Nazir 5

Sugya Map

• Issue: Defining the temporal duration of the term yamim (days) in the context of Absalom’s hair-cutting (II Samuel 14:26), and the duration of an "unspecified" naziriteship.
• Nafka Mina: Whether yamim defaults to 12 months (Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi), 30 days (Rabbi Nehorai), or 7 days (Rabbi Yosei).
• Primary Sources: Leviticus 25:29 (walled cities), II Samuel 14:26 (Absalom), Numbers 6:5 (nazirite vow).

Text Snapshot

• Nazir 5a: "ויליף רבי בגזירה שוה 'ימים' 'ימים' מבתי ערי חומה... מה התם שנים עשר חדש... אף כאן שנים עשר חדש."
• Nuance: The Gemara rejects yamim yamima (Judges 11:40) as a source because it lacks the lexical precision of a simple gezera shava—preferring the identity of the term over the similarity of the concept.

Readings

• Rashi (5a s.v. דילמא): Highlights the hachra'a (decision) process. We prefer a source where the time period is explicitly defined (the house of walled cities) over one where the interval is ambiguous (yamim yamima), as ambiguity invites conflicting hermeneutical interpretations.
• Tosafot (5a s.v. מ"ט גבי כהנים): Addresses a circularity problem: if priests are compared to ordinary nazirites, why compare a perpetual nazirite (Absalom) to priests? Chiddush: One cannot derive kedushat olam (perpetual sanctity) from kedushat sha'ah (temporary sanctity). Therefore, the analogy to priests is necessary to justify the "weight" factor.

Friction

• Kushya: How can Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi use yamim to mean 12 months when he elsewhere (Arakhin 31a) defines it as two days?
• Terutz: Contextual weight. In the context of hair, "two days" lacks physical reality; in the context of property, "two days" is the minimum legal threshold. The word yamim serves as a variable dependent on the inyan (subject matter).

Intertext

• Leviticus 25:29 provides the baseline for yamim as a year.
• Numbers 6:5 functions as the gimatriya pivot point for the 30-day default naziriteship.

Psak/Practice

The Gemara establishes that "unspecified" legal terms are not arbitrary; they are tethered to the gimatriya of the text (Numbers 6:5) or the physiological reality of the subject (hair weight). Practically, this reinforces the principle that stama (unspecified) vows are limited by the standard period of the mitzvah itself.

Takeaway

Legal terminology is not a static dictionary definition but a fluid variable calibrated by the physical or social reality of the subject matter.