Nazir 13 - February 5, 14 Shevat

This month's learning is sponsored by Hadran of Silver Spring in memory of Nicki Toys, Nechama bat Shmuel Tzadok. “Nicki was creative, talented, and filled with so much love and goodness. She had an incredible attitude about life, family, and faith that every one of us should aspire to achieve. May her memory always be a blessing.”  This week's learning is sponsored in loving memory of Miriam Baumel who passed away last week on her 91st birthday. May her memory be a blessing. -From her loving granddaughters. The Mishna talks about a case where one takes upon being a nazir in the event a child will be born, but the child dies either in childbirth or within the first thirty days. Since one can't be sure whether the child was viable and died by some other cause or was never viable to begin with, there is a doubt about whether or not the parent is a nazir. The rabbis rule leniently, as per Rabbi Yehuda that we are lenient in laws of nazir. But Rabbi Shimon rules stringently and suggests that one should say, if the child was viable, I am a nazir based on my previous declaration (obligatory) and if not, I will take on being a nazir voluntarily. If subsequently a child was born, one will need to do the same thing, in case the previous obligation was not fulfilled in the previous birth. First, the Gemara goes back to the cases in the Mishna on Nazir 12b where one said "son" or "child" and it was discussed which type of child is included in each term. The Gemara explains why the Mishna needed to spell that all out - why wasn't it obvious? Rabbi Abba asked Rav Huna: if one gave birth to a child who died soon after childbirth and the husband separated animals for the nazir sacrifice and then his wife gave birth to a second healthy child (presumably, the case is that there are twins), is the animal sanctified? This question is asked according to Rabbi Yehuda's opinion and the ramification is to know whether one can use the animals for work or shear them. Ben Rachumi asked Abaye about a case where one said he will be a nazir if he has a child and then a friend said "On me also." Did he mean that he will also be a nazir when the friend has a child or he will be a nazir when he has a child. This question leads to several other questions such as, would it change if he said "And me" instead of "On me"? Would it make a difference if the original person took on to be a nazir if a third person had a child. The Mishna brings up cases of one who took upon to be a nazir immediately and when he has a child. If after he starts counting the first term, the child is born, he completes the first term, including shaving/sacrifices and then starts counting the second term. But if he first said "I will be a nazir when I have a child and I will be a nazir, he starts counting the second term and when the child is born, if he hasn't finished, he stops the second term, starts counting the term for the child and when it ends, he finishes the first term. Rava asks about a different, but similar case.