Mishnah
Mishnah

Commentary for Nazir 7:1

כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל וְנָזִיר אֵינָן מִטַּמְּאִין לִקְרוֹבֵיהֶן, אֲבָל מִטַּמְּאִין לְמֵת מִצְוָה. הָיוּ מְהַלְּכִין בַּדֶּרֶךְ וּמָצְאוּ מֵת מִצְוָה, רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, יִטַּמָּא כֹהֵן גָּדוֹל וְאַל יִטַּמָּא נָזִיר. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, יִטַּמָּא נָזִיר וְאַל יִטַּמָּא כֹהֵן גָּדוֹל. אָמַר לָהֶם רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר, יִטַּמָּא כֹהֵן שֶׁאֵינוֹ מֵבִיא קָרְבָּן עַל טֻמְאָתוֹ, וְאַל יִטַּמָּא נָזִיר שֶׁהוּא מֵבִיא קָרְבָּן עַל טֻמְאָתוֹ. אָמְרוּ לוֹ, יִטַּמָּא נָזִיר שֶׁאֵין קְדֻשָּׁתוֹ קְדֻשַּׁת עוֹלָם, וְאַל יִטַּמָּא כֹהֵן שֶׁקְּדֻשָּׁתוֹ קְדֻשַּׁת עוֹלָם:

A high-priest and a Nazirite may not make themselves unclean for their relatives, [as written in Emor and Nasso], but they do make themselves unclean for a meth-mitzvah. If they were walking on the road and came upon a meth-mitzvah — R. Eliezer says: The high-priest should make himself unclean and not the Nazirite. [Not necessarily a high-priest, for they differ with respect to a regular priest, too, the reason being the same]. And the sages say: The Nazirite should make himself unclean, and the high-priest should not make himself unclean. R. Eliezer said to them: Let the Cohein make himself unclean, who does not bring an offering for his uncleanliness, and let the Nazirite not make himself unclean, who does bring an offering for his uncleanliness. They said to him: Let the Nazirite become unclean, whose holiness is not forever, and let the Cohein not become unclean, whose holiness is forever.

Explore commentary for Nazir 7:1. In-depth commentary and analysis from classical Jewish sources.

Full ChapterNext Verse