If he said: "This cow said: 'I shall be a Nazirite if I stand up’", "This door said: 'I shall be a Nazirite if I am opened'" [If one's cow were lying down and refused to stand up, and he said: This cow thinks she will not stand up, and she says in her heart: "I shall be a Nazirite if I stand up"; and I say: I shall be a Nazirite from her if she does not stand up! Likewise, with a locked door that he could not open, if he said: This door thinks I shall not open it, and it says: "I shall be a Nazirite if I am opened"; and I say: I shall be a Nazirite from it if it is not opened! And afterwards the cow stood up of itself without his making it stand, and, similarly, the door opened of itself, or another came and opened it, without his opening it] — Beth Shammai say: He becomes a Nazirite [consistent with their saying that if one bevows himself from dried figs or from pressed figs he becomes a Nazirite, even though there is no Naziritism from figs — Here, too, even though there is no Naziritism from a beast and from a door, he becomes a Nazirite. And even though the beast stood up and the door was opened, his intent was that only he make it stand or open it.] And Beth Hillel say: He is not a Nazirite [according to the words of Beth Shammai. For according to us (Beth Hillel), even if she did not stand up at all he is not a Nazirite, his not having vowed in the manner of the vowers, there being no Naziritism from a beast and from a door. But according to you who say that one does not utter things in vain, and that when he said: "I shall be a Nazirite," he meant it, concede to us, at least, that if it stood up of itself or others stood it up that he does not become a Nazirite, for he said: "if she does not stand up," and she did!] R. Yehudah said: Even when Beth Shammai said what they did, they said so only when he thought (in his heart): "This cow is (forbidden) to me as an offering if it stands up." [Beth Shammai do not differ with Beth Hillel as to his not becoming a Nazirite. They differ only when he says: When I said I would be a Nazirite from it if it did not stand, I meant that this beast should be (forbidden) as an offering — Beth Shammai holding that since he himself did not stand it up, it is an offering, and Beth Hillel holding that since it stood up, it is not an offering.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
אמר אמרה פרה זו הריני נזירה אם אומדת אני – he whose cow was lying down [under a burden] and it does not want to stand up and he said, “this cow thinks that she will not stand,” and she says in her heart, “I will be a Nazirite if I stand,” And I say, “I will be a Nazirite from her if she doesn’t stand,” and similarly, a locked door that cannot be opened and he says, “this door thinks I will not open it,” and it states, “I will be a Nazirite if it opens by me,” and I state: “I will be a Nazirite from it if it will not open,” and afterwards, the cow stands up on its own or that others raise it, but he did not raise it.” And similarly, the door opens on its own, or another comes and opens it and he did not open it.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
Introduction
This mishnah discusses a person who may have made a nazirite vow using an extremely strange formula.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
בש"א הרי זה נזיר – for they follow their own reasoning as they (i.e., the School of Shammai), state that one who takes a vow from dry figs and from cake pressed figs that he is a Nazirite, even though there is no Naziriteship from dried figs and from cake pressed figs, so also, even though there is no Naziriteship from a cow and from a door, he is a Nazirite, and even though the cow stood and/or the door opened, it was not it was not his intention other than he would raise it or open it by himself.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
If one says, “This cow is saying ‘Behold, I am a nazirite if I get up,” or “This door is saying ‘Behold, I am a nazirite if I open”: Bet Shammai says: he is a nazirite, But Bet Hillel says: he is not a nazirite. Rabbi Judah said: even though Beth Shammai did say [that his formula is effective] they meant only one who says, “This cow is [forbidden] to me, as is a sacrifice if it gets up.” The mishnah describes a person whose cow will not stand up or whose door will not open. The person says “This cow doesn’t want to get up. It is as if she is saying ‘Behold, I am a nazirite if I get up.’” Or “This door doesn’t want to open. It is as if it is saying ‘Behold, I am a nazirite if I open up.’” Beth Shammai holds that the person has actually made a nazirite vow, even though it seems that he was just using language to illustrate how difficult it is to get the cow to get up or the door to open. Albeck explains that according to Beth Shammai since the person said “Behold, I am a nazirite”, he is a nazirite even though he was saying it as if the cow or door was saying the words. A different explanation is offered by the Talmud, which interprets it as if he meant to say that he himself would be a nazirite if the cow wouldn’t get up or the door wouldn’t open. Beth Hillel holds that this person is not a nazirite, just as they did in the previous mishnah. Rabbi Judah again reinterprets Beth Shammai’s position. Beth Shammai did not mean to say that the person is a nazirite. Beth Shammai holds that if the person meant that he would be forbidden to eat the cow or use the door as if it was a sacrifice then the vow is effective.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
וב"ה אומרים – to the words of the School of Shammai. For us, even if it (i.e., the cow) did not stand up at all, he would not be a Nazirite, for he mad ae a vow that is not in the manner of those who make vows, for there is no Naziriteship from a cow or from a door, but according to you, who say that a person does not utter words without a purpose for when he stated, “I will be a Nazirite,” it is with the intention that he will be a Nazirite that he stated it, however, they agree with us, at least, where she (i.e., the cow) stood on her own or others raised her up, that he is not a Nazirite, for he did not say other than if she will not stand, and behold, she stood.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
א"ר יהודה וכו' – The School of Shammai did not disagree with the School of Hillel regarding the matter of Naziriteship for he is not a Nazirite. They did not disagree other than when he says: “in my heart it was that this animal should be a sacrifice at the time that I stated that I will be a Nazirite from her if she will not stand.” For the School of Shammai holds that since he did not make her stand, it should be a sacrifice, and the School of Hillel holds that since it (i.e., the animal) stood, it is not a sacrifice.
