1and he said: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from wine if it does not stand, since I will force it to do so, and it stood of its own accord, without him causing it to stand. Beit Shammai hold: This man’s intention [ turpeih ] is based upon him having it stand by his own hand, and he did not have it stand. Since he did not cause it to stand, his vow of naziriteship takes effect. And Beit Hillel hold: His intention is based upon the fact that it was prone, and now it has stood. Since the cow stood up it does not matter what caused it to stand, and his vow of naziriteship does not take effect.
2The Gemara asks: If so, say the latter clause of the mishna as follows: Rabbi Yehuda said: Even when Beit Shammai said the vow is effective they said so only with regard to one who said: They are hereby forbidden to me as an offering. But does he take a vow and extend any prohibition to the cow? Since according to this approach, he explicitly mentions naziriteship, the cow is not rendered forbidden but is merely the subject of a condition of the vow, so why does Rabbi Yehuda speak of a prohibition on the cow?
3The Gemara offers another explanation: Rather, the mishna is referring to a case where he said: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from its flesh if it does not stand, and it stood of its own accord. Beit Shammai hold: That man’s intention is based upon him having it stand by his own hand, and he did not have it stand. Since he did not cause it to stand, his vow of prohibition takes effect. And Beit Hillel hold: This man’s intention is based upon the fact that it was prone, and now it has stood, so his vow does not take effect.
4The Gemara asks: And do Beit Hillel hold that if the cow does not stand he will be a nazirite? But didn’t they say that if one states: I am hereby a nazirite and therefore will refrain from the cow’s flesh, he is not a nazirite, just as they ruled in a case where one states that he is a nazirite from dried figs?
5The Gemara answers: They stated their opinion in accordance with the reasoning of Beit Shammai: According to our opinion, even if the cow does not stand he is also not a nazirite, since naziriteship takes effect only if he vowed that products of the vine are forbidden to him. However, according to your reasoning that you say he is a nazirite, in any event concede to us that this man’s intention is based upon the fact that the cow was prone, and it has stood, so the naziriteship should not take effect. And Beit Shammai hold: Isn’t this man’s intention based upon him having it stand by his own hand, and he did not have it stand? Since his condition was not fulfilled, the naziriteship does not take effect.