My Siyum on ta'anit bekhorot 5783 Nazir 66

I.                Parashat nazir in the Torah is found in Numbers6 1:22.

 

II.             A person who vows to become a nazir accepts upon himself three prohibitions.   

a.     Abstention from every part of the grape and all grape products like wine.

b.    Abstention from cutting his/her hair.

c.     Not becoming tamei met.

 

III.           At the successful conclusion of the vow, the person after he goes to the mikvah, he offers three sacrifices in the Temple and they are the khatat, the ‘olah, and the shelamim along with matzah. The person shaves his head with a razor in the hair is burnt underneath the shelamim.

 

IV.          There are six different categories of nezirut.

a.     Stam nazir who accepts upon himself the minimum amount of time to be a nazir which is 30 days.

b.    2 nezirut. A person accepts upon himself to consecutive periods of nezirut. After each 30 days he goes through the same process that the stam nazir does.

c.     A long nezirut. A person can vow to be a nazir as long as he wishes. At the end of the successful completion of the vow, he goes through the same process that the stam nazir does.

d.    Nazir l’olam. This person is a nazir his entire life and at the end of each 30 days, he goes through the same process that the stam nazir does.

e.     Nazir ’olam. This person may shave his head once a year and if he becomes tamei he brings to the Temple these three sacrifices, a khatat, an ’olah, and an asham. Afterwards he goes back being a nazir.

f.      A nazir like Samson is a person who never shaves his head, but never brings the sacrifices even if he becomes tamei met. Samson was a great warrior who killed lots of people; consequently, the rabbis understood that the prohibition against coming in contact with the dead does not apply to him.

 

V.             The rabbis frowned on this excessive who piety. Daf TB Nedarim 77 reminds us once again that we should refrain from making vows. We already have enough “nos” in Judaism. Why should a person forbid something to him that is permitted?! In fact, we’re going to give an accounting why we did enjoy life on earth. “Rebbi Ḥizqiah, Rebbi Cohen in the name of Rav: Every person will have to justify himself for everything his eye saw and which he did not eat” TY Kidushin 4:3 Abstaining from what is good i.e. wine, is the reason the Torah commands the nazir to bring a korban khatat.

 

VI The Siyum

 

אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא. תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים מַרְבִּים שָׁלום בָּעולָם. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וְכָל בָּנַיִךְ לִמּוּדֵי ה' וְרַב שְׁלום בָּנָיִךְ:

 

Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Ḥanina said: Torah scholars increase peace in the world, as it is stated: “And all your children [banayikh] shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children” (Isaiah 54:13). 

P.S The Sages interpreted this verse homiletically: Do not read it as: “Your children [banayikh],” but as: Your builders [bonayikh]. Torah scholars are those who build peace for their generation.