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Nazir, 39

1) A NAZIR WHOSE HAIR WAS CUT BEFORE CONCLUDING HIS NEZIRUS

QUESTIONS: The Gemara discusses the Halachah in a case where someone shaves the head of a Nazir but leaves behind hair that is the length of "Kedei la'Chof Rosho l'Ikro" (long enough to bend the top of the hair down to its base). The Gemara says that if the Nazir's hair is shaved in such a way before the conclusion of the days of his Nezirus (that is, before the day of "Melos"), he must recount the days of his Nezirus (the shaving is "Soser" his Nezirus). This is true, though, only if hair grows from the bottom (which is the way the Gemara concludes). If hair grows from the top, then the Nazir would not have to count another 30 days of Nezirus.

If the Nazir's hair is shaved in such a manner (leaving "Kedei la'Chof Rosho l'Ikro") *after* the "Yom Melos" (the conclusion of the days of his Nezirus), the Gemara (39b) says that according to Rebbi Eliezer the Nazir must wait 7 days before shaving again and bringing his Korbanos, and according to the Rabanan he must wait 30 days before shaving again and bringing his Korbanos. (TOSFOS, DH v'Kim, says that if the Nazir's hair is shaved in such a manner *two* days after "Yom Melos," then even the Rabanan agree that the Nazir waits only 7 days before shaving again and bringing his Korbanos.)

The source for the Halachah that a Nazir whose hair was shaved after "Yom Melos" must wait 7 or 30 days is a comparison between the case of a Nazir whose hair was shaved after "Yom Melos" and the case of a Nazir who became Tamei after "Yom Melos." Regarding a Nazir who became Tamei after "Yom Melos" we learned (16a) that according to Rebbi Eliezer he brings his Korbanos as soon as he becomes Tahor (7 days later). Hence, the same applies to a Nazir whose hair was shaved after "Yom Melos" -- he shaves again and brings his Korbanos 7 days later. The Rabanan hold that if a Nazir who became Tamei after "Yom Melos" must count another 30 days before bringing his Korbanos. So, too, when a Nazir's hair is shaved after "Yom Melos" he must wait 30 days before he brings his Korbanos. (When expressing this comparison, the Gemara refers to the time that he waits after becoming Tamei as "Tiglachas Tum'ah," even though, technically, this bears no resemblance to what is normally referred to as "Tiglachas Tum'ah." "Tiglachas Tum'ah" normally means that when he became Tamei before finishing his Nezirus and was Soser his count, he must shave his hair and bring Korbanos Tum'ah before he starts counting again. Here, though, the Nazir who becomes Tamei *after* "Yom Melos" does not have to shave his hair and bring Korbanos Tum'ah, because the Tum'ah after "Yom Melos" is not Soser his count. Rather, the "Tiglachas Tum'ah" of our Gemara is the Tiglachas that the Nazir performs when he shaves and brings his Korbanos *Taharah* in a case where he became Tamei after "Yom Melos.")

The Gemara leaves a number of points unclear.

(a) What difference does it make which part of hair was cut from the Nazir's head? Whether the hair that was cut was the hair that he had at the time of his acceptance (Kabalah) of Nezirus, or whether it was hair that grew later, in either case what remains is hair that grew on a Nazir's head!

If there is some special feature about the hair that is on a Nazir's head at the time of his Kabalah of Nezirus which requires that he cut that hair at the time that he brings his Korbanos Nezirus, then why will it help him to grow hair for another 30 days (in a case where the original amount of hair was shaved off)? That hair was not there at the time of his Kabalah!

In addition, if the Nazir must perform Tiglachas with the hair that he had at the time of his Kabalah, then what will a person do who accepted Nezirus immediately after shaving his head (and thus he has no hair at the time of his Kabalah)?

If the Gemara means that a Nazir must cut *either* hair that was there at the time of his Kabalah (as long as it was "Kedei la'Chof Rosho l'Ikro"), *or* 30-day-old hair of Nezirus, then when a person accepts a Nezirus for 100 days and a bandit then shaves off the length of hair that was on his head at the time of his Kabalah, why must he grow his hair for 30 days? He already has on his head a growth of hair of Nezirus that is more than 30 days old! What will another 30 days add? Similarly, in the Gemara's case, when a bandit shaved the Nazir's hair and left "Kedei la'Chof Rosho l'Ikro," why must the Nazir count another 30 days of Nezirus? It should suffice to count another 23 days, since he already has a 7 day growth of hair (the amount which is "Kedei la'Chof Rosho l'Ikro") left on his head!

