## Nazir Daf 52a

###### Nazir 52a:1
[Nazir 52a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nazir/r/52a:1)

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה מִדִּיסְקַרְתָּא: תָּא שְׁמַע: ״בָּהֶם״, יָכוֹל בְּכוּלָּן — תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: ״מֵהֶם״. אִי ״מֵהֶם״, יָכוֹל מִקְצָתָן — תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: ״בָּהֶם״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Yehuda from Diskarta said: Come** and **hear** the following halakhic midrash concerning the ritual impurity of creeping animals. The verse states: “Whoever touches **them** when they are dead shall be impure” (Leviticus 11:31). One **might** have thought this *halakha* applies only **to all of them,** i.e., to complete creatures. Therefore, **the verse states:** “And upon whatever any **of them,** when they are dead, fall, it shall be impure” (Leviticus 11:32), which indicates that part of these creatures also imparts impurity. **If** the *halakha* were derived solely from the phrase **“of them,”** one **might** have thought that it applies even to **a small part** of them. **The verse** therefore **states: “Them,”** which means all of them.


###### Nazir 52a:2
[Nazir 52a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nazir/r/52a:2)

הָא כֵּיצַד? עַד שֶׁיִּגַּע בְּמִקְצָתָן שֶׁהוּא כְּכוּלָּן. וְשִׁיעֲרוּ חֲכָמִים בְּכַעֲדָשָׁה, שֶׁכֵּן הַחוֹמֶט תְּחִלַּת בְּרִיָּיתוֹ בְּכַעֲדָשָׁה. שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ שִׁיעוּרָא גְּמִירִי לַהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**How so?** How can one reconcile the two verses? He does not become ritually impure **unless he touches** at least **part of them that is** equal in measure **to all of them,** i.e., a large part. **And the Sages calculated** that this is the volume **of a lentil-bulk.** Why is this? **As the start of the formation of a skink,** one of the eight impure creeping animals, is the size **of a lentil-bulk.** This concludes the halakhic midrash. With regard to the issue at hand, one can **learn from here** that it **is learned** as a tradition that **the amount** for a creature to be considered whole is a lentil-bulk. If so, an ant missing a limb should likewise not have the status of a creature.


###### Nazir 52a:3
[Nazir 52a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nazir/r/52a:3)

אָמַר רַב שְׁמַעְיָה: כִּי בָּעִינַן שִׁיעוּרָא דְּבִדְלָא הָוְיָא כַּעֲדָשָׁה לָא מְטַמָּא, דְּלָא נָפְלָה בַּהּ נְשָׁמָה. אֲבָל נָפְלָה בַּהּ נְשָׁמָה — לָא. תִּיבְּעֵי לָךְ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Shemaya said,** in refutation of this argument: **When we require** the above **amount, that if it is not** the volume **of a lentil-bulk it does not impart impurity,** the requirement applies only in a case **where** the creature **does not have** a living **soul** before it grows to the size of a lentil. **However,** if it **does have a soul,** this volume is **not** required. If the creature can survive, perhaps it does impart impurity even if it is lacking a limb. Consequently, with regard to an ant that is missing a limb, **the dilemma remains** unresolved **for you.**


###### Nazir 52a:4
[Nazir 52a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nazir/r/52a:4)

הַשִּׁדְרָה וְהַגּוּלְגּוֹלֶת. אִיבַּעְיָא לְהוּ: שִׁדְרָה וְגוּלְגּוֹלֶת תְּנַן, אוֹ דִּלְמָא: אוֹ שִׁדְרָה אוֹ גוּלְגּוֹלֶת? אָמַר רָבָא: תָּא שְׁמַע: שִׁדְרָה שֶׁגֵּירַד רוֹב עִילְעִין שֶׁבָּהּ — טְהוֹרָה. וּבְקֶבֶר אֲפִילּוּ מְשׁוּבֶּרֶת אוֹ מְפוֹרֶקֶת — טְמֵאָה, מִפְּנֵי הַקֶּבֶר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna taught that a nazirite must shave for impurity imparted by **a spine and skull. A dilemma was raised before** the Sages: Did **we learn a spine and [*ve*] skull** together? **Or perhaps** the mishna means **either a spine or a skull.** Does the conjunctive *vav* signify: And, or: Or? **Rava said: Come** and **hear** a resolution from a *baraita*: In the case of **a spine, the majority of whose ribs were removed** while the spine itself remained intact, it is **ritually pure. And** if it was **in a grave, even** if it was **broken or disassembled, it is impure, due to the grave,** which joins all the bones together.


