Nazir chapter 9, mishnah 5 - the final mishnah of Maseches Nazir. This mishnah deals with the status of Shmuel the prophet: was he considered a nazir or not?
The mishnah opens: "Nazir hayah Shmuel k'divrei Rabbi Nehorai" - according to Rabbi Nehorai, Shmuel was a nazir. This determination has a practical halachic consequence: one who says "I am like Shmuel" has made a vow of nezirus, if we hold that Shmuel was a nazir.
Rabbi Nehorai's source:
Rabbi Nehorai relies on the wording of the vow of Chanah, Shmuel's mother, who said that if she would have a son, "u'morah lo ya'aleh al rosho" - and no morah shall come upon his head. And what does the word "morah" mean? The mishnah derives this through a gezeirah shavah:
"Ne'emar b'Shimshon" - it is stated regarding Shimshon: the angel told Shimshon's mother that no morah should come upon his head, because he was destined to be a nazir. There the meaning is a razor, and the entire matter is one of nezirus.
"V'ne'emar b'Shmuel morah" - and the word morah is stated regarding Shmuel: Chanah used that very same wording.
"Mah morah ha'amur b'Shimshon nazir, af morah ha'amur b'Shmuel nazir" - just as the morah stated regarding Shimshon indicates a nazir, so too the morah stated regarding Shmuel indicates a nazir: just as "morah" by Shimshon means a razor and signifies nezirus, so "morah" by Shmuel means a razor, teaching that he too was destined to be a nazir.
Rabbi Yosi's view:
Rabbi Yosi disagrees: "Amar Rabbi Yosi: ein morah ela shel basar v'dam" - morah means nothing other than the fear of flesh and blood. "Morah" does not mean a razor, but rather fear and dread, referring to the fear of human beings. The verse comes to say that Shmuel would be free of fear, one who is afraid of no man: he could stand up to the entire world, to all of Israel, and even to the king of Amalek.
Rabbi Nehorai's response:
"Amar lo Rabbi Nehorai" - Rabbi Nehorai said to him: how can you explain that he had no fear of flesh and blood upon him? The verse already states, at the time when Shmuel was commanded to go and anoint a successor to Shaul from the house of Yishai: "Vayomer Shmuel: eich elech v'shama Shaul va'harageni" - and Shmuel said: how shall I go, for Shaul will hear and kill me - "shekvar hayah alav mora shel basar v'dam" - for the fear of flesh and blood was already upon him. Shmuel clearly did fear Shaul, and it is therefore impossible to say that the verse promised he would be free of fear. For this reason Rabbi Nehorai holds that the "morah" stated regarding Shmuel means a razor, and accordingly Shmuel was a nazir.
In summary: in this mishnah Rabbi Nehorai and Rabbi Yosi disagree about the meaning of "u'morah lo ya'aleh al rosho" stated in Chanah's vow. Rabbi Nehorai derives through a gezeirah shavah from Shimshon that "morah" means a razor, and from here that Shmuel was a nazir - and therefore one who says "I am like Shmuel" has made a vow of nezirus. Rabbi Yosi explains "morah" as the fear of flesh and blood, and Rabbi Nehorai refutes this from the verse "and Shaul will hear and kill me," which teaches that the fear of flesh and blood was already upon him.
Thank you for joining us for Maseches Nazir. We hope you will join us for the next tractate, Maseches Sotah.