Abstinence and Holiness, Embracing Self-Deprivation: Reading Tractate Nazir in the Babylonian Talmud

The Babylonian Talmud is a product of late antique rabbinical discourse and debate. It is an immense, complex, multi-volume work divided by topics into tractates which are written in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic. Tractate Nazir deals with a person (male or female) who basically assumes three abstentions for a defined period of time: no wine or product of the grapevine, no cutting of bodily hair, and no contact with a human corpse. The practice itself is controversial within Judaism. Nonetheless, virtually every conceivable factor involved in a vow to be a nazir is debated by the rabbis in this tractate and in great detail. This volume is arranged by Talmudic folio pages and is aimed at explaining the intricacies of the original text. It may be read on its own and in conjunction with the tractate itself as an aid to understanding.