Nazir 23 - February 15, 24 Shevat

Today’s daf is sponsored by Terri Krivosha for the refuah shleima of her husband Harav Hayim Yehuda Ben Faiga Rivah and their daughter, Tamar Davida bat Sarah Leah.

If a woman becomes a nazir and her husband nullifies the vow without her knowledge and she drinks wine not knowing that she is no longer a nazir, she does not get lashes by Torah law. However, Rabbi Yehuda adds that she gets lashes by rabbinic law as she intended to go against the law. A braita brings a verse from which this law is derived and Rabbi Akiva learns from there that since one who intended to sin but didn't sin is punished, how much more so one who intended to sin and actually sinned. Two other verses are brought to show how severe it is for one who intentionally sinned from that fact that one needs to atone for sins that one is not even sure they committed as in a case of doubt whether one ate a piece of permitted fat or forbidden fat from an animal (both in a case where there was one piece and it wasn't clear if it was permitted or forbidden, and a case where there were two pieces, one permitted and one forbidden and the person isn't sure which one they ate from). Why was it necessary to mention all three cases? Regarding intent, sometimes different people can do that same action but for righteous people, it will be a righteous act and for the sinner it will be a sinful act. There is a debate between Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish about what would be a good example of this. After raising an issue with Reish Lakish's opinion, a suggestion is made that the episode with Lot and his daughters is a good example of this as they did it with good intentions and he did not. How do we know that he did not have the right intentions? Wasn't he forced into it as he was drunk? They prove how we know that Lot sinned intentionally and he is ultimately punished by Jews not being allowed to marry males from Amon and Moab, his descendants. Tamar and Zimri are brought as further examples of how the same action could be used for a positive reason and for a negative reason. Tamar was rewarded with kings and prophets and Zimri was punished as thousands of Jews were killed. A discussion ensues about one who sins for the sake of  Heaven and one who does a mitzva not for the sake of Heaven - which is more valuable? The example of Yael and Sisra is brought regarding a sin for the sake of Heaven.