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Nazir, 7

1) A NEZIRUS "FROM HERE UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD"

QUESTIONS: The Mishnah says that if a person accepts Nezirus "from here until the end of the world" ("mi'Kan v'Ad Sof ha'Olam"), he becomes a Nazir for 30 days. The Gemara asks why should he not be a Nazir for 500 years, the length of time that it takes to walk from one side of the world to the other?

The Gemara answers, as Tosfos (DH v'Amai) explains, that if he had intended to make himself a Nazir for 500 years he would have specified the number and said, "I am a Nazir for 500 years." Since he said instead "from here to the end of the world," he must mean that he accepts upon himself a single Nezirus "which feels as long to me as the time that it takes to walk from here until the end of the world."

The Gemara then asks that perhaps the Nazir means to say a third thing -- perhaps he is accepting upon himself to observe multiple oaths of Nezirus, a number equivalent to the number of Parsa'os between here and the end of the world, or equal to the number of motels ("Avna," or rest stops) that a person stays in while traveling between here and the end of the world.

The Gemara answers once again that since a person knows the number of Parsa'os or motels between here and the end of the world, and yet he did not mention that number, it must be that he did not mean to accept upon himself a number of oaths of Nezirus. (TOSFOS, DH v'Lihavei)

There are a number of basic questions on this Gemara.

(a) The MISHNEH L'MELECH (Hilchos Nezirus 3:5) asks why does the Gemara suggest that we interpret the person's words in a manner which makes his Nezirus *longer* if we could interpret them in a manner which makes his Nezirus *shorter*? We have a principle that "Safek Nezirus l'Hakel" (8a): if there is a question concerning a person's acceptance of Nezirus, we rule leniently and assume that he did not intend to accept Nezirus (or that he only intended to accept the more lenient Nezirus).

(b) What is the Gemara's second question? We already answered the first question by saying that since he did not specify a number, he must mean to make a single, 30-day Nezirus. That same answer is the answer used for the second question! Why, then, did the Gemara ask the second question to begin with? Also, why do Rabah and Rava suggest other answers to the second question? (MISHNEH L'MELECH)

(c) If the Gemara does ask a second question and is no longer satisfied with its original answer, then why does it ask that he should observe the number of periods of Nezirus that corresponds to the number of motels? It should say that he should count the number of periods of Nezirus that corresponds to the number of days that it takes to travel (like the Mishnah on 8a says regarding "mi'Kan v'Ad Makom Ploni")! In fact, the Gemara later seems to relate to the question that he should observe periods of Nezirus equal to the number of days ("Gabi Yomi Nami...")!

ANSWERS:

(a) TOSFOS later (8a, DH v'l'Chazyei) himself asks the first question. Tosfos answers that the Gemara thought that the statement "from here until the end of the world" can be interpreted only stringently, l'Chumra, to mean a long period of Nezirus or numerous 30-day periods of Nezirus, because the other option -- to say that he means that the single period of Nezirus feels as long to him as a 500-year-long Nezirus -- is very forced and requires adding things into his words that he did not actually say. Therefore, the Gemara assumes that we should interpret his words l'Chumra.

The Gemara answers that although it is rather forced to interpret his words as saying that the single period of Nezirus feels very long to him, nevertheless it is more forced to say that he is accepting a number of periods of Nezirus since he did not explicitly mention a number when he could have. The Mishneh l'Melech explains that this is also the intention of Tosfos in our Sugya (7a).

(b) The MISHNEH L'MELECH points out that Tosfos (top of 7b) addresses our second question, why the Gemara's second question was not answered by the answer to its first question. However, the answer of Tosfos is unclear and requires elucidation. The Mishneh l'Melech explains the answer as follows.

When deciding how to interpret the Nazir's words, we have to determine which of the various interpretations of his words is most probable. To say that he means to make one long Nezirus has two disadvantages against it: first, he did not mention any number of days, and second, it is uncommon for a person to accept a very long period of Nezirus, since he will not be able to shave for the whole period.

The second interpretation -- that he means to accept only a 30-day Nezirus but he feels that his Nezirus is as difficult as one that lasts a long time -- has only one (albeit strong) disadvantage: it is somewhat forced in his wording.

Between these two possible interpretations, we assume that he means the second one, because it is more probable, or because of the principle of "Safek Nezirus l'Hakel."

The third interpretation -- that he is accepting many periods of Nezirus upon himself -- has only one disadvantage: he did not specify a number (and he could have). This interpretation of his words does not have as a disadvantage the fact that it is uncommon for a person to accept a very long period of Nezirus, because each Nezirus period that he accepted, according to this interpretation, is a small one. This makes this possibility more logical than the interpretation that he feels as though the Nezirus is long, which is very forced in his words.

