On Daf 8b, R' Shimon's opinion about a stack which, if one said 'I am a Nazir on condition that this stack is at least 100 Kor'; and the stack was lost or stolen before he was able to measure it, he is forbidden (all Isurei Nezirus), for one must be stringent about Safek Nezirus; but then on 13a R' Shimon suggests when his wife is not sure if her baby was viable or not, the husband should make a stipulation and observe 2 periods of Nezirut to cover both eventualities. Surely R' Shimon could have suggested a similar answer for the person with the stack- that the person could make a stipulation that if the stack was 100 kor, he was a nazir according to his original vow, and then his current nezirut is a nedava- instead of subjecting the person on daf 8a to a lifetime of uncertainty?

Marc Chipkin, Johannesburg, South Africa