If he saw a koi, and he said: "I am a Nazirite if that is an animal"; "I am a Nazirite if that is not an animal"; "I am a Nazirite if that is a beast"; "I am a Nazirite if that is not a beast"; "I am a Nazirite if that is an animal and a beast"; "I am a Nazirite if that is neither animal nor beast"; "I am a Nazirite if one of you is a Nazirite"; "I am a Nazirite if none of you is a Nazirite"; "I am a Nazirite if you are all Nazirites" — they are all Nazirites. [If six men saw a koi, and one of them said: "I shall be a Nazirite if that is an animal"; the second: "I shall be a Nazirite if that is not an animal"; the third: "I shall be a Nazirite if that is a beast"; the fourth: "I shall be a Nazirite if that is not a beast"; the fifth: "I shall be a Nazirite if that is an animal and a beast"; the sixth: "I shall be a Nazirite if that is neither animal nor beast" — and then three other men came and one of them said to these six: "I shall be a Nazirite if one of you is a Nazirite"; the second: "I shall be a Nazirite if one of you is not a Nazirite"; the third: "I shall be a Nazirite if you are all Nazirites" — all are Nazirites, the first six and the last three. According to Beth Shammai, they are definite Nazirites, for Naziritism in error is Naziritism. And according to Beth Hillel, they are Nazirites "by doubt," because there is a doubt as to whether a koi is a beast or an animal or a distinctive creature.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
ראה את הכוי six people who saw the bearded dear or antelope/Koy and one of them said: “Behold, I am a Nazirite if this is a beast of chase,” and the second said: “Behold, I am a Nazirite if it is not a beast of chase,” and the third said: “Behold, I am a Nazirite if it is of the genus of cattle,” and the fourth said: “Behold, I am a Nazirite if it is not of the genus of a cattle,” and the fifth said: “Behold, I am a Nazirite if this is a beast of chase and a genus of cattle,” and the sixth said: “Behold, I am a Nazirite if this is neither a beast of chase or of the genus of cattle,” and three others came in a general way and one of them said to those other six: “Behold, I am a Nazirite if one of you is a Nazirite,” and the second said: “Behold, I am a Nazirite if none of you are a Nazirite,” and the third said: “Behold, I am a Nazirite if all of you are Nazirites,” all of them are Nazirites – the first six and the latter three. According to the School of Shammai, they are definitive Nazirites, for a Naziriteship in error is a Nazirite. But according to the School of Hillel, they are doubtful Nazirites because the bearded dear or antelope/Koy is doubtfully of the genus of cattle and doubtfully a beast of chase and doubtfully a creature of its own.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
Introduction In this mishnah nine (!) people “wager” their nazirite vows over whether a koy is a wild beast or a domesticated beast. Already by the Talmudic period they did not know exactly what animal a koy really was. Some said it was a wild ox, while others interpret it as a mix of different deer species. In any case, it was considered in some ways similar to a wild beast and some ways similar to a domesticated beast. Mishnah Bikkurim 2:8-10 discusses the halakhic nature of the matter, for there are halakhic differences between rules regarding domesticated and wild animals.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
If he saw a koy and said, “Behold, I am a nazirite if this is a wild beast”, [and another] “Behold, I am a nazirite if that is not a wild beast,” [a third said] “Behold, I am a nazirite if that is a domesticated beast,” [and a fourth said,] “Behold, I am a nazirite if that is not a domesticated beast,” [a fifth said,] Behold, I am a nazirite if that is both a wild beast and a domesticated beast,” [and a sixth said,] “Behold, I am a nazirite if that is neither a wild beast nor a domesticated beast” [and a seventh said,] “Behold, I am a nazirite if one of you is a nazirite,” [and an eighth said,] Behold, I am a nazirite if one of you is not a nazirite,” [and a ninth said,] “Behold, I am a nazirite if you are all nazirites”, then all of them are nazirites. Some mishnaic commentators claim that in this case, Beth Hillel agrees with Beth Shammai that they are all nazirites. A koy is not an animal about which we have a doubt whether it is a domesticated or wild beast. Rather a koy is both a domesticated and a wild beast. This mishnah is different from the previous mishnayoth in that in this case there is no true identity to the koy, whereas regarding the person, he certainly has an identity, even if that identity is unknown. Others explain that Beth Hillel holds that they are all nazirites in doubt, the category mentioned at the end of yesterday’s mishnah. If so, the mishnah teaches that even if the status of the matter in question is by definition one of doubt, they are nazirites in doubt.
