Nazirite/Nazarite
Nazirite (Redirected from Nazarite) A nazirite or nazarite, (in Hebrew: נזיר, nazir), refers to a Jew who took an ascetic vow described in Numbers 6:1-21. The term "nazirite" comes from the Hebrew word nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated".[1] This vow required the man or woman to:
Abstain from wine, wine vinegar, grapes, and raisins Refrain from cutting one's hair and/or beard Avoid corpses and graves, even those of a family member After following these requirements for a designated period of time (which would be specified in the individual's vow, and not to be less than 30 days), the person would immerse in a Mikvah and make three offerings, a lamb as a "burnt offering" (olah), a ewe as a "sin offering" (hatat), and a ram as a "peace offering" (shelamim), in addition to a basket of unleavened bread, grain offerings and drink offerings, which accompanied the peace offering.
The nazirite is described as being "holy unto the Lord" (Numbers 6:8), yet at the same time must bring a sin offering. This contradiction has led to divergent approaches to the nazirite in the Talmud, and later authorities.
Contents [hide] 1 Laws of the nazirite 1.1 General laws 1.1.1 As a vow 1.1.2 Types of nazirites 1.1.3 Redoing the nazirism 1.2 Becoming a nazirite 1.3 Being a nazirite 1.4 Ending of the nazirite period 2 Attitudes toward nazirites 3 Nazirites in history 3.1 Nazirite vows in the Hebrew Bible 3.2 Nazirite vows in the intertestamentary period 3.3 Nazarites in the New Testament 3.4 Nazirites in the modern State of Israel 4 Nazirism and Rastafari 5 See also 6 References 7 External links 8 Other Resources
[edit] Laws of the nazirite Halakha (Jewish Law) has a rich tradition on the laws of the nazirite. These laws were first recorded in the Mishna, and Talmud in tractate Nazir. They were later codified by Maimonides in the Mishneh Torah Hafla'ah, Nazir. From the perspective of Orthodox Judaism these laws are not a historical curiosity but can be practiced even today.
[edit] General laws
[edit] As a vow All the laws of vows in general apply also to the nazirite vow. As by other vows, a father has the ability to annul the nazirite vow of his young daughter, and a husband has the ability to annul a vow by his wife, when they first hear about it (Numbers 30).[2] Likewise all of the laws related to intent and conditional vows apply also to nazirite vows.
[edit] Types of nazirites In general there are three types of nazirites:
A nazirite for a set time A permanent nazirite A nazirite like Samson Each one of these has slightly different laws. For example, a permanent nazirite is allowed to cut his hair once a year if the hair is bothersome. A Samson-like nazirite is a permanent nazirite and is not enjoined to avoid corpses. These types of nazirites are known through tradition.[3], and Samson, who would act as a deliverer of Israel, is described as "a Nazarite unto God from the womb to the day of his death" in Judges 13:5-7.
A person can become a nazirite whether or not the Temple in Jerusalem is standing. However, lacking the temple there is no way to bring the offerings that end the nazirite period. As such the person would de facto be a permanent nazirite.[4]
[edit] Redoing the nazirism
If a nazirite fails in fulfilling these three obligations there may be consequences. He or she may need to repeat all or part of the time he or she was a nazirite. Furthermore, he or she may be obligated to bring sacrifices, and, in certain circumstances, suffer a penalty of lashes.
Whether a nazirite has to repeat time as a nazirite depends on what part of the nazirite vow was transgressed. If the nazirite becomes defiled by a corpse he or she is obligated to completely start the nazirite period over again. In the Mishna, Queen Helena vowed to be a nazirite for seven years, but became defiled twice near the end of her nazirite period, forcing her to start over. She was a nazirite for a total of 21 years.[5] If the nazirite shaves his or her hair, he or she is obligated to redo the last 30 days of the nazirite period. However, if the nazirite drinks wine, the nazirite period continues as normal. [6]
[edit] Becoming a nazirite
A Jewish[7] man or woman can only become a nazirite by an intentional verbal declaration.[8] This declaration can be in any language, and can be something as minor as saying "me too" as a nazirite passes in front of someone.[9]
A person can specify the duration for any period of time greater than or equal to 30 days. If a person does not specify, or specifies a time less than 30 days, the vow is for 30 days.[10] A person who says "I am a nazirite forever" or "I am a nazirite for all my life" is a permanent nazirite and slightly different law applies. Likewise if a person says "I am a nazirite like Samson," the laws of a Samson-like nazirite apply. However if a person says that he is a nazirite for a thousand years, he is a regular nazirite.
