נָזִיר (m.) (b. h.;
-
- v. נָזִר)
- abstinent. Naz. II, 3 הריני נ׳ ממנו I will abstain from this (cup); a. e.—Pl. נְזִירִים, נְזִירִין. Lev. R. s. 24, end, opp. שכורים.—Esp. nazir, Nazarite, one bound by a vow to be set apart for the service of God, and as such to abstain from grapes and all productions of the vine and from intoxicating drinks, and to let his hair grow (Num. VI, 1–21). Naz. I, 1, a. fr. הרי זה נ׳ he is a Nazarite (his words mean the vow of nazaritism). Ib. 2 נְ׳ שמשון a Nazarite like Samson; נְ׳ עולם a nazarite for life; a. v. fr.—Pl. as ab. Ib. V, 5; a. fr.—Fem. נְזִירָה. Ib. III, 6. Ib. II, 2 אמר אמרה פרה זו הריני נ׳ וכ׳ if he said, this cow thinks I will be a nazir, if I stand up … he is a Nazarite by implication (it being his meaning that he will be a Nazarite if the cow gets up); a. fr.
- guarded. Sifra B’har ch. I; Y. Shebi. VIII, 38ᵇ top. (expl. נזירך, Lev. XXV, 5) מן השמור בארץ וכ׳ of that which is guarded in the ground &c. (v. Rashi to Lev. l. c.), opp. מובקר.—Nazir, name of a treatise, of the Order of Nashim, of Mishnah, Talmud Babli and Y’rushalmi (in Tosefta N’ziroth).
Source: מקור: Jastrow Dictionary
Creator: יוצר: Rabbi Marcus Jastrow
נָזִיר ², נְזִירָא I ch.
-
- same,
- Nazarite. Targ. Num. VI, 18; a. fr.—Num. R. s. 10 (ref. to the precautions prescribed for the Nazarite, Num. VI, 3) מתלא אמר לך לך אמרין (ל)נ׳ סחור וכ׳ the proverb says, go, go, they say (to the) Nazarite, go all around that thou mayest not come near the vineyard; Sabb. 13ᵃ, a. fr. משום לך לך אמרי נ׳ וכ׳ as a measure of precaution; a. e.—Pl. נְזִירִין, נְזִירַיָּא. Y. Naz. V, end, 54ᵇ; Gen. R. s. 91; a. fr.
- crowned, nobleman. Pl. as ab. Targ. Lam. IV, 7.
Source: מקור: Jastrow Dictionary
Creator: יוצר: Rabbi Marcus Jastrow
נְזַר, נְזִיר ch. same
-
- , to abstain; to vow, observe nazariteship. Targ. O. Num. VI, 3 יִזַּר (ed. Berl. יַזַּר Af.; Y. II יִתְנְזַר Ithpe.). Targ. O. ib. 5 דִּנְזִיר ed. Berl. (Var. דִּנְזַר, דְּיַנְזַר, v. Berl. Targ. O. II, p. 40).
- (Af.)
- , אַנְזַר same. Ib. 12; v. supra.
- (Ithpe.)
- to abstain, v. supra.
And nazirites from among your young men.
Is that not so, O people of Israel?
—says the LORD. (12) But you made the nazirites drink wine
And ordered the prophets not to prophesy.