It also seems odd for the Gemara to be saying that different Nezirim are Soser their Nezirus by cutting different amounts of hair, and that the amount that has to be cut for each Nazir to be Soser his Nezirus is the amount that was on his head at the time he accepted the Nezirus. If this is true, then "Nasata Devarecha l'Shi'urim," and there is no consistency in the Halachah of a Nazir who shaves his hair!

(b) Until now, we understood that the reason why cutting a Nazir's hair is Soser 30 days is because he must grow new hair in order to be Megale'ach at the end of his Nezirus. To perform the Tiglachas, he must have "Gidul Pera," an overgrowth of hair, of Nezirus, and "Pera" is hair growth of 30 days. However, the Gemara here says clearly that when the hair of a Nazir is cut after "Yom Melos," even though he still needs to be Megale'ach and bring his Korbanos Rebbi Eliezer says that he does *not* have to wait 30 days in order to be Megale'ach! Obviously, the Tiglachas does not require a 30-day growth of hair, but just a 7-day growth of hair. Why, then, does Rebbi Eliezer agree that when his hair is cut before "Yom Melos," the Nazir must wait 30 days and grow a 30-day growth of hair (mid'Oraisa, as is implied by Rav and Shmuel on 14b)? What is the reason for having to wait 30 days if it is not for the Tiglachas?

The same question may be asked according to the Rabanan who argue with Rebbi Eliezer. Even though the Rabanan require him to wait thirty days if his hair is shaved after "Yom Melos," that requirement cannot be mid'Oraisa since it is derived from the case of a Nazir who becomes Tamei after "Yom Melos," and Tosfos says that the Rabanan require him to wait 30 days only mid'Rabanan (6a, DH Nitma, and 16a, DH Hareini)! Mid'Oraisa, after 7 days he may bring his Korbanos Taharah! According to the Rabanan, what is the reason why a Nazir whose hair is shaved before "Yom Melos" must grow his hair for another 30 days?

(c) Even according to Rebbi Eliezer, how could the Gemara maintain that if the Nazir's hair is shaved after "Yom Melos" he must grow his hair for 7 days mid'Oraisa? How could the Gemara possibly make a comparison between the 7 days a Nazir is "Soser" when he *becomes Tamei* after "Yom Melos," and the 7 days he is Soser when *his hair is shaved* after "Yom Melos?" As the ROSH here and TOSFOS in many places point out, the 7 days that he must wait after becoming Tamei are not days of Nezirus that are being recounted at all; he i s not really Soser anything -- he merely has to wait 7 days before bringing his Korbanos, because until then he is Tamei and cannot yet bring his Korbanos! Waiting 7 days is not because he has lost any days of his Nezirus! How, then, could we learn from that case that if a Nazir's hair is shaved after "Yom Melos" that he must wait 7 days for his hair to grow in? He is Tahor, and the Gemara says that he is fit to bring his Korban right away if not for the Hekesh! The comparison to Nazir Tamei should not require him to wait at all; rather, he should bring his Korban as soon as he is fit to bring it, which is right now!

ANSWERS:

(a) The Torah requires that the Gilu'ach of a Nazir be made on "hair of Nezirus" (see answer (b) below). Normally, only hair that grows during the 30 days of his Nezirus can become "hair of Nezirus," since that is an amount of hair that is considered a "Gidul Pera," an unruly growth (see Insights to 5a). That is why a Nazir must wait 30 days after his hair is shaved in order to grow back hair of Nezirus. However, if a person makes his hair into "hair of Nezirus" through another action such as Kabalah of Nezirus, then even a lesser amount of hair can be called "hair of Nezirus" (as long as it is "Kedei la'Chof Rosho l'Ikro"). That is why the hair on his head at the time of his Kabalah does not have to be a 30-day length in order for him to perform the Tiglachas on it. (See ARZEI HA'LEVANON who cites the BRIS YAKOV in the name of KSAV YAD RASHI who goes further and says that the main Kedushah of a Nazir's hair is *only* on the hair that he has at the time of Kabalah, and not the hair that grows afterwards.)

We asked that if the Nazir has to cut either the 30-day length of hair or the hair that was there at the time of his Kabalah, then when he accepts a 100-day Nezirus and the length of the hair on his head that was there from the time of his Kabalah was shaved but the rest remains, why should he be Soser his Nezirus? He still has a 100-day growth of hair on his head at the end of his Nezirus! The answer seems to be that, indeed, such a Nazir does not have to wait 30 days. A Nazir only has to wait until he has a 30-day length of hair on his head after the shaving. This is consistent with what the Gemara says regarding a Nazir whose hair was shaved after "Yom Melos:" if his hair was entirely shaved, he must grow his hair for 7 days according to Rebbi Eliezer. But if a 7-day growth of hair remained ("Kedei la'Chof Rosho l'Ikro"), then he may do the Tiglachas immediately.

