If a husband hears of his wife's vow, he can annul it – but only on the day he hears it. If he heard of his wife becoming a nazir (or "nazirah") on the last day of her vow, he can annul it then. However, if the blood of one of the required sacrifices was already thrown on the Altar, he cannot annul it any longer – because from then on, she is not deprived of anything and can drink wine and go to the cemetery. His rights extend only to her self-deprivation, but not further.
This is true, however, if she concluded her promised time of being a nazirah correctly. Suppose she accidentally touched a dead body and is bringing sacrifices because of that. In that case, he can still annul the vow so that she does not continue her period of abstinence because he can demand that she drink wine with him.
Rabbi Meir says that even if she did everything right, he can stop it at the last moment – because he can claim, "I don't want my wife to shave off her hair!" (which every nazir finally does). And the first teacher, what did he think? – That she can wear a wig. And Rabbi Meir? – That the husband won't like the wig.
The father can declare his son a nazir. However, his son or any relative can stop that and free the son from the obligation. Another unusual law (known only to those who study unwritten Torah): if the father was a nazir and prepared money for his concluding sacrifices but died, the son can use that money for his own nazir sacrifice. This is not true for any other type of sacrifice or money – they cannot be re-used by the son.
Art: Young Woman with a Wine Glass by Octave Tassaert
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