A father, but not a mother, can declare his son, but not his daughter, a nazirite. However the child or any close family member has a right to refuse to this status.[11]
[edit] Being a nazirite
This vow required the man or woman to observe the following:
Abstain from wine, wine vinegar, grapes, and raisins; Refrain from cutting one's hair and beard; To avoid corpses and graves, even those of a family member. It is also forbidden for the nazirite to have grape, or grape derivatives even if they are not alcoholic. Likewise, there is no prohibition for the nazirite to drink alcoholic beverages not derived from grapes.[12] The laws of wine or grapes mixing in other food is similar to other dietary laws that apply to all Jews.[13]
A nazirite can groom his hair with his hand or scratch his head and needn’t be concerned if some hair fall out. However a nazirite cannot comb his hair since it is a near certainty to pull out some hair. A nazirite is not allowed to use a chemical depilatory that will remove hair.[14] A nazirite that recovers from Tzaraath, a skin disease described in Leviticus 14, is obligated to cut his hair despite being a nazirite.
The nazirite (except for a Samson-like nazirite as stated above) may not become ritually impure by a dead body. This includes not being under the same roof as a corpse. However a nazirite can contract other kinds of ritual impurity. A nazirite that finds an unburied corpse is obligated to bury it, even though he will become defiled in the process.[15]
[edit] Ending of the nazirite period
At the end of the nazirite period the nazirite brings three sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem. The first is a ewe for a chatat (sin offering), the second is lamb for an olah (elevation offering), and finally a ram as a shelamim (peace offering) along with a basket of matzah and their grain and drink offerings.[16] After bringing the sacrifices the nazirite shaves his or her head in the outer courtyard of the Temple.
[edit] Attitudes toward nazirites
The nazirite is called "holy unto the Lord" (Numbers 6:8), but at the same time must bring a sin-offering (Numbers 6:11) and his sins are explicitly referred to ("and make atonement for that which he sinned"). This apparent contradiction, pointed out in the Babylonian Talmud, lead to two divergent views. Samuel and Rabbi Eliezer Hakappar, focusing on the sin-offering of the nazirite, regarded nazirites, as well as anyone who fasted or took any vow whatsoever, as a sinner. A different Rabbi Eliezer argues and explains that the nazirite is indeed holy and the sin referred to in the verse applies only to a nazirite who became ritually defiled.[17]
Maimonides, following the view of Rabbi Eliezer Hakappar, calls a nazirite a sinner, explaining that a person should always be moderate in his actions and not be to any extreme.[18] Nevertheless he does point out that a nazirite can be evil or righteous depending on the circumstances.[19]
Nahmanides, in his commentary on the Torah, sides with Rabbi Eliezer. He explains that ideally the person should be a nazirite his whole life. Therefore ceasing to be nazirite requires a sin-offering.
Many later opinions comprise between these views and explain that a nazirite is both good and bad.[20]
[edit] Nazirites in history
[edit] Nazirite vows in the Hebrew Bible Two examples of Nazirites in the Hebrew Bible are Samson (Judges 13:5), and Samuel (1 Samuel 1:11). In both cases, their mothers made the vows before they were born, which required them to live an ascetic life, yet in return they received extraordinary gifts: Samson possessed strength and ability in physical battle, while Samuel was a prophet.
Judges 13:6-7 (Judaica Press) 6. And the woman came and said to her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of an angel of God, very awesome; and I did not ask him from where he was and his name he did not tell me. 7. And he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son; and now do not drink wine and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean (thing), for a nazirite to God shall the lad be, from the womb until the day of his death.' Amos 2:11-12 (Judaica Press) 11. And I raised up some of your sons as prophets and some of your young men as nazirites; is this not so, O children of Israel? says the Lord. 12. And you gave the nazirites to drink wine, and you commanded the prophets saying, "Do not prophesy."
[edit] Nazirite vows in the intertestamentary period This vow was observed into the intertestamentary period. 1 Maccabees 3:49 mentions men who had ended their nazirite vows, an example dated to about 166 B.C.E. Josephus mentions a number of people who had taken the vow, such as his tutor Banns (Antiquities 20.6), and Gamaliel records in the Mishna how the father of Rabbi Chenena made a lifetime nazirite vow before him (Nazir 29b) — examples showing this practice was observed into the first century CE.
