Le «naziritisme», sans réserve, dure trente jours. [Même si cela a été enseigné ci-dessus (1: 3), il est à nouveau enseigné ici pour ce qui suit, à savoir. «S'il se rasait, etc.»] S'il se rasait ou que des bandits le rasaient, il compensait trente jours. [Autrement dit, il la compense jusqu'à ce qu'il ait une pilosité de trente jours, quand il rase le rasage de la mitsva.] Un Nazirite qui s'est rasé, que ce soit avec une paire (de ciseaux), ou avec une lame, ou qui a arraché tout [c'est-à-dire, qui a déraciné ne serait-ce qu'un cheveu] est passible (de rayures), il est écrit (Nombres 6: 5): "Une lame ne passera pas"—pour inclure tous les (instruments) qui passent.] Un Nazirite peut frotter [ses cheveux avec sa main] et il peut les séparer [avec ses ongles ou avec un instrument, tant qu'il n'a pas l'intention de retirer (des cheveux), car "ce qui n'est pas prévu est permis."], mais il ne peut pas le peigner [avec un peigne, étant certain (que certains cheveux seront arrachés), ce qui est interdit. Même si celui qui arrache ne serait-ce qu'un cheveu reçoit des rayures, il ne décale pas trente jours jusqu'à ce qu'il rase la plupart de ses cheveux avec une lame ou avec des ciseaux à la source des cheveux.] R. Yishmael dit: Il ne peut pas frotter (ses cheveux) avec de la terre [l'un des dépilatoires], car cela [aussi, est certain] faire tomber des cheveux. [La halakha est conforme à R. Yishmael.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
סתם נזירות שלשים יום – even though it (i.e., the Mishnah) taught this above (Tractate Nazir, Chapter 1, Mishnah 3), because it was necessary to teach the concluding [fragment] of, “if he shaved or if robbers/thugs forcibly shaved him, he loses thirty days,” the Tanna/teacher repeated it (i.e., the teaching) here.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
Introduction
As we have already learned, a nazirite may not shave. This mishnah discusses what is included in the prohibition of shaving.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
סותר שלשים יום – meaning to say, he loses thirty days until he will have thirty-days’ growth of hair, when he can shave the shearing of the commandment (for concluding the minimal amount of Naziriteship).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
A nazirite vow of unspecified duration is for thirty days. This halakhah was already taught above 1:3. It is repeated here because of the halakhah in the following section.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
או שספסף כל שהוא – if he uprooted and removed even one hair, he is liable, as it is written (Numbers 6:5): “a razor shall not touch [his head],” to include all removals.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
If [the nazirite] shaved himself or bandits shaved him, it overturns thirty days. If the nazirite is shaved, even if others shave him against his will, he must count another thirty days until he is able to shave and bring his sacrifices. However, shaving overturns only thirty days. Thus if he made a sixty day nazirite vow, and already served 50 days and then shaved or was shaven, he must count another thirty days, but he doesn’t lose the first twenty days which he served.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
חופף – he rubs with his hand.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
A nazirite who shaves himself, whether with scissors or a razor, or who singes [the ends of his hair], even a minimal amount, is liable. It doesn’t matter how he cuts his hair he is liable and must count another thirty days. The word for “singes” is unclear and is also interpreted to mean “pull out a little bit of hair”, “pull hair out from its roots.” In any case, he is liable for all of these things.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
מפספס – with his nails or with a utensil, and as long as he doesn’t intend to remove anything, for a thing that is not intended is permissible.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nazir
A nazirite may shampoo [his hair] and part it [with his fingers] but may not comb it. Rabbi Ishmael says: he is not to cleanse it with dirt because it causes the hair to fall out. When one washes one’s hair, some of it sometimes falls out. [Personal confession: I remember this quite well when I went bald at the age of 20. I would have made a poor nazirite!] Nevertheless, the mishnah rules that a nazirite can wash his hair, since it is not certain that his hair will fall out. However, he may not comb his hair for then it is certain that some of his hair will be uprooted by the comb. Rabbi Ishmael rules that he may not wash his hair with dirt, which was a means in the ancient world to cleanse hair (things have certainly improved) for that too will certainly cause some hair to fall out. We see, therefore, that the issue is not one of intent but certainty. A nazirite may not do something that will certainly cause his hair to fall out, but he may do something that is likely to cause hair to fall out.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
אבל לא סורק – with a comb for it is an unavoidable result of an act which is forbidden, even though if he removes one hair, he is flogged, nevertheless, he doesn’t lose thirty days until he shaves the majority of his hair with a razor or with scissors at the side root of [his] hair.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nazir
לא יחוף באדמה – a species from the kinds of earth that removes the hair that is also an unavoidable result of an act and the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yishmael.
