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Nazir 54b

נזיר נ״ד ע״ב

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Topic

The end of the משנה on lighter impurities for a נזיר. The גמרא then defines סככות and פרעות and asks whether ארץ העמים was decreed impure because of its air or its earth.

Overview

The משנה finishes its list of lighter impurities. For these, a נזיר does not cancel his earlier days, starts counting again right away, and brings no קרבן. It adds an old tradition that the days of a זב, a זבה and a מצורע in הסגר still count toward his נזירות. The גמרא opens by quoting a משנה in אהלות to define סככות (overhanging trees) and פרעות (things sticking out of a fence). It then asks whether חכמים decreed ארץ העמים impure because of its air or because of its earth. It tries to prove 'earth' from the משנה's rule that the person is sprinkled on the third and seventh days. The proof is rejected: the sprinkling rule may refer only to some of the other items in the list. The גמרא supports this reading, since the list also includes vessels that touched a corpse, and a person who touches them does not need that sprinkling.

Opening lines

וְאֵינוֹ סוֹתֵר אֶת הַקּוֹדְמִים,

and he does not cancel the earlier days,

וּמַתְחִיל וּמוֹנֶה מִיָּד,

and he starts and counts right away,

וְקׇרְבָּן אֵין לוֹ.

and he has no offering.

בֶּאֱמֶת אָמְרוּ:

In truth they said:

The steps (8)

  1. StatementThe נזיר keeps his earlier days and brings no offering
  2. StatementDays of זב, זבה and a confined מצורע still count
  3. StatementDefining hangings and projections
  4. QuestionWas the land of the nations made impure because of its air or its earth?
  5. ProofAttempted proof from the required sprinkling
  6. ProofSo the decree must be about the earth
  7. RejectionThe sprinkling rule may refer only to the other items
  8. ProofSupport: touching corpse-impure vessels needs no sprinkling