375. Don't Do the Hokey Pokey: The prohibition against a nazir being under the same roof as a corpse

Something else a nazirite may not do is to enter a structure that contains a dead body. (This includes being under the same canopy as a corpse.) If a nazir intentionally entered a building containing a body, he would be liable to punishment. If he only partially entered, such as if he stuck his hand or foot in, then took it out, he would become contaminated but he would not be liable to punishment.

The reason for this mitzvah is, as discussed in Mitzvah #362, the need to keep things of a higher level of sanctity from becoming contaminated by ritual impurity. The nazir has accepted a higher standard, so we must distance him from such uncleanliness. (Kohanim – priests – are likewise warned about corpse impurity, as seen in Mitzvah #263).

This mitzvah applies to both men and women in all times and places. It is discussed in the Talmud in tractate Nazir on pages 42b-44a. It is codified in the Mishneh Torah in the fifth chapter of Hilchos Nezirus. This mitzvah is #208 of the 365 negative mitzvos in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos and is not listed in the Sefer HaMitzvos HaKatzar of the Chofetz Chaim.