If one of the bloods were sprinkled for him and he became unclean, R. Eliezer says: He offsets all. [Not all of the days (of Naziritism), but all of the offerings. R. Eliezer is consistent with his view that the Nazirite is not permitted to drink wine until all of the (aforementioned acts), after the bringing of all the offerings. So that when he became unclean before he offered all of them, it is as if he became unclean in the morning, before he had offered any of them. And the offering that he brought is reckoned as having been brought before "fulfillment" (of his Naziritism).] And the sages say: He may bring the other offerings and become clean. [(That is, when he becomes clean.) And he need not bring again the offering that he brought when he was clean. The rabbis are consistent with their view (6:9) that after a single act it is permitted to drink wine and to shave. Therefore, before he became unclean, he was fit to shave, and that offering is not offset. But the other offerings, which he sacrificed after becoming unclean, are certainly offset, Scripture requiring that all the Nazirite offerings be brought in cleanliness.] They said to him. It happened with Miriam the Tarmodith [(from Tarmod)] that one of the bloods had been sprinkled for her and they came and told her that her daughter was gravely ill — whereupon she went and found that she had died. And the sages said: "Let her bring the other offerings and become clean."
Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
ר"א אומר סותר את הכל – he doesn’t lose all of the days as is stated, but loses all of the sacrifices, and Rabbi Eliezer, according to his reasoning, who stated that the Nazirite is not permitted to drink wine [at this point], but rather, after all of the deeds [together], after the bringing of all of the sacrifices. And when he became defiled prior to bringing all of them, it is as if he became defiled in the morning prior to offering in the name of any of them, and it is that this sacrifice that he offered is as if he had brought them while being filled.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
Introduction
This mishnah deals with a situation where a nazirite began to have his sacrifices offered and then during the process, he became impure through contact with a dead body. The question is, when he becomes clean, does he have to bring again the sacrifice(s) which was already offered.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
וחכמים אומרים יביא שאר קרבנותיו ויטהר – an explanation: that when he will become [ritually] pure, and that sacrifice which he brought in purity, he should not go back and bring it. Our Rabbis, according to their reasoning who stated that after the single action, it is permitted to drink wine and it is permitted to shave/cut his hair. Therefore, prior to his becoming defiled, it was appropriate to shave/cut his hair and not lose that sacrifice, but the other sacrifices that he offered, from when he became defiled certainly he loses, for the Biblical verse is strict that all of the Nazirite sacrifices should be offered in [ritual] purity.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
If [a nazirite] on whose behalf one kind of blood has been sprinkled becomes unclean, Rabbi Eliezer says: everything is annulled. But the Sages say: he should bring his remaining sacrifices after purification. They said to him: it happened that Miriam the Tadmorite had one kind of blood sprinkled on her behalf, and they came and told her that her daughter was dangerously ill. She went and found her dead and the sages told her to offer her remaining sacrifices after purification. The topic of this mishnah is a nazirite who became impure after one of her sacrifices had been slaughtered and its blood sprinkled on the altar, but before the other sacrifices had undergone this process. According to Rabbi Eliezer, her becoming impure annuls all of her sacrifices, even the one whose blood had already been spilled. Therefore, she must wait seven days to become pure and then bring a new set of sacrifices. In contrast, the sages hold that the sacrifice whose blood had already been sprinkled counts and that after becoming pure, she need bring only the sacrifices that had not yet been offered. The sages prove their point by bringing a story of where this actually happened. As a side note, it is interesting that the two stories of nazirites which we have encountered, the story regarding Queen Helena and this one, involve women. While it may be imprudent to make any conclusions from such scanty evidence, perhaps taking nazirite vows was a form of religious expression common, at least relatively speaking, among women.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
מרים התרמודית – She was from Tarmod, and the Halakha is according to the Sages.
