כָּל כִּנּוּיֵי נְזִירוּת כִּנְזִירוּת. הָאוֹמֵר אֱהֵא, הֲרֵי זֶה נָזִיר. אוֹ אֱהֵא נָוֶה, נָזִיר. נָזִיק, נָזִיחַ, פָּזִיחַ, הֲרֵי זֶה נָזִיר. הֲרֵינִי כָּזֶה, הֲרֵינִי מְסַלְסֵל, הֲרֵינִי מְכַלְכֵּל, הֲרֵי עָלַי לְשַׁלַּח פֶּרַע, הֲרֵי זֶה נָזִיר. הֲרֵי עָלַי צִפֳּרִים, רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר, נָזִיר. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, אֵינוֹ נָזִיר: One becomes a nazirite by taking a nazirite vow, in which he simply declares himself a nazirite, as detailed in the Torah (Numbers 6:1–21). Additionally, all substitutes for the language of nazirite vows are like nazirite vows and are binding. Furthermore, intimations of nazirite vows, i.e., incomplete statements that are understood from context to be meant as nazirite vows, are considered binding nazirite vows. Consequently, one who says: I will be, without further clarification, is a nazirite, as this is his implied intention. Or, if he said: I will be beautiful, he is a nazirite. The substitutes for the language of nazirite vows are as follows: If one says: I will be a nazik, a nazi’aḥ, or a pazi’aḥ, he is a nazirite. If one says: I am hereby like this, I am hereby a hair curler, I am hereby growing my hair; or: It is incumbent upon me to grow long hair, he is a nazirite. If one says: An obligation is hereby incumbent upon me with regard to birds, Rabbi Meir says: He is a nazirite. A nazirite brings two bird-offerings if he inadvertently becomes ritually impure from a corpse (Numbers 6:10), and it is understood that the individual used this indirect phrase to take a vow of naziriteship. And the Sages say: He is not a nazirite.
הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר מִן הַחַרְצַנִּים, וּמִן הַזַּגִּים, וּמִן הַתִּגְלַחַת, וּמִן הַטֻּמְאָה, הֲרֵי זֶה נָזִיר וְכָל דִּקְדּוּקֵי נְזִירוּת עָלָיו. הֲרֵינִי כְשִׁמְשׁוֹן, כְּבֶן מָנוֹחַ, כְּבַעַל דְּלִילָה, כְּמִי שֶׁעָקַר דַּלְתוֹת עַזָּה, כְּמִי שֶׁנִּקְּרוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אֶת עֵינָיו, הֲרֵי זֶה נְזִיר שִׁמְשׁוֹן. מַה בֵּין נְזִיר עוֹלָם לִנְזִיר שִׁמְשׁוֹן. נְזִיר עוֹלָם, הִכְבִּיד שְׂעָרוֹ, מֵקֵל בְּתַעַר וּמֵבִיא שָׁלשׁ בְּהֵמוֹת. וְאִם נִטְמָא, מֵבִיא קָרְבַּן טֻמְאָה. נְזִיר שִׁמְשׁוֹן, הִכְבִּיד שְׂעָרוֹ, אֵינוֹ מֵקֵל. וְאִם נִטְמָא, אֵינוֹ מֵבִיא קָרְבַּן טֻמְאָה: If one said: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from grape seeds, or: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from grape skins, or: From shaving, or: From impurity, he is a nazirite. And all details of naziriteship are incumbent upon him. Not only does the prohibition he mentioned take effect, he is bound by all of the strictures of naziriteship. If one said: I am hereby like Samson, like the son of Manoah, like the husband of Delilah, like the one who tore off the doors of Gaza, like the one whose eyes were gouged out by the Philistines, he is a nazirite like Samson, whose halakhot are explained in the next mishna (see Judges, chapters 13–16). What is the difference between a permanent nazirite and a nazirite like Samson, both of whom remain nazirites forever? In the case of a permanent nazirite, if his hair grows too heavy for him, he lightens it by cutting some hair with a razor, and he then brings three animals as a sin-offering, a burnt-offering, and a peace-offering, like one who completes his term of naziriteship. And if he becomes ritually impure, he brings the offering for impurity brought by a regular nazirite who became impure. By contrast, in the case of a nazirite like Samson, if his hair grows heavy he may not lighten it, since he is entirely prohibited from cutting his hair. And if he becomes impure, he does not bring an offering for impurity.
