Nazir - Daf 7
- מכאן עד סוף העולם
The next Mishnah states: אמר הריני נזיר אחת גדולה, הריני נזיר אחת קטנה – If one said, “I am a nazir for a great [nezirus],” or “I am a nazir for a minor [nezirus], אפילו מכאן ועד סוף העולם נזיר שלשים יום – or even if he said, “from here until the end of the world,” he is a nazir for thirty days. When the Gemara asks that the final case should mean to accept nezirus for his whole life, it answers that the person means: אריכא לי הדא מילתא כמכאן ועד סוף העולם – ”This matter is as long for me as from here until the end of the world.” The Rosh adds that we choose this interpretation because unclear nezirus declarations are ruled leniently. The Gemara asks that another Mishnah teaches that if one declared to be a nazir “from here until such-and-such a place,” he is a nazir for as many days as it takes to travel to that place (with a minimum of thirty days). Why do we not interpret his intent there, too, as merely describing the difficulty of the nezirus? The Gemara answers: שהחזיק בדרך – It is speaking where he has embarked on the road, therefore his declaration is assumed to have been made for the duration of his journey, to protect him from its hazards. Later, Rava answers that the Mishnah should be understood that he said, “I am a nazir for one term from here until the end of the world,” which is why it is interpreted to refer to its difficulty rather than duration.
- The difference between מכאן ועד מקום פלומי and כעפר הארץ
The Mishnah quoted above taught that a declaration of nezirus “from here until such-and-such a place” is a single nezirus measured by the number of days of travel. The Gemara asks that we should say he accepted a separate nezirus term for each day of travel, as a Mishnah teaches, that one who declares himself a nazir “like the dust of the earth,” or “like the hair on my head,” or “like the sand of the sea,” is a perpetual nazir and shaves every thirty days (because he has accepted separate thirty-day terms for each particle of dust, etc). The Gemara gives two answers: כל מילתא דאית ביה קיצותא לא קתני – Anything that is determinate, is not said by the Mishnah to be interpreted as separate nezirus terms. Days of a journey, which can be counted, are understood to mean the length of a single nezirus. Dust, etc., which cannot practically be counted (so the duration of the nezirus cannot be determined), is understood to be innumerable standard nezirus terms. The Gemara demonstrates this distinction from a Baraisa. Rabbah answers: שאני שערות הואיל ומובדלות זו מזו – Hairs are different, since they are separate from one another, so each hair represents a separate nezirus, as opposed to days, which make up one long period of time, determine the duration of a single nezirus.
- הריני נזיר שלשים יום ושעה אחת
The Mishnah teaches: הריני נזיר שלשים יום ושעה אחת – If one said, “I am a nazir for thirty days and one hour,” נזיר שלשים ואחד יום שאין נזירות לשעות – he is a nazir for thirty-one days, because nezirus is not measured in hours, only days, so it is ruled the same way as one who declared himself a nazir for thirty-one days. Rav said that this only holds true if he said, “I am a nazir for thirty-one days,” but if he said: שלשים [יום] ויום אחד – “thirty [days] and one day,” he is a nazir for two full terms. The extraneous word “day” indicates that he means separate declarations. The Gemara says that this follows the ruling of Rebbe Akiva, דדריש לישנא יתירא – who interprets extraneous language. Rebbe Akiva ruled that if one sold a house, the pit and cistern are not included in the sale, but the seller does not automatically retain rights of access (the Chochomim hold he does). Rebbe Akiva concedes that if the seller stipulated not to include the pit or cistern in the sale, then this extraneous phrase is interpreted to also retain the right of access.
