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Nazir 57
*****PEREK #8 SHENEI NEZIRIM*****
1) [line 20] SAFEK TUM'AH B'RESHUS HA'YACHID
(a) When there is a doubt as to whether an object is Tahor or Tamei, if the
object is found in Reshus ha'Rabim the object is Tahor. If it is found in a
private, concealed place, it is judged to be Tamei.
(b) This is learned from the case of the Sotah woman (Bamidbar 5; see next
entry). In the case of a Sotah, where only two people were present at the
time that there arose a question as to her status, she is judged
Teme'ah/culpable. Similarly, whenever there are only two people present
(i.e. a Reshus ha'Yachid l'Tum'ah), if a doubt arises regarding the status
of a person or an object, he or it is judged to be Tamei. Whenever more than
two people frequent a certain area it is a Reshus ha'Rabim l'Tum'ah. If a
doubt arises regarding the status of a person or an object, he or it is
judged to be Tahor.
2) [line 21] SOTAH
(a) A Sotah is a woman who is suspected of committing adultery because she
was warned by her husband not to seclude herself with a certain man and she
violated the warning. The process of warning her in front of witnesses is
called Kinuy. The witnesses who see her seclude herself with the suspected
adulterer are called Eidei Stirah. The time of seclusion must be at least
for the time that it takes to roast an egg and swallow it. The woman is
forbidden to her husband and the alleged adulterer until she drinks Mei
Sotah (see (c), below).
(b) The husband must bring his wife to the Beis ha'Mikdash, along with a
sacrifice consisting of 1/10 of an Eifah (approx. 2 quarts) of barley meal
as a Minchah offering. The Kohen reads Parshas Sotah, the portion of the
Torah describing the curses with which a Sotah is cursed, out loud (in any
language that the Sotah understands) and makes the Sotah swear that she has
been faithful to her husband.
(c) An earthenware jug is then filled with half a Lug of water from the
Kiyor, and dirt from the floor of the Azarah is placed on top of the water.
Parshas Sotah (that contains numerous appearances of Hash-m's name) is
written on parchment and then immersed in the water, which causes the ink to
dissolve, erasing the Holy Names. The Sotah afterwards drinks from the
water. If she was unfaithful to her husband and allowed herself to become
defiled, the water would enter her body and poison her, causing her belly to
swell out and her thigh to rupture. If she was faithful to her husband, she
remained unharmed and became pregnant (Bamidbar 5:11-31). In times when
there is no Mei Sotah such as in the present day, she must be divorced and
does not receive her Kesuvah.
(d) A Sotah Vadai is an ordinary married woman (that is, not a Na'arah
ha'Me'urasah -- see Background to Nedarim 75:1) who committed adultery. She
is prohibited to her husband and the adulterer and she may not eat Terumah.
If she committed the act after not heeding the warning of two witnesses, is
put to death by Chenek (choking), as it states in the Torah (Devarim 22:22).
3) [line 25] SAFEK TUM'AH B'RESHUS HA'RABIM, SEFEIKO TAHOR
See above, entry #1.
57b---------------------------------------57b
4) [line 3] HAKAFAH
(a) It is forbidden by a Lav in the Torah for a Jewish male to remove his or
another Jewish male's sideburns, thus making a continuous hairless line from
his face until behind his ears, as the Torah states, "Lo Sakifu Pe'as
Roshechem..." - "You shall not make a ring [around the tops of your heads by
removing the hair] of the corners of your heads..." (Vayikra 19:27). The
reason for this prohibition is to distance us from idol worship and its
followers who until this day cut their hair in this fashion. If one cuts off
both sideburns, he receives Malkos two times. The Rambam (Hilchos Avodah
Zarah 12:6) writes that he has a tradition in his family teaching that it is
required to leave at least forty hairs in the sideburns.
(b) According to most authorities, it is prohibited to entirely remove the
hair of the sideburns with either a razor or a pair of scissors. The
prohibition of Hakafah applies to both the barber and the one whose hair is
being cut, if he helps the barber (by moving his head to the correct
position). It is prohibited to cut the hair of a male minor as well.
Although this prohibition only applies to a man and not to a woman (whether
her hair is being cut or whether she is cutting the hair of a man),
nevertheless, it is forbidden mid'Rabanan for a woman to cut the hair of a
man or a boy.
(c) It is likewise forbidden to shave off all of the hair of the head
(Hakafas Kol ha'Rosh). There is a disagreement among the Tana'im as to
whether this is included in the prohibition of Hakafah and is mid'Oraisa,
since all of the hair of the head includes the sideburns (Yevamos 5a, Nazir
41a), or if it is only forbidden mid'Rabanan (Nazir 29a), since the Torah
only prohibits making a shaven *ring* around the remaining hair. (SEFER
HA'CHINUCH #251)
5) [line 4] HAKAFAS KOL HA'ROSH LO SHEMAH HAKAFAH
See previous entry.
6) [line 13] CHOVAH - the name of Rav Huna's wife
7) [line 17] "LO SAKIFU PE'AS ROSHECHEM, V'LO SASHCHIS ES PE'AS
ZEKANECHA." - "You shall not round the corners of your heads, nor shall you
mar the corners of your beard." (Vayikra 19:27) - See above, entry #4.
8) [line 27] "[V'HAYAH VA'YOM HA'SHEVI'I YEGALACH ES KOL SE'ARO; ES] ROSHO,
[V'ES ZEKANO, V'ES GABOS EINAV, V'ES KOL SE'ARO YEGALE'ACH...]" - "[And on
the seventh day he shall shave off all of his hair; [the hair of]] his head,
[his beard and his eyebrows and all of his hair he shall shave off. And he
shall immerse his clothes, and immerse his flesh in water, and he shall be
Tahor.]" (Vayikra 14:9)
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