סְתָם נְזִירוּת שְׁלשִׁים יוֹם. אָמַר הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר אַחַת גְּדוֹלָה, הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר אַחַת קְטַנָּה, אֲפִלּוּ מִכָּאן וְעַד סוֹף הָעוֹלָם, נָזִיר שְׁלשִׁים יוֹם. הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר וְיוֹם אֶחָד, הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר וְשָׁעָה אֶחָת, הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר אַחַת וּמֶחֱצָה, הֲרֵי זֶה נָזִיר שְׁתָּיִם. הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר שְׁלשִׁים יוֹם וְשָׁעָה אֶחָת, נָזִיר שְׁלשִׁים וְאֶחָד יוֹם, שֶׁאֵין נוֹזְרִים לְשָׁעוֹת: In the case of unspecified naziriteship, where one does not state how long he wishes to be a nazirite, the term lasts for thirty days. If one said: I am hereby a nazirite for one long term, or: I am hereby a nazirite for one short term, or even if one said: I am hereby a nazirite from now until the end of the world, in all these cases he is a nazirite for thirty days. If one said: I am hereby a nazirite and one day, or: I am hereby a nazirite and one hour, or: I am hereby a nazirite for one and a half, he becomes a nazirite for two consecutive terms of naziriteship. When he says: I am hereby a nazirite, he accepts upon himself one thirty-day term of naziriteship. When he subsequently adds an additional amount of time, e.g., an extra day, he thereby accepts upon himself an additional term of naziriteship, and the minimal term of naziriteship is thirty days. One who says: I am hereby a nazirite for thirty days and one hour, becomes a nazirite for thirty-one days, as there is no naziriteship for hours but only for full days.
הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר כִּשְׂעַר רֹאשִׁי, וְכַעֲפַר הָאָרֶץ, וּכְחוֹל הַיָּם, הֲרֵי זֶה נְזִיר עוֹלָם וּמְגַלֵּחַ אַחַת לִשְׁלשִׁים יוֹם. רַבִּי אוֹמֵר, אֵין זֶה מְגַלֵּחַ אַחַת לִשְׁלשִׁים יוֹם. וְאֵיזֶהוּ שֶׁמְּגַלֵּחַ אַחַת לִשְׁלשִׁים יוֹם, הָאוֹמֵר הֲרֵי עָלַי נְזִירוּת כִּשְׂעַר רֹאשִׁי, וְכַעֲפַר הָאָרֶץ, וּכְחוֹל הַיָּם: If one says: I am hereby a nazirite like the hair of my head, or: Like the dust of the earth, or: Like the sand of the sea, he is a nazirite forever. He has accepted a separate term of naziriteship for every hair or particle of dust or sand, which in practice means that he will be a nazirite forever. And he shaves his hair once every thirty days. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: This nazirite does not shave his hair once every thirty days, as he has accepted upon himself one long term of naziriteship lasting for as many days as there are hairs or particles of dust or sand. And who is the nazirite who shaves his hair once every thirty days? One who says: It is hereby incumbent upon me to observe naziriteships like the hair of my head, or: Like the dust of the earth, or: Like the sand of the sea. Since he used the plural term naziriteships, it is clear that he is accepting distinct terms of naziriteship.
הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר מְלֹא הַבַּיִת אוֹ מְלֹא הַקֻּפָּה, בּוֹדְקִין אוֹתוֹ, אִם אָמַר אַחַת גְּדוֹלָה נָזָרְתִּי, נָזִיר שְׁלשִׁים יוֹם. וְאִם אָמַר סְתָם נָזָרְתִּי, רוֹאִין אֶת הַקֻּפָּה כְּאִלּוּ הִיא מְלֵאָה חַרְדָּל, וְנָזִיר כָּל יָמָיו: If one says: I am hereby a nazirite in accordance with the capacity of the house, or: The capacity of the basket, one checks with him what he had in mind. If he said: My intention was to take a nazirite vow for one long term of naziriteship, he is a nazirite for only thirty days, in accordance with the ruling of the mishna that the words long or short are of no account when used in a nazirite vow (7a). And if he said: I took a nazirite vow without specification, it is assumed that he meant to accept upon himself terms of naziriteship corresponding to the number of items that fit into the basket, and the smallest items normally placed in baskets are used for this evaluation. Consequently, one views the basket as though it were full of mustard seeds, which are extremely small, and he is a nazirite for his entire life.
הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר מִכָּאן עַד מָקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי, אוֹמְדִין כַּמָּה יָמִים מִכָּאן עַד מָקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי, אִם פָּחוֹת מִשְּׁלשִׁים יוֹם, נָזִיר שְׁלשִׁים יוֹם, וְאִם לָאו, נָזִיר כְּמִנְיַן הַיָּמִים: If one says: I am hereby a nazirite from here until such and such a place, one estimates how many days it takes to walk from here until such and such a place. If it is less than thirty days, he is a nazirite for thirty days, since this is the minimum term of naziriteship. And if not, i.e., if it takes more than thirty days to walk that distance, he is a nazirite in accordance with the number of days it takes to walk to that place.
הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר כְּמִנְיַן יְמוֹת הַחַמָּה, מוֹנֶה נְזִירוּת כְּמִנְיַן יְמוֹת הַחַמָּה. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה, מַעֲשֶׂה הָיָה, כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִשְׁלִים מֵת: If one says: I am hereby a nazirite in accordance with the number of days in a solar year, he counts 365 consecutive naziriteships, in accordance with the number of days in a solar year. Rabbi Yehuda said: There was an incident where someone took this vow and observed 365 consecutive terms of naziriteship. Once he completed all these terms of naziriteship, he died.