Tosefot’s preferred version over our day’s daf disagreement TB Nazir 20

To understand the first tosefot on today’s daf TB Nazir 20 we have to go back to daf TB Nazir 19 and see the disagreement between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai. To appreciate the underpinning idea of the disagreement we have to know that the rabbis decreed the land outside of Israel is tamei.  The classical given reason why the rabbis declared all lands outside the land of Israel tamei is that they were not careful about marking off gravesites; consequently, one could unwittingly walk over a grave and become ritually unready. If a person outside the land of Israel becomes a nazir, it’s like becoming a nazir in a cemetery.

 I think an alternative reason underpinning this rabbinic ordinance is the love of the land of Israel. The rabbis wanted to inculcate how special and holy the land of Israel is in the eyes of the Jewish people. They also wanted to encourage Aliya to Israel and discourage emigration. Who wants to be tamei?!

“MISHNA: One who vowed many days of naziriteship while outside Eretz Yisrael, and completed his naziriteship, and afterward came to Eretz Yisrael, in order to bring the offerings at the end of his naziriteship, Beit Shammai say: He must be a nazirite for thirty days, so that he has observed a term of naziriteship in ritual purity in Eretz Yisrael, and Beit Hillel say: He is a nazirite from the beginning, that is, he must observe his entire naziriteship again.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Gemara wants to understand what they are disagreeing about. “Let us say that they disagree about this, that Beit Shammai hold that when the Sages declared that the land of the nations outside of Eretz Yisrael is impure, they decreed so with regard to its earth. In other words, they decreed that only the earth of the land of the nations is impure…and one who observed a vow of naziriteship outside of Eretz Yisrael is not considered to be impure to the extent that he would be required to start his naziriteship afresh once entering Eretz Yisrael and Beit Hillel hold: They decreed with regard to its airspace…, so he must start his naziriteship from the beginning once he arrives in Eretz Yisrael. The Gemara rejects this possibility:” (Sefaria.org translation)

Tosefot  ד"ה לֵימָא בְּהָא קָמִיפַּלְגִי argues that the version in front of us is incorrect. They claim that if Beit Shammai holds that the land imparts impurity (or as I usually translated as ritual unreadiness), this includes the airspace as well. If they hold such a stringency, how could they ordain such a leniency that the person only needs 30 more days of nezirut once they are in the land of Israel?! They prefer this version. “Beit Shammai hold that when the Sages declared that the land of the nations outside of Eretz Yisrael is impure, they decreed so with regard to its airspace and Beit Hillel hold: They decreed with regard to its earth”

Now Beit Shammai holds a lenient position. Tosefot explains that everybody knows that the nazir is only tamei due to a rabbinic ordinance. According to the Torah the person has completed his nezirut successfully. Because everybody knows that this nazir is only tamei by rabbinic decree, 30 more days is sufficient.

On the other hand because the land outside of Israel is like a graveyard, Beit Hillel holds that it looks too much like a Torah law. People will be confused and not be able to make the distinction between the land of Israel and the lands outside of Israel. They may draw the wrong conclusion and violate a Torah law; consequently, to avoid that mistake this nazir has to start his count all over again.