###### Nazir 52a:5
[Nazir 52a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nazir/r/52a:5)

טַעְמָא מִשּׁוּם דְּגֵירַד, הָא לָא גֵּירַד — טָמֵא, שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ: אוֹ שִׁדְרָה אוֹ גוּלְגּוֹלֶת קָתָנֵי. הָא לָא קָתָנֵי. הָא קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן: דְּכִי גֵּירַד — טְהוֹרָה, אִידַּךְ, תִּיבְּעֵי לָךְ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara infers from this *baraita*: **The reason** it is ritually pure in the first case **is due to** the fact **that** the ribs **were removed,** from which it may be inferred that if they **were not removed,** it is **impure** on its own, even without the skull. **Learn from this** that the mishna **teaches: Either a spine or a skull.** The Gemara rejects this claim: The *baraita* **does not teach this** explicitly. It does not state that if the ribs were not removed the spine imparts ritual impurity by itself. Rather, the *baraita* **teaches us this, that if** the ribs were **removed** the spine is **pure.** And as to **the other** issue, the impurity of a spine on its own, **the dilemma remains** unresolved **for you.**


###### Nazir 52a:6
[Nazir 52a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nazir/r/52a:6)

תָּא שְׁמַע, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: שִׁשָּׁה דְּבָרִים רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא מְטַמֵּא וַחֲכָמִים מְטַהֲרִין, וְחָזַר בּוֹ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא. וּמַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁהֵבִיאוּ קוּפָּה מְלֵאָה עֲצָמוֹת לְבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת שֶׁל טַרְסִיִּים, וְהִנִּיחוּהָ בַּאֲוִיר, וְנִכְנַס תּוֹדוֹס הָרוֹפֵא וְכׇל הָרוֹפְאִים [עִמּוֹ], וְאָמְרוּ: אֵין כָּאן שִׁדְרָה מִמֵּת אֶחָד.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara further suggests: **Come** and **hear** a resolution from the *Tosefta* (*Oholot* 4:2). **Rabbi Yehuda says** that **Rabbi Akiva deems six items impure that the Rabbis deem pure, and Rabbi Akiva** later **retracted** his opinion. **And an incident** occurred in **which they brought a box** that was **full of bones to the synagogue of blacksmiths [*tarsiyyim*], and they placed it in** an open **airspace,** not under the roof, so that it would not impart ritual impurity. **And Todos the doctor entered and all the** other **doctors** entered **with him, and they said,** after examining the pile: **There is not** a full **spine from one corpse here.**


###### Nazir 52a:7
[Nazir 52a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nazir/r/52a:7)

טַעְמָא דְּלֵיכָּא שִׁדְרָה דְּמֵחֲדָא. הָאִיכָּא אוֹ שִׁדְרָה אוֹ גוּלְגּוֹלֶת דְּמֵחֲדָא — נָזִיר מְגַלֵּחַ עָלֶיהָ, שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ אוֹ שִׁדְרָה אוֹ גוּלְגּוֹלֶת תְּנַן. לָא מִיבַּעְיָא קָאָמַר: לָא מִיבַּעְיָא שִׁדְרָה וְגוּלְגּוֹלֶת, דְּמִמֵּת אֶחָד לֵיכָּא, אֶלָּא אֲפִילּוּ אוֹ שִׁדְרָה מִמֵּת אֶחָד אוֹ גוּלְגּוֹלֶת מִמֵּת אֶחָד לֵיכָּא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara infers from this incident: **The reason** it is ritually pure **is due to** the fact **that there was no spine from one** corpse, from which one can infer that if **there is either a spine or a skull from one** corpse, **a nazirite must shave due to it. Learn from this** that **we learned** in the mishna that a nazirite shaves **either** for **a spine or a skull.** The Gemara rejects this argument: The *tanna* of the *baraita* **is speaking** utilizing the style of: **It is not necessary,** as follows: **It is not necessary** to state that **there is no spine and skull from one corpse** in the box, **but even** the remains of **either a spine from one corpse or a skull from one corpse,** which together impart impurity, are **not** present. Instead, there are parts of spines and skulls from several bodies.


###### Nazir 52a:8
[Nazir 52a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nazir/r/52a:8)

תָּא שְׁמַע מִמִּנְיָינָא: וּמָה הֵן שִׁשָּׁה דְּבָרִים שֶׁרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא מְטַמֵּא וַחֲכָמִים מְטַהֲרִין: עַל אֵבֶר מִן הַמֵּת שֶׁבָּא מִשְּׁנֵי מֵתִים, וְעַל אֵבֶר מִן הַחַי שֶׁבָּא מִשְּׁנֵי בְּנֵי אָדָם, וְעַל חֲצִי קַב עֲצָמוֹת שֶׁבָּא מִשְּׁנֵי מֵתִים, וְעַל רְבִיעִית דָּם הַבָּא מִשְּׁנַיִם, וְעַל עֶצֶם כִּשְׂעוֹרָה שֶׁנֶּחְלַק לִשְׁנַיִם, וְהַשִּׁדְרָה וְהַגּוּלְגּוֹלֶת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara further suggests: **Come** and **hear from the tally** in the above *baraita*: **And what are those six items that Rabbi Akiva deems ritually impure and the Rabbis deem ritually pure?** They consist **of a limb from a corpse that comes from,** i.e., is combined with, **two corpses; and** a severed **limb from a living** person **that comes from two** living **people; and half-*kav* of bones that come from two corpses; and a quarter-***log* **of blood that comes from two** corpses; **and of a bone that is a barley-grain-bulk,** even from one body, **that was divided into two; and the spine and the skull** from two corpses.