{"id":11756,"date":"2008-05-22T21:27:00","date_gmt":"2008-05-22T21:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/production.ou.org\/life\/other\/masechet_sotah_25\/"},"modified":"2015-10-29T09:11:34","modified_gmt":"2015-10-29T14:11:34","slug":"masechet_sotah_25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/masechet_sotah_25\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to Masechet Sotah and 2a-5b"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Coming Week’s Daf Yomi by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz<\/em><\/p>\n

This essay is based upon the insights and chidushim (original ideas) of Talmudic scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, as published in the Hebrew version of the Steinsaltz Edition of the Talmud.<\/em><\/p>\n

This month\u2019s Steinsaltz Daf Yomi is sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Alan Harris, The Lewy Family Foundation, and Marilyn and Edward Kaplan<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Introduction to Masechet Sotah<\/em><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Masechet<\/a> Sotah<\/em> deals mainly with the laws surrounding a Sotah<\/em> (see Bamidbar<\/a>, Chapter 5<\/a>) – a woman whose husband suspects her of infidelity, who is brought to the Temple to be tested by drinking specially prepared “bitter waters.” Although checking the woman in this manner is supposed to lead to her death if she committed adultery, the purpose of the ceremony is not to bring about destruction, rather it is to being about peace between husband and wife. According to all opinions in the Gemara, a man who comes to despise his wife because he suspects that she has committed adultery has the right to divorce her. In our case, however, we are dealing with a man who does not want to divorce his wife, but nevertheless is suffering from jealousy and a fear that his wife has been unfaithful. His desire is to clarify the situation so that he can return to a state of security in his marriage. Through the ceremony of Sotah<\/em>, the Torah<\/a> offers a unique method of reaching certainty in this matter.<\/p>\n

Although the purpose of Sotah<\/em> is to assure marital peace and harmony, it is important to point out that the ceremony is not performed simply because the husband demands it. As is explained in the Gemara<\/a>, it is only after a man warns his wife in the presence of witnesses that due to his suspicions he does not want her to spend time privately with a specific person – and witnesses step forward testifying that she did so – that the process of Sotah<\/em> can begin. Thus, the woman, who is first warned about her husband’s concerns, has certainly behaved inappropriately and the suspicions about her behavior appear to be well-founded.<\/p>\n

If the woman committed adultery, aside from the fact that she transgressed one of the most serious prohibitions of the Torah, her behavior is considered to be “animalistic” – ma’aseh beheima<\/em> – the make-up and fancy clothing notwithstanding. This is why she is treated in a degrading manner when she is brought to the Bet HaMikdash<\/a><\/em> for the ceremony – the kohen<\/a><\/em> tears her upper clothing, tying them with a rope, and he removes her hair covering. Similarly, the mincha<\/em> sacrifice that she brings is brought from barley flour (barley was viewed by the Sages as animal feed) and it does not include oil like other menachot<\/a><\/em>. The “bitter waters” were drunk out of a simple earthen vessel.<\/p>\n

The laws of Sotah<\/em> include a unique aspect that does not exist in any other mitzvah<\/a><\/em> of the Torah. Sotah<\/em> is the only mitzvah<\/em> that is dependent on a miraculous occurrence. The idea that drinking water should be able to test whether a woman has committed adultery is not a natural phenomenon. Only a miraculous event could create a situation where the woman will die if she was unfaithful, but will be a blessing for her if she was suspected for no reason. Furthermore, according to the Sages, if she committed adultery, not only would she suffer upon drinking the water, but her lover would, as well, even if he was nowhere near the Temple.<\/p>\n

Another unique element of the mitzvah<\/em> of Sotah<\/em> is that preparing the water involved the deliberate erasing of biblical passages – including God’s name – something that is forbidden under other circumstances.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that according to the Sages there are a number of reasons why the Sotah<\/em> waters might not work – including the possibility that the husband himself was involved in sexual misbehaviors, or if the woman had some positive attributes that would protect her. Since not every generation is on a high spiritual level that would allow for a miracle like this to take place, around the time of the destruction of the second Temple, the practice of Sotah<\/em> was discontinued.<\/p>\n

We find quite of bit of aggadic<\/a> material in Masechet Sotah<\/em>, most of which stems from the nature of the topics discussed in it. The commandment to make the suspected woman drink the bitter waters, which involves a supernatural element in the life of the couple, leads to discussions about such elements as reward and punishment, what makes people sin and so forth – not only for a Sotah<\/em>, but for personalities throughout Jewish history, as well.<\/p>\n

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Sotah 2a-b<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The first Mishnah<\/a> in Masechet<\/a> Sotah<\/a><\/em> opens with the words ha-mekaneh le-ishto<\/em> – when someone is “jealous” of his wife – and begins the process of warning her not to be in private quarters with a specific man, a process that will lead to her drinking “the bitter waters” of Sotah<\/em> if she does so.<\/p>\n

As Rashi<\/a> explains, the term ha-mekaneh<\/em> is based on the pasuk<\/em>, or verse (Bamidbar<\/a> 5:14<\/a>) that describes the husband’s concern using the words ve-kinei et ishto<\/em>. Nevertheless, the definition of the word kinei<\/em> is not simple, since we find it used with two different meanings. Generally speaking, the usage kinei be-\u2026<\/em>is understood to mean jealousy – a desire for something that is owned by another that a person wants to have (see Mishlei<\/a><\/em> 24:1<\/a>, 19<\/a>). The usage kinei le-\u2026<\/em> however, is understood to indicate a protective love, anger at someone who injures or tries to attack something that is important to the me-kaneh<\/em> (see, for example, Eliyahu<\/a>‘s argument kano kineti la-Shem<\/em> in I Melakhim<\/a><\/em> 19:10<\/a>, 14<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The common ground between these two meanings may be the heartfelt emotion that is caused by another. The kin’ah<\/em> that is discussed in Masechet Sotah<\/em> is of the latter type, although, as our Gemara<\/a> points out, the root word may also be used here meaning a threat or warning, as in the passage ke-ish milhamot ya’ir kin’ah, yari’a af yatzri’ah<\/em> (Yeshayahu<\/a> 42:13<\/a>) describing God as shouting during warfare. This is the approach of the Rambam<\/a> in his Commentary to the Mishnah<\/em>; the Tosafot Yom Tov<\/a><\/em> suggests that in our context the term may refer to anger. The different translations may depend on whether the act of kinuy<\/em> is seen as permitted for the husband to do, or if it is really something that he should be discouraged from doing.<\/p>\n

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Sotah 3a-b<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Our Gemara<\/a> brings a number of statements in the name of Rav Chisda<\/a>, whose origins are found in the halacha<\/a><\/em> of a Sotah<\/a><\/em>:<\/p>\n