become pure. In a second version, רב says the waving holds the נזיר back. There רבי אבינא reads it the other way: for בית הלל the bald נזיר has no fix, and for בית שמאי he does. This reading argues with רבי פדת. A new משנה then teaches that shaving over an offering that turns out to be פסול ruins the shaving, though רבי שמעון says only that one offering fails. The גמרא begins with רב אדא בר אהבה, who learns that for רבי שמעון shaving over voluntary שלמים works, because the פסוק says 'the שלמים' and not 'his שלמים.'

Opening lines

וּמֵי מְעַכְּבָא?

And does it really hold him back?

וְהָתַנְיָא: ״זֹאת תּוֹרַת הַנָּזִיר״,

But isn't it taught: "This is the law of the nazir,"

בֵּין שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ כַּפַּיִם,

whether he has palms,

בֵּין שֶׁאֵין לוֹ כַּפַּיִם!

or whether he does not have palms!

The steps (16)

  1. ChallengeChallenge: a ברייתא suggests waving is not essential
  2. ResolutionCounter-parallel: the same wording about hair does not mean shaving is unimportant
  3. Proofרבינא: for בית שמאי, a bald נזיר has no remedy
  4. Conclusionרבי פדת: בית שמאי and רבי אליעזר share one principle
  5. ResponseThe source for רבי אליעזר's view: a מצורע with no thumb
  6. StatementA second version: רב says missing the waving holds back a נזיר
  7. ChallengeWhich opinion could רב be following?
  8. ChallengeChallenge: the ברייתא about palms says waving is needed
  9. RejectionPushback: the same ברייתא says the same thing about hair
  10. ProofProof from the bald נזיר: shaving does not seem essential
  11. Resolutionרבי אבינא: בית הלל's 'must' means he has no fix
  12. ConclusionBy בית שמאי there is a fix, against רבי פדת
  13. StatementShaving over an offering that turns out to be פסול
  14. Statementרבי שמעון: only the bad offering fails
  15. Statementרב אדא בר אהבה: shaving over voluntary שלמים works for רבי שמעון
  16. ProofThe פסוק says 'the שלמים', not 'his שלמים'