In our rotation, every third week dips into Aruch HaShulchan He-Atid. For this week, we start with the first siman of the section called Halachot Shonot, Various Laws, some principles of nezirut.
What Is a Nazir?
He opens with a definition of nazir, taken from the beginning of Rambam’s Laws of Nezirut. Nezirut is a particular type of vow (Bamidbar 6;2 uses the verb neder, vowing to accept certain prohibitions) to agree to the rules for nezirut. Anticipating an idea from next week’s discussion, AH points out some vows promise to refrain from certain actions, others commit to donating items to the Beit HaMikdash or other sanctified causes.
We might have thought a nazir took the latter type of vow, since nezirut ends with certain sacrifices, and Bamidbar 6;5 calls the nazir kadosh, sanctified. Rambam was therefore careful to refer to it as among nidrei issur, the nazir promises to refrain from wine, haircuts and shaving, and contact with those who have passed away.
Nazir—Good or Bad?
In se’if two, AH notes the end of Rambam’s Laws of Nazir, based on a Mishnah in Nedarim, where he contrasts those who accept nezirut on some condition (I’ll be a nazir if I pass this test) to those for whom it is a way to achieve greater sanctity. The first group are considered evildoers (only for that area of their lives, Ran assures us), because we distrust their commitment.
AH puts it well in se’if three, they did not enter nezirut with a full heart (they did it on condition x happened; they may have wanted x not to happen, or convinced it wouldn’t happen). Such grudging nezirim will perhaps regret their fateful words, wish they had never said them. Judaism has no use for nezirut of this sort.
Nezirut is supposed to be for those seeking to grow in connection to God, who see this as a way to overcome their baser inclinations, such as the young man who impressed Shim’on HaTzaddik (Nazir 4b), who generally objected to nezirut. The young man explained he had become a nazir to teach himself not to be vain about his beautiful hair., and Shim’on HaTzaddik praised his motives, blessed him/wished there should be more nezirim like him.
Even Good Has Limits
In se’if four, however, AH wonders about Rambam’s view here compared to his view of vows in general. At the end of Laws of Vows, Rambam praised those who take vows to train their characters, improve their conduct; such people are using the vow system to enhance their service of God. Still, added Rambam, one should not engage in vows excessively, should practice these forms of self-discipline without couching them in a vow. Why not say that for nazir, too?
He had mentioned nazir back in Laws of Vows, so perhaps he was relying on what he said back there, except Shimon HaTzaddik had hoped for more nezirim like the man with the hair, without apparent limits. AH suggests perhaps Shimon meant more such people would become nezirim once, but not repeatedly.
Another challenge from Laws of Vows, that Rambam quoted R. Natan, Nedarim 22a, who likened vow-taking to building an altar outside the Beit HaMikdash, and fulfilling the vow (rather than finding a Torah scholar to release it) to offering a sacrifice on the bamah, the external altar. He did make an exception for vows to donate to the Temple, leaving AH in se’if five to wonder where nezirut fits in.
AH cuts the knot in se’if six, says a vow with proper motives, whether for nazir or something else, is not like building an altar, and is valuable, in moderation.
On Time
The Gemara understood the use of the verb for vowing when it came to nezirut to be the Torah’s way of showing us two similarities. One is the application to nezirut of bal te’acher and bal yachel, not to be late in fulfillment of the commitment, and not to treat the commitment lightly.
A successful nazir thus also fulfills the obligation of Bamidbar 30;3, stated in the context of neder, to act according to what s/he said. In terms of delay, Rosh applied the standard of promised sacrifices, to perform the promised nezirut before three major holidays had passed. Ran disagreed, thought it happens immediately, as Rambam also said in Nazir 1;4, because we never know when a person might pass away and be unable to fulfill the vow.
In se’if ten, AH wonders why we would say that someone violates bal te’acher by not becoming a nazir right away, lest s/he die. Granted, we are obligated to factor in the possibility of death, as we do in other contexts, but if the person doesn’t die, and fulfills his/her nezirut, AH is not clear what moves this from “insufficiently careful, which happened to work out well,” to a Biblical violation.
He locates the answer in the hekesh we discussed earlier, the Torah having linked nezirut to nedarim. The connection means a nazir not only has to do as undertaken, but must ensure s/he will do as undertaken.
The same linkage adds to what has been accomplished with a successful nezirut, the nazir has also fulfilled the obligation to act according to his/her words, has avoided violating the prohibition to treat those words lightly. Rambam did not count those obligations here, says AH in se’if twelve, because they are not unique to nezirut, but does include them in the first chapter of those laws.
A first step in nezirut, whether it is a value, how it is similar to nedarim, and its basic rules. When we come back to it, in six weeks, we’ll be at Siman eleven, when multiple vows of nezirut interact. Next week, it’s Yoreh De’ah 213, vows about intangibles, like actions.
