SHEYIBANEH BEIT HAMIKDASH...
A series of articles on Beit HaMikdash-related topics
by Catriel Sugarman

The Sota - Suspected Adulteress (1)

A Sota was a married woman who was suspected by her husband of adultery. To give her an opportunity to prove her innocence, the Torah decreed that she submit to the ordeal of drinking Mayim HaMarim ("bitter waters") and then Heaven would reveal her innocence or guilt (B'midbar 5:11-31). The only "trial by ordeal" ordained by the Torah, the Sages taught that this Divine intervention was a continuous miracle which endured until late Bayit Sheini times. At that time, because of the increased immorality of the period, and because "adulterers became many, the Mayim HaMarim ceased." (Mayim HaMarim are also called Mei HaMarim HaMe'arerim - "the bitter waters that cause a curse" B'midbar 5:18). The Mishna notes that this ordeal was officially abolished by R. Yochanan ben Zakkai in the period shortly before the destruction of Bayit Sheini (Sota 9:9). A variant reading in the Tosefta states that the Mayim HaMarim were already in abeyance in the days of R. Yochanan ben Zakkai.

Briefly the sequence of events was as follows:
A married woman was warned by her husband, in the presence of two witnesses, not to seclude herself with a particular man who, by his conduct, had aroused her husband's suspicions.

The woman nevertheless, continued to seclude herself with the man.

Two witnesses, testified that - while they could not be certain that intimate relations between the man and woman actually took place - nevertheless because of their prolonged seclusion together, ample opportunity for such activity to have taken place certainly existed.

The woman then assumed the status of a Sota - a suspected adulteress - not a proven adulteress. The aggrieved husband and the Sota had to live apart until, by undergoing the ordeal of drinking the Mayim HaMarim in the Beit HaMikdash and emerging unscathed, she had been proved innocent by Heaven. If even a single witness appeared and testified that intimate relations had indeed taken place, the integrity of the marriage was destroyed and the marriage had to be terminated at once. (Normally the evidence of one witness would not be acceptable but in this case, the single witness' testimony was reinforced by the previous declaration of the two attestants who testified as to the woman's suspicious behavior.) However, there was one very important stipulation which had to be met to ensure the effectivity of the Mayim HaMarim, the husband himself had to be completely above suspicion. "'And the man shall be free from iniquity" (B'midbar 5:31). At the time when the man is free from iniquity, the Mayim HaMarim establish the innocence of his wife, but if the man is not free from iniquity himself, the Mayim HaMarim does not establish his wife's innocence'" (Sota 47b). The Navi warns, "I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; because they (their husbands) themselves dally with harlots, and they themselves sacrifice with temple-prostitutes" (Hoshea 4:14). "R. Eleazar said, 'The prophet (Hoshea) spoke to Israel, 'If you will be scrupulous with yourselves, the water will prove your wives (innocent or guilty); but if you are not scrupulous with yourselves, the water will not prove your wives '"(Sota 47b).

The Sota was brought to Lishkat HaGazit (the Chamber of Hewn Stone adjacent to the Azara) where she appeared before the Sanhedrin. There in the very shadow of the Mikdash, the Sages explained to her the seriousness of her offense and admonished her as to how frightful an effect the Mayim HaMarim would have on her person when she drank it if she was guilty. If she confessed her transgression, she forfeited the sum due to her under her marriage settlement and was formally divorced. She was not subject to the usual penalty of the adulteress because she had not been tried and convicted by Beit Din by the usual procedure. She had merely confessed her misdeed; two trustworthy witnesses had not testified against her in court. (The great leader and sage R. Shimon ben Shetach ordained that a when a man married, he was required to obligate himself to pay his wife a mutually agreed upon amount on his death or in the event that he divorced her. Legally binding, the document which embodied this enactment (the Ketuba) was (and is) signed by the husband and countersigned by witnesses. The original text was drawn up by the Sages and was enacted by them to protect women from the vagaries of irresponsible husbands. The financial obligations of the Ketuba served to restrain them from frivolously divorcing their wives without just cause. In essence the Ketuba is a lien on all the property owned by the husband and the Sota, by her confession of misconduct, forfeited this marriage settlement.) If she did not confess but refused to undergo the test, it was assumed she was guilty and her husband divorced her. In this case she also was denied her marriage settlement.

"But if she said, 'I am pure' (i.e. innocent) they take her over to the Eastern Gate… by the entrance of the Nicanor Gate where they give the Sotot (the Mayim HaMarim) to drink… A Kohein seizes her garments (from the neck) and if they are ripped, they are ripped, if they are torn open, they are torn open until he exposes her heart and he loosens her hair…" (B'midbar 5:18, Sota 1:5). Rambam posits that her head was not completely uncovered; she wore a Kipa on her head "just like a woman in her own home" (Rambam, Hilchot Sota 3:5). "If she was clothed in white garments, he (the Kohein) clothed her in black. If she had ornaments of gold, chains, earrings and finger rings, they were taken from her to make her less attractive. He then brought an Egyptian rope and tied it above her breasts (to keep her clothes from falling down completely) and anyone who wished to behold came and beheld except for her male and female slaves. (Sota 1:6).

Tif'eret Yisrael postulates that the presence of those familiar faces would cause her to be too embarrassed to confess. However Rashi (Sota 7b) and the Rambam (Hilchot Sota 3:6) maintain that their presence would give her courage to resist (Sota 7b). And all women were permitted to view her as it is written, "That all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness'" (Yechezkel 23:48, Sota 1:6). "Then the woman brought a special meal offering called Minchat Kina'ot - "the meal offering of jealousies." This offering - Minchat Sota - was unique among Menachot in that it consisted of one tenth of an Eifa of coarse barley flour prepared from the entire kernel including the bran (Sota 2:1). "R. Gamliel said since her behavior was similar to the behavior of an animal, her offering is the food of animals". Rashi, quoting the Sifri and the Tosefta, explains that the expression "Minchat Kina'ot" is in the plural because the Sota's conduct aroused the "jealousy" of G-d as well of that of her husband. <TBC>

Catriel's book in progress: The Temple of Jerusalem, A Pilgrims Prospective; A Guided Tour through the Temple and the Divine Service