[edit] Nazarites in the New Testament
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The practice of a nazarite vow is part of the ambiuity of the Greek term "Nazarene" that appears in the New Testament; the sacrifice of a lamb and the offering of bread does suggest a relationship with Christian symbolism (then again, these are the two most frequent offerings prescribed in Leviticus, so no definitive conclusions can be drawn). While a saying in (Matthew 11:18-19 and Luke 7:33-35) attributed to Jesus makes it doubtful that he, reported to be "a winebibber", was a nazarite during his ministry, the verse ends with the curious statement, "But wisdom is justified of all her children". The advocation of the ritual consumption of wine as part of the Eucharist, the tevilah in Mark 14:22-25 indicated he kept this aspect of the nazarite vow when Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God." The ritual with which Jesus commenced his ministry (recorded via Greek as "Baptism") and his vow in Mark 14:25 and Luke 22:15-18 at the end of his ministry, do respectively reflect the initial and final steps (purification by immersion in water and abstaining from wine) inherent in a nazirite vow.
Luke clearly was aware that wine was forbidden in ascetic practice, for the angel Luke 1:13-15 that announces the birth of John the Baptist foretells that "he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb", in other words, a nazarite from birth, the implication being that John had taken a lifelong nazarite vow. In (Acts 21:20-24) Luke states that Paul was advised to avoid the hostility of the "Jews there are which believe" (in Jesus) in Jerusalem who had heard Paul taught against the law by purifying himself and accompanying four men to the temple who had taken nazaritic vows (so that he might appear "orderly"), a stratagem that only delayed the inevitable mob assault on him. This event brought about the accusation in Acts 24:5-18 that Paul was the "ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes", and thus provides further verification that the term Nazarene was a mistranslation of the term Nazarite.
What is curious is that Luke does not here mention the apostle James the Just as taking nazarite vows, although later Christian historians (e.g. Epiphanius Panarion 29.4) believed he had, and the vow of a nazarite would explain the asceticism Eusebius of Caesarea ascribed to James (Historia Ecclesiastica 2.23), an asceticism that gave James the title "James the Just".
Nazarite vows do not appear to have been understood by the Gentiles, nor are they even mentioned in patristic writings; therefore, some look to "nazarite" rather than "of Nazareth" or "the Nazarene" for the origin of these Hebrew/Aramaic epithets for Jesus. This conclusion is based in part on the prophecy in Matthew 2:23 that says of Jesus, "And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." It is doubtful that the prophets had actually said 'Nazarene', rather than 'Nazarite', because reference bibles state that the prophecy cited in Matt. 2:23 is in reference to Judges 13:5-7 concerning Samson's description as "a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death". In addition, there is no word translated ‘Nazarene’ or any reference to a city of 'Nazareth' in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Furthermore, although Luke 1:13-15 describes John the Baptist as a Nazarite from birth, John inferred that Jesus was holier than he in Matthew 3:13-15, which says, "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him". Thus Jesus was baptized, immersion in water being a fulfillment of the nazarite vow.
[edit] Nazirites in the modern State of Israel
Main article: David Cohen (Rabbi)
Rabbi David Cohen (1887–1972) was a nazirite.
[edit] Nazirism and Rastafari
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The Rastafaris take the nazirite vow. The visible sign of this is their dreadlocks, which they grow based on the biblical nazirite vow.
[edit] See also
Nazir (Talmud) - The tractate of the Mishnah and Talmud, devoted chiefly to a discussion of the laws of the Nazirite
Rechabites
History of alcohol
[edit] References ^ Alternatively "crowned", see Abraham ibn Ezra's biblical commentary ^ Mishneh Torah Hafla'ah, Nazir 2:16 ^ Mishneh Torah 3:13 ^ Mishneh Torah 2:20-23 ^ Alternately for a total of 14 years – see Mishna tractate "Nazir" 3:5 ^ Mishneh Torah 6:1-3;Mishna Tractate "Nazir" 6:5 ^ Mishneh Torah 2:16 ^ Mishneh Torah 1:5 ^ Mishneh Torah 1:6 ^ Mishneh Torah 3:1,2 ^ Mishneh Torah 2:14-15 ^ Mishneh Torah 5:1-3 ^ Mishneh Torah 5:7 ^ However no lashes are incured Mishneh Torah 5:14 ^ Mishneh Torah 7:14 ^ Mishneh Torah 8:1-3 ^ Talmud Taanis 11a ^ Mishneh Torah Maadah, Deot 3:1-4; See also Maimonides Introduction to Pirke Avot in his commentary on the Mishna ^ Mishneh Torah Haphlah, Nazir 10:21 ^ Talmud, Taanis 11a Tosafot "Samuel says..."
[edit] External links Nazarite in the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Nazarite in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia Nazarite in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica Full text of the Mishna nazir and Mishneh Torah nazir at Machon Mamre.
[edit] Other Resources See: Chepey, S. Nazirites in Late Second Temple Judaism: A Survey of Ancient Jewish Writings, the New Testament, Archaeological Evidence, and other Writings from Late Antiquity. AJEC 60. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2005.
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