Sefer HaChinuch ספר החינוך

That the nazirite not become impure through a dead body or through other impurities: That the nazirite not become impure through a dead body, as it is stated (Numbers 6:7), “For his father or for his mother, etc. he shall not become impure, etc.” Even though I have already written in the first commandment of this Order (Sefer HaChinukh 362) the reason for the distancing of impurity from that which is holy, I will still say that which comes to my spirit about the reason of the great stringency with the nazirite; as he is commanded not to become impure even for his father and his mother and — there is no need to say — other relatives, and [yet] a regular priest who is also holy, may become impure for [his close relatives]. And the matter is apparently because the holiness of the priest rests upon him automatically. He did not agree to it and it was not from his consent, but rather he was sanctified from birth and from the womb, by force of his tribe which is totally holy. And [so] his behavior towards his relatives is like all other people, since there is no difference between the priestly man and the rest of the people, except that sometimes he will do the service for his God. However, sometimes he will also dwell in his domicile and regale with his friends — he calls to his companions for joy and parties. Hence his heart will be warm towards them and theirs towards him. And because of this, the Torah permitted [him] to become impure for them — “all the ways of the Torah are pleasant and all of its paths are peace.”

However the man that is a nazirite to God is holy to God all the days of his nazirite vows and — as the verse attests to him (Numbers 6:7) — “as the crown of his God is upon him,” he will not become impurified with worldly desires, and he will not be found at parties and the banquets of his companions. As his separation from wine shows about him that he has given his heart to prepare himself and to afflict himself before God, to improve the ways of his soul and to leave the pleasures of the benighted body. And since he has placed all of his heart and all of his thoughts towards his dear soul and he has abandoned all of his own needs and those of his flesh, what would be his desire for the drawing close of his companions and his friends — besides for the commandment, without a doubt. As with the raising of the soul, the pleasures of the body and all of its matters become very light in its eyes. All the more so will it not seek the company of other bodies, whether they be relatives or [others], and it will not find delight in any of their things, besides the holy service to which it is connected and to which its eyes are always directed. And hence from his great holiness and separation from his brothers, the Torah prevents him from becoming impure for them. And [it is] like the matter of the high priest — as since his matters are very elevated and he is separated from the company of his friends, and his pursuits and thoughts are only about the service of his God, may He be blessed, the Torah prevents him from becoming impure for anyone of his relatives. And the stated explanation for his distancing from impurity is also stated about the nazirite; except that with the priest, it mentions oil, since he is anointed with it, but with the nazirite, it does not mention oil. As with the priest, it states (Leviticus 21:22), “as the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him.” But with the nazirite, it [only] states, “as the crown of his God is upon him.” And maybe you will think to respond to me, that when a temporary nazirite finishes his time, he will return to his obliviousness and chase after his desires; and, if so, why should he be more stringent than a regular priest? The answer is that after a person takes on being a nazirite one time, there is hope for him to sanctify himself and to add to his goodness each day. And he will be agreed to from the Heavens and like the matter that they, may their memory be blessed, said (Shabbat 104a), “One who comes to purify himself, is assisted.” And since he has taken on being a nazirite even one day, he is assisted and will finish all of his days in purity.

