(If one said:) "I shall shave half a Nazirite," and his fellow heard and said: "And I shall shave half a Nazirite," each shaves a complete Nazirite. These are the word of R. Meir. And the sages say: Each shaves half a Nazirite. [R. Meir is consistent with his view that "the first expression 'takes,'" so that when he says: "I shall shave," a full shaving is implied, and when he continues: "half a Nazirite," he can no longer retract — even in the midst of his words. And the rabbis hold: "The vow and its 'opening' are concomitant," so that it is as if he would have said: Half the offerings of a Nazirite are upon me (to bring)," in which instance he is liable only for that. The halachah is in accordance with the sages.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
[זה מגלח נזיר שלם] וזה מגלח נזיר שלם דברן ר"מ – Rabbi Meir according to his method of reasoning that he holds that the first language takes effect and when he says, “I pledge myself to bring the [hair] offering,” a full [hair] offering is mentioned, and when he mentions after that, one-half of the Nazirite hair-offering, it is not within his powers to retract, even as much time as is needed for an utterance (e.g., a greeting). But the Rabbis hold that if he vowed and they opened with him, it is like a person who said, “half of the sacrifices of the Nazirite are upon me, for he is not liable other than for half of the [hair] sacrifices of the Nazirite, and the Halakha is according to the Sages.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
Introduction
This mishnah is a continuation of yesterday’s mishnah. It deals with a situation in which a person vows that he will bring the offerings of half of a nazirite.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
[If one says,] “I take it upon myself to bring the hair offering of half of another nazirite,” and his friend heard and said, “I too take it upon myself to bring the hair offering of half of another nazirite,” –, this one brings a full hair offering and this one brings a full hair offering, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the Sages say: each brings half a hair offering. The statement of these two people is strange and can be interpreted in two different ways. When they each say, “I take it upon myself to bring the hair offering of half of another nazirite”, they may have thought that there was such a thing as a half-nazirite. Since there is no such thing, Rabbi Meir says they both must bring a full hair-offering. In contrast, the Sages assume that what he meant to say was that he would bring half of the hair offering of a nazirite. Therefore, each pays for half of the offerings that one nazirite must bring, and the nazirite himself would be responsible for the remainder.
