Sefer HaChinuch ספר החינוך

The commandment of shaving the nazirite and bringing his sacrifices: That the nazirite shave his hair and bring sacrifices when he completes his naziriteness, and so [too,] if he becomes impure; as it is stated (Numbers 6:13), “and on the day that his term as nazirite is completed, etc.” and also (Numbers 6:9), “If a dead body dies upon him, etc.” And they said in Sifra, Metzora, Chapter 2:6, “Three shave, and their shaving is a commandment — the nazirite, the leper (metsora), and the Levites.” However the three are not equal in all of their [characteristics], as the shaving of the Levites was for its time in the wilderness and not practiced [by future] generations; but the shaving of the leper and the nazirite is a commandment that is practiced [by future] generations. And Rambam, may his memory be blessed, wrote (Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandments 93) that the two shavings of the nazirite — which are the shaving of impurity and the shaving of purification — are only fitting to be counted as one commandment; as the matter of the shaving of impurity is not a separate commandment at all, but rather one law of the laws of naziriteness. [That is] that the Scripture elucidated that if the nazirite becomes impure in the days of his being a nazirite, he must shave and bring a sacrifice and then he goes back to growing his locks in holiness for the days of naziriteness that he forbade to himself, like at the start. [It is] like the leper who also has two shavings and they are one commandment. And since it is not the essence of the commandment, but rather one law of its laws, it is not fitting to count it as a separate commandment — and as the Teacher, may his memory be blessed, elucidated in his Book of the Commandments in the Seventh Root. And in the Order of Zot Tehiyeh (Metsora), I have also written in the name of the Teacher, may his memory be blessed, the reason for our counting the shaving of the nazirite and his sacrifices as one commandment, and the shaving of the leper and his sacrifices as two commandments. And you will see it elucidated there, if you want to study [it].

I have written what I have known from the roots of this commandment, of shaving all of the hair with the completion of the days of being a nazirite and the bringing of sacrifices, within the root of the previous commandment (Sefer HaChinukh 374).

From the laws of the commandment — that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Mishnah Middot 2:5), “Where does he shave his hair? In the women’s courtyard,” and the chamber of nazirites was there in the southeast corner, and they would cook their peace-offerings there and throw the hair into the fire, and if he shaved in the [rest of the] country, he would have discharged [his obligation] (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Naziriteship 8:3); [that] in any place that he shaves, he throws it under the cauldron; [that] he does not shave until the opening of the courtyard be open, as it is stated (Numbers 6:18), “at the opening of the Tent of Meeting,” and the understanding of the verse is not that he should shave in front of the opening, as there would be a disgrace to the Temple in this; so [too,] that which they, may their memory be blessed, said about this commandment (Nazir 46a), [that] a nazirite who pulled out [his hair] does not need to pass a blade over [his head] even though he does not have hair, and so [too,] if he does not have palms [of the hand], behold, this one brings his sacrifices, and afterwards he can drink and become impure, and even if he has hair, once he has brought his sacrifices, even though he did not shave, the shaving does not impede [it], and he can drink and become impure in the evening, even though he did not give it on his palms and wave it, as all of these things are for [the fulfillment of] the commandment and not for an impediment; [that] even though the shaving does not impede, it is a commandment to shave even after much time; [that] a nazirite who shaved without a blade or shaved with a blade but left [at least] two hairs, did not do anything and did not fulfill the commandment of shaving, whether [in the case of] a pure nazirite, or whether [in the case of] an impure nazirite; that if he shaved upon his peace-offerings and they were found to be disqualified, his shaving is disqualified, [but] if he shaved upon [all] three animals that he is sacrificing, and it comes out that [at least] one of them is fit, his shaving is fit, and he shall bring the rest of his offerings [afterwards] and they are to be sacrificed, as per their law, [and] these three animals are a male lamb for a burnt-offering, a female lamb for a sin-offering and a ram for a peace-offering, and he brings six and two-thirds issaron of fine flour with the ram, and he bakes twenty loaves from it; and the rest of its details — are in Tractate Nazir.

And it is practiced at the time of the [Temple] by males and females. And one who transgresses it and does not shave it or shaves it without a blade or shaves but leaves [at least] two hairs has violated a positive commandment. But if he left one hair alone, the commandment is not violated for one hair. And even if he shaved and left two hairs, and afterwards, one of them sheds on its own; if he [now] shaves the other — even though there is no hair here, as behold, one strand is not considered hair, as we have said, [nonetheless] there is the commandment of shaving here, as he already shaved all of his head except for the two, and the shedding of one was nothing, as one strand is not considered anything — when he shaved the other, behold, he finished the shaving completely and fulfilled the commandment of shaving. And even though the shaving does not impede from drinking wine and becoming impure [at the end of his term], as we have said, the bringing of sacrifices impedes everything. And if he did not bring [them], he has violated this positive commandment, and he is prohibited from drinking wine and to become impure, until he brings them. And even though he has shaved, the commandment is not completed until he brings the sacrifices.