From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Nazir 49b) that there is a [type of] impurity of a dead body that if the nazirite is made impure by it, he shaves and it interrupts his earlier [tally of] days, and begins to count the days of his naziriteness afterwards [from the beginning]; and there is [another type of] impurity of a dead body for which he does not shave and it does not interrupt his earlier days. [And the latter is such,] even though it is an impurity [that makes impure for] seven [days] (characteristic of impurity generated by a dead body); because it is not said about it, “and if he becomes impure for a soul,” but rather (Numbers 6:9), “And if a dead body dies upon him” — which implies [only] when he becomes impure with impurities which are from the essence of the dead body. And these are the impurities for which the nazirite must shave: for a stillborn embryo, even if its limbs have not become attached to its tendons; for a kazayit from a dead body; for a kazayit of the discarded (netsel); for the bones that make up the numerical majority of the bones, even if they do not constitute one quarter of a kav; for half a kav of bones, even if they do not constitute the majority of its structure or their numerical majority, so long as all of the bones are from one dead body and not from two dead bodies; for a backbone coming from a dead body; for the skull of one dead body; for the [detached] limb of a living person that has [enough] flesh to grow back on a living person; for half a log of blood from one dead body; and for a fistful of rotted remains of a dead body. And what is netsel? It is flesh of a dead body that is dissolved and has become rotten liquid. And the rotten remains (rakav) of a dead person only render impure if he is buried naked in a marble coffin and he is all complete. If one limb was lacking from him or if he was buried with his cloak or in a coffin of boneware or metal, [his remains] are not [considered] rakav. And they only spoke about rakav regarding a dead body alone, which excludes someone killed, as behold, he is missing his blood. If they buried two dead bodies together or they cut his hair or his fingernails and buried them with him, or if a pregnant woman died and she was buried [with] the embryo in her innards and so [too,] if [someone] ground the dead body until it became rakav, their rakav does not render impure until [the body itself] rots on its own. And so [too,] if he became impure from a quarter [of a kav] of bones that come from the backbone or from the skull in their tent, behold it is a doubt whether he is impure.

[Regarding] all of these twelve [types of] impurity that we have enumerated — if the nazirite touched one of them or if he carried it, or if the nazirite hovered over it or the impurity hovered over the nazirite or the nazirite and one of the impurities were [together] in a tent (under anything over them) — behold he must shave the shaving of (caused by) impurity, and he brings a sacrifice for impurity and it interrupts all [of the days of his tally]. [This is true of all of the impurities] except for rakav, which does not render impure with touch, as it is impossible for him to touch it all, as behold, it is not one body. But if he carries it or becomes impure in its tent, he must shave. And so [too,] a nazirite who touches a bone of a dead body — even a bone that is [the size] of a barley grain — or he carries it, behold, this one must shave for it and bring a sacrifice for impurity, and interrupt the previous [days]. But one [single] bone does not render impure in a tent.

But if he became impure from a clod of the land of the [other] peoples or of a field in which a grave was plowed — which render impure through touch and carrying; or if one of the twelve impurities mentioned was hovered over by shoots coming out of trees or protrusions coming out of a fence or a bed or a camel and that which is similar to it and he becomes impure in their hovering; or from a quarter [of a kav] of bones that do not constitute the majority of its structure or their numerical majority; or he became impure from a quarter [of a log] of blood — even though it renders impure through touch and carrying and in a tent; or he became impure from a grave-covering or [its] frame — which renders impure through touch and carrying; or he became impure from a limb from a living person or from a limb from a dead person, which does not have flesh that is fit, according to the matter that we described — behold this does not interrupt, even though he is impure from an impurity [that makes impure for] seven [days] and he sprinkles on the third and on the seventh, [nonetheless] he does not shave the shaving of impurity and he does not bring sacrifices and he does not interrupt the first ones. However, all of the days of impurity do not count for him in the tally of the days of being a nazirite.

And so [too,] from the matter of the commandment is that which they said (Nazir 44a), that one who causes a nazirite to become impure — if the nazirite was volitional — [the nazirite] is given lashes, and the one who rendered him impure transgresses on account of “in front of a blind man, etc.” (Leviticus 19:14). But if the nazirite is indavertent, [even] if the one who makes him impure is volitional, neither one of them is lashed. And why is the one who makes him impure not lashed? Because it is stated (Numbers 6:9), “and he makes impure the head of his naziriteness” — meaning to say that the liability for lashes is only when he becomes impure with his consent. [These] and the rest of its details are in Tractate Nazir.

And this prohibition is practiced in every place and at all times by males and females. And one who transgresses it and makes himself impure volitionally according to the guidelines we have elucidated is lashed. And Ramban, may his memory be blessed, wrote (the seemingly correct textual variant reads, Rambam, as the source is Mishneh Torah, Laws of Naziriteship 5:20-21) that a nazirite who makes himself impure volitionally is liable for four [different sets of] lashes: on account of “he shall not become impure”; on account of “he shall not profane his word”; on account of “he shall not delay to repay it”; and on account of “he shall not enter” — and that is when the entering and the impurity come together.