Therefore, the Gemara thought that we should rule l'Hachmir and follow the interpretation that he is accepting a number of periods of Nezirus. The Gemara answers that the disadvantage of this interpretation -- the fact that he did not mention a number -- is actually very strong evidence that he did not mean to accept a number of periods of Nezirus, and therefore the two possible interpretations (that he means to accept many periods of Nezirus, or that he feels that a single period of Nezirus is as difficult as a long period) are equally possible, and hence we apply the principle of "Safek Nezirus l'Hakel" and make him a Nazir for only thirty days.

(c) The Gemara does not suggest that he should be a Nazir for as many periods as there are days of travel from here to the end of the world, because there is no reason to divide up the travel into days any more than into other periods of time, such as weeks, hours, months, or years. The travel time is all one long, continual period, and there is no reason to split it up into smaller time periods. However, each motel is a separate stop and serves to divide up the trip into sections. Similarly, each Parsah is a separate milestone in places where they count distances by Parsa'os. (This is similar to the conclusion of the Gemara that "days are not separated from each other.")

When the Gemara later asks that he should observe as many Nezirus periods as the number of days it takes to travel, the Gemara is relying on the verse that it cites ("va'Yehi Erev va'Yehi Voker"), which implies that days are to be viewed as separate from each other. However, earlier, when the Gemara asks that one should count as many Nezirus periods as there are motels, the Gemara is taking for granted the answer that it gives later, that the verse "va'Yehi Erev va'Yehi Voker" is not splitting the days into separate time periods.

QUESTION: The Gemara asks what the difference is between a case of one who says, "I am a Nazir like the hair on my head," and the case of one who says, "I am a Nazir from here until the end of the world." When one says, "I am a Nazir like the hair on my head," he counts as many Nazir periods as there are hairs on his head. However, if he accepts to become a Nazir as long as "from here until the end of the world," he observes only a single Nezirus. The logic behind this, the Gemara explains (in its first answer), is that a person knows how many days worth of travel there are from here until the end of the world (500 years), and thus had he wanted to observe multiple periods of Nezirus, he would have specified the number. In contrast, a person does not know how many hairs are on his head, and thus he could not have specified a number and he had no other choice but to say as many as the "hairs on my head."

The Gemara cites a Tosefta to prove that there is a difference between accepting a Nezirus through comparison to an item that has a set quantity, and accepting a Nezirus through comparison to an item that has no set quantity. The Tosefta discusses cases of Nazir Olam. If a person says, "I will be a Nazir for all the days of my life," he becomes a Nazir Olam and he may cut his hair when it becomes cumbersome. In contrast, if he designates a set time period and says, "I will be a Nazir for 1000 years," he practices a single Nezirus that is 1000 years long (that is, a single Nezirus until he dies); he is not a Nazir Olam and he may never cut his hair.

How is the Gemara proving its point from this Tosefta? The reason the person does not practice many periods of Nezirus in the case of "from here until the end of the world" is because he could have specified a number, but he did not specify a number. However, the reason why a person practices a single, long period of Nezirus when he says "1000 years" is because he *did* specify a time period! The Tosefta seemingly has nothing to do with the point that the Gemara is trying to prove in order to explain our Mishnah! (MISHNEH L'MELECH, Hilchos Nezirus 3:5; the Mishneh l'Melech leaves this question unanswered.)

ANSWER: The Gemara might mean to say the following. The only reason a person would prefer to specify an amount (e.g. 500 years) rather than to use a descriptive term (e.g. "from here until the end of the world") is because he is interested in the specific amount (which in this case is an amount of periods of Nezirus (30 days each) equal to the number of days in 500 years -- or 182,500 periods of 30-day Nezirus, which is 5,475,000 days of Nezirus, or 15,000 years). However, a person knows that he will not live for that long. Why, then, should he bother specifying the exact number that he is accepting if that number is not really relevant? He might as well say that he wants to be a Nazir for as long as "from here until the end of the world!"

Hence, the Gemara proves that even if a person accepts a number of periods of Nezirus that will last longer than he expects to live, he has interest in that specific amount (and he is not simply exaggerating). The Gemara proves this from the fact that a person who accepts Nezirus for 1000 years is not a Nazir Olam. Even though he knows that he is making himself a Nazir for the rest of his life, the number of "1000 years" is not considered to be the same as saying "until the end of my life," but rather he means to make himself a Nazir specifically for 1000 years. Likewise, a person could have an interest in making himself a Nazir for as many days as it takes to walk "from here until the end of the world." Hence, he should have specified the number instead of saying just a descriptive term.

7b