(ב) הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר מִן הַחַרְצַנִּים, וּמִן הַזַּגִּים, וּמִן הַתִּגְלַחַת, וּמִן הַטֻּמְאָה, הֲרֵי זֶה נָזִיר וְכָל דִּקְדּוּקֵי נְזִירוּת עָלָיו. הֲרֵינִי כְשִׁמְשׁוֹן, כְּבֶן מָנוֹחַ, כְּבַעַל דְּלִילָה, כְּמִי שֶׁעָקַר דַּלְתוֹת עַזָּה, כְּמִי שֶׁנִּקְּרוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אֶת עֵינָיו, הֲרֵי זֶה נְזִיר שִׁמְשׁוֹן. מַה בֵּין נְזִיר עוֹלָם לִנְזִיר שִׁמְשׁוֹן. נְזִיר עוֹלָם, הִכְבִּיד שְׂעָרוֹ, מֵקֵל בְּתַעַר וּמֵבִיא שָׁלשׁ בְּהֵמוֹת. וְאִם נִטְמָא, מֵבִיא קָרְבַּן טֻמְאָה. נְזִיר שִׁמְשׁוֹן, הִכְבִּיד שְׂעָרוֹ, אֵינוֹ מֵקֵל. וְאִם נִטְמָא, אֵינוֹ מֵבִיא קָרְבַּן טֻמְאָה:
(2) If one said: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from grape seeds, or: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from grape skins, or: From shaving, or: From impurity, he is a nazirite. And all details of naziriteship are incumbent upon him. Not only does the prohibition he mentioned take effect, he is bound by all of the strictures of naziriteship. If one said: I am hereby like Samson, like the son of Manoah, like the husband of Delilah, like the one who tore off the doors of Gaza, like the one whose eyes were gouged out by the Philistines, he is a nazirite like Samson, whose halakhot are explained in the next mishna (see Judges, chapters 13–16). What is the difference between a permanent nazirite and a nazirite like Samson, both of whom remain nazirites forever? In the case of a permanent nazirite, if his hair grows too heavy for him, he lightens it by cutting some hair with a razor, and he then brings three animals as a sin-offering, a burnt-offering, and a peace-offering, like one who completes his term of naziriteship. And if he becomes ritually impure, he brings the offering for impurity brought by a regular nazirite who became impure. By contrast, in the case of a nazirite like Samson, if his hair grows heavy he may not lighten it, since he is entirely prohibited from cutting his hair. And if he becomes impure, he does not bring an offering for impurity.
(ו) מִי שֶׁנָּזַר נְזִירוּת הַרְבֵּה וְהִשְׁלִים אֶת נְזִירוּתוֹ, וְאַחַר כָּךְ בָּא לָאָרֶץ, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, נָזִיר שְׁלשִׁים יוֹם, וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, נָזִיר בַּתְּחִלָּה. מַעֲשֶׂה בְהִילְנִי הַמַּלְכָּה, שֶׁהָלַךְ בְּנָהּ לַמִּלְחָמָה, וְאָמְרָה, אִם יָבֹא בְנִי מִן הַמִּלְחָמָה בְשָׁלוֹם אֱהֵא נְזִירָה שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים, וּבָא בְנָהּ מִן הַמִּלְחָמָה, וְהָיְתָה נְזִירָה שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים. וּבְסוֹף שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים עָלְתָה לָאָרֶץ, וְהוֹרוּהָ בֵית הִלֵּל שֶׁתְּהֵא נְזִירָה עוֹד שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים אֲחֵרוֹת. וּבְסוֹף שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים נִטְמֵאת, וְנִמְצֵאת נְזִירָה עֶשְׂרִים וְאַחַת שָׁנָה. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה, לֹא הָיְתָה נְזִירָה אֶלָּא אַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה:
(6) 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. The mishna cites a related story: An incident occurred with regard to Queen Helene, whose son had gone to war, and she said: If my son will return from war safely, I will be a nazirite for seven years. And her son returned safely from the war, and she was a nazirite for seven years. And at the end of seven years, she ascended to Eretz Yisrael, and Beit Hillel instructed her, in accordance with their opinion, that she should be a nazirite for an additional seven years. And at the end of those seven years she became ritually impure, and was therefore required to observe yet another seven years of naziriteship, as ritual impurity negates the tally of a nazirite. And she was found to be a nazirite for twenty-one years. Rabbi Yehuda said: She was a nazirite for only fourteen years and not twenty-one.
By the time of the return from Babylonian exile, the priesthood then brought the already existing custom under its control by: (1) creating the institution of the temporary Nazirate, into which anyone could enter by means of a vow; (2) adding stipulations that formed the Nazirite into a priest-like ascetic; and (3) adding sacrificial requirements as part of the vow for the purpose of drawing in for the priests a substantial income. . .
The vow was taken for a variety of reasons: childlessness, as a request for safekeeping on a journey or in a time of war, sickness, remorse over sin, or even rashly out of excitement while gambling. The popularity of the custom. . .declined after the destruction of the temple in AD 70 due to the incapacity to offer the required sacrificial offerings. . .
The very fact that the Mishnah and Tosefta [Gemara] contain entire tractates devoted to the subject of Nazirites, and that these tractates are placed in the order dealing with the topic of women, attest not only to the custom's general popularity but also to its popularity among the female gender.
From "Nazirites in late Second Temple Judaism: a survey of ancient Jewish writings, the New Testament, archaeological evidence, and other writings from late antiquity" The Journal of Theological Studies, 59 no 2 Oct 2008, p 740-742