Nazirite vow

TRR 58-60

A GENTILE PRISONER AND THE NAZIRITE VOW

QUESTION:

A Gentile prisoner in the penitentiary wishes to take upon himself the Biblical Nazirite vow and has asked the Rabbi, who is a Chaplain in the penitentiary, to induct him into Naziriteship. May the Rabbi do so? (Asked by Rabbi Daniel M. Lowy, Wheeling, W. Va.)

ANSWER:

The Nazirite vow is based upon Scripture (Numbers 6:1 ff.). It vows a complete abstention from wine, from contact with dead bodies and from cutting the hair. Naziriteship can be taken to last for a period of seven days or for thirty days or even to last for a lifetime (as with Samson). If this is to be a lifetime vow, it is of course questionable whether the warden of the penitentiary would permit a convict to let his hair grow long and never cut it again. But this, of course, is not the direct concern of our question.

There are many reasons why the Rabbi may not induct the prisoner into the special status of Naziriteship. First of all, the vow does not at all require any priestly or rabbinical sponsor. Naziriteship was adopted by the person himself upon his own initiative. The only role a Rabbi might possibly have in this regard is under certain circumstances to release the Nazirite from his vow. The Mishnah records that a group of Nazirites came to Jerusalem (from overseas) just after the Temple had been destroyed. Rabbi Nahum said to them: “Had you known when you made the vow that the Temple would be destroyed and so you would be unable to bring the sacrifices to end your Naziriteship, if you had known that, would you have made the vow?” Those who said “No” were released from their vow by Rabbi Nahum (Nazir 5:4). Moreover, the vow, which is taken by the individual on his own initiative, is essentially valid only in the land of Israel. This rule is based upon the Mishnah (Nazir 3:6) and is recorded by Maimonides, Yad Hil. Nezirut 2:21. The Mishnah tells that Queen Helena of Adiabene vowed that if her son returned safely from war, she would take upon herself a seven-year-long Nazirite vow. Her son returned safely and so, in Adiabene, she observed a seven-year Naziriteship. However, since the ending of any Nazirite vow requires a special ritual of sacrifice to be conducted in the Temple in Jerusalem, Queen Helena came to the Temple in Jerusalem for the sacrificial ritual of ending her vow. But the Rabbis declared that the seven years Naziriteship that she observed in Adiabene were of no significance and she had to spend seven more years in the Holy Land before she could end her vow with the sacrifice in the Temple.

In general, the Rabbis discouraged any Nazirite vow being made outside of the Holy Land. In fact, the person who made such a vow was given the duty of coming to Palestine to absolve the vow, and since the vow cannot be released except by the sacrificial ritual in the Temple, therefore when the Temple no longer is in existence, the man had to live in Palestine under his Nazirite vow for the rest of his life. There is one final consideration involved with this case. The Mishnah in Nazir 9:1 says that the Nazirite vow applies only to children of Israel. That does not imply any deprecation of non -Jews, because when the Temple stood, sacrifices were offered and brought by non -Jews (cf. Bertinoro to the Mishnah). But the Nazirite sacrifice and vow are especially Jewish, being based upon the verse in Numbers 6:2: “Speak unto the children of Israel.” Thus, the Mishnah and the Talmud (Nazir 61a) and, of course Maimonides, agree that the Nazirite vow is a specifically Jewish institution and does not apply to non-Jews.

Furthermore, the Rabbis were opposed in general to all such ascetic vows, or at least they deprecate them. They quote the verse in Ecclesiastes 5:4: “Better do not vow at all than make a vow that you will not fulfill.” And Rabbi Meir says that means it is better to avoid vows altogether especially since there is a probability that the vow will not be fulfilled (Nedarim 9a).

To sum up, then: The Nazirite vow applies only in the Holy Land and could be carried to its conclusion only when the Temple was in existence. It applies specifically to children of Israel and, at all events, requires no rabbinical or priestly authority. When the above conditions were possible for the vow to be made, the Israelite made it for himself. The Rabbi, therefore, has no function in this matter and besides, in this case, a valid Nazirite vow could not be made at all.