All the Mishnayos that say that he is Soser 30 days are referring to a Nazir whose hair was completely shaved. If some hair was left on his head, he just needs to grow the amount that will complete the 30-day growth. Thus, in the case in our Gemara where the bandit left hair a 7-day hair growth on the Nazir's head, the Nazir only needs to wait another 23 days. There is no difference between one Nazir and the other; the Shi'ur for all of them is the same -- a Nazir may be Megale'ach only if he has a 30-day length of hair growth at the time that he finishes his Nezirus.

(b) It seems from Tosfos that the Halachah does not require that a Nazir actually be Megale'ach his 30-day growth of hair at the time that he brings his Korbanos. Rather, he merely needs to be *fit* to cut a 30-day length of hair at the time that he finishes his Nezirus. If his hair is cut after "Yom Melos," that will not stop him from bringing his Korbanos, since the hair was fit to be cut (when Tosfos writes, "Kivan she'Hayah l'Faneinu Gidul Se'ar... ha'Ra'uy l'Tiglachas," he is alluding to the principle of "Kol ha'Ra'uy l'Bilah, Ein Bilah Me'akeves Bo"). In fact, if his hair was cut after "Yom Melos," it would not help him to grow hair afterwards, since the Torah says that he must cut "Se'ar Rosh Nizro" (Bamidbar 6:18), and hair that is grown after "Yom Melos" cannot be called "Se'ar Nizro" ("the hair of his Nezirus") since it was not grown during his Nezirus! Since it is impossible for him to be Megale'ach "Se'ar Nizro" at this point, he is comparable to a bald Nazir who simply observes his Nezirus without Gilu'ach Se'ar (see 46b) since he has no other option. Even the 7 days that he must wait according to Rebbi Eliezer would appear to be only mid'Rabanan according to Tosfos, since the hair that grows then is not "Se'ar Rosh Nizro" and is not the hair that the Torah says to be Megale'ach.

(c) What we said above in answer (b) answers the third question as well. Rebbi Eliezer indeed cannot compare the Halachah of waiting 7 days after being shaved to the 7 days that a Nazir Tamei waits to become Tahor. The entire Halachah of waiting 7 days to shave is only a Takanah mid'Rabanan.

This is the way Tosfos and the Rosh and others approach the Sugya. However, we may infer from the RAMBAM a new and original approach to this Sugya which answers our third question in a very straightforward manner.

The RAMBAM takes an entirely different approach to the Machlokes between Rebbi Eliezer and the Rabanan earlier (16a). The Rambam (Hilchos Nezirus 6:4; see also Chart #1, footnote 6, and Insights to 16:1:b) writes that a Nazir who becomes Tamei after "Yom Melos" *does* have to bring Korbanos Nazir Tamei and be Megale'ach like a Nazir Tamei, in contrast to the opinion of the other Rishonim. Accordingly, the Rabanan require him to wait 30 days because he must have a 30-day growth of hair in order to be Megale'ach for his Nezirus Taharah! The requirement of waiting 30 days is mid'Oraisa, just like the requirement of waiting 30 days for any Nazir whose hair was shaved. Rebbi Eliezer, on the other hand, holds that after "Yom Melos," since the Nazir had hair that was fit to be cut at the time he concluded the days of his Nezirus, it is only necessary for him to grow a 7-day growth of hair for the Tiglachas. Rebbi Eliezer learns this from the Halachah of a Nazir Tamei, who, despite the fact that he stops counting Nezirus immediately when he becomes Tamei, he is not Megale'ach until after 7 days have passed, when he brings his Korbanos. So, too, a Nazir after "Yom Melos" who is no longer counting his Nezirus must wait only 7 days, like our Gemara says! When the Mishnah says that according to Rebbi Eliezer, Tum'ah after "Yom Melos" "is Soser 7 days," it means literally that it pushes off his Tiglachas seven days. After he becomes Tahor and performs "Tiglachas Tum'ah," he must wait another seven days for "Tiglachas Taharah." Therefore, Rebbi Eliezer and the Rabanan argue exclusively about the Halachah of "Gidul Se'ar" for a Nazir whose hair was cut after "Yom Melos." Hence, our Gemara is making a very straightforward statement when it says that if a 7-day growth of hair remains on his head after his hair was cut after "Yom Melos," Rebbi Eliezer does not require him to grow any more hair before bringing his Korbanos. According to the Rabanan, though, such a Nazir would have to wait until he has a 30-day growth of hair on his hair.

39b