CARR 35-37

CCAR RESPONSA

Contemporary American Reform Responsa

22. Nazarite Vow

QUESTION: Occasionally

inmates in various prisons have decided to take the “Vow of Nazirite.” Their refusal to cut their hair brings them into conflict with prison officials, and leads to punishment for insubordination. What is the position of Reform Judaism on the “Nazirite Vow?” (Rabbi L. Sussman, Middletown, OH)

ANSWER: Let us begin by looking at the historic background of the “Nazirite

Vow” (Nu. 6). Restrictions are placed upon a Nazirite: He may not be in contact with any dead, including his father and mother. He may not cut the hair of his head. He may not drink wine or utilize any product of the grape and possibly all alcohol, [shekhor], (Nazir 4a, etc.). In this state he is considered “holy to God” (Nu. 6.8). And if for some reason he becomes unclean during this period, he must bring a sacrifice. Upon the completion of his vow, he also brought a sacrifice.

We actually hear very little about Nazirites in the Bible. The only

well-known examples are those of Samson (Ju. 13.5) and possibly Samuel (I Sam. 1.11 ff). There are also references to Nazirites in a few other isolated passages such as Jeremiah 7.29 and 35.

The Mishnah developed the laws of the Nazirite as this state of semi-

asceticism had become popular; it was open to any Jew, but not to Gentiles or slaves (Nazir 61a). An entire tractate was devoted to the details of the vow, the offerings which were to be brought, the status of the Nazirite within and outside the land of Israel, the rights of women and slaves to take this vow, the questions of grape leaves and other prohibitions (34b). The later Talmudic tractate further developed and discussed the laws of the Nazirite. The laws set the duration of the vow from a few hours to a lifetime, although the actual minimum was thirty days (M. Nazir 1.3). It also provided for various categories of Nazirites with different rules for each. For example, a Nazirite who had made the vow for life was permitted to cut his hair once a year (M. Nazir 1.4). He was permitted to clean and arrange his hair as long as no comb touched it (Nazir 42a). He might also trim it in certain other ways (Nazir 39b ff). Despite all the details, we have no clear picture of the heightened spiritual state which may have been sought or attained through these vows.

We should note that there was opposition to the Nazirite in

Talmudic times, and some authorities considered asceticism as sinful even if the vows were completely fulfilled (Nazir 4a; Taanit 11a; Ned. 9a ff, 20a, 77b, etc.) It is clear, nevertheless, that this state of asceticism remained popular for a number of centuries. Much was made of the fact that the Maccabean Queen, Adiabne, was a Nazirite, and rabbinic tradition included the Biblical figure of Absolom in this circle due to his long hair.

Modern scholars have speculated

that it was the rabbinic opposition to asceticism which led to the abandonment of this vow. Others felt that it ceased because of the destruction of the Temple and the end of the sacrificial cult. Neither answer is satisfying and both raise many additional problems.

The

medieval literature virtually ignores the Nazirite, and we find a thorough discussion only in Maimonides’ Code (Yad Hil. Nazirut). To the best of my knowledge, there are no responsa on this matter. In other words, it is a custom which died long ago.

As Reform

Jews, we must ask ourselves whether there is any good reason to reinstitute this custom. Certainly the sacrifices once connected with it lost their meaning with the destruction of the Temple, nor does the issue of defilement of the dead play a role in our lives. This leaves abstinence from wine and the grape, along with the refusal to cut one’s hair, and whatever undefined heightened spiritual commitment might accompany this status. As this rite is not practiced by the Reform Jewish community, nor has it become an accepted custom within any segment of the Jewish community, it would be inappropriate for an occasional prisoner to adopt this ancient rite merely to trouble his jailers. There are no grounds for a Reform Jew to claim a special status because of the Vow of the Nazirite.

June 1985

If needed, please consult Abbreviations used in CCAR Responsa.

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