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1 ‎[1] With regard to **one who issues a warning to his wife** not to seclude herself with a particular man, so that if she does not heed his warning she will assume the status of a woman suspected by her husband of having been unfaithful [*sota*], **Rabbi Eliezer says:** He **issues a warning to her based on,** i.e., in the presence of, **two** witnesses for the warning to be effective. If two witnesses were not present for the warning, she is not a *sota* even if two witnesses saw her seclusion with another man. **And** the husband **gives** the bitter water to her **to drink based on** the testimony of **one witness** who saw the seclusion, **or** even **based on his own** testimony that he himself saw them secluded together, as Rabbi Eliezer holds that only the warning requires witnesses, not the seclusion. **Rabbi Yehoshua says:** He both **issues a warning to her based on two** witnesses **and gives** the bitter water to her **to drink based on** the testimony of **two** witnesses.
‎[2] The mishna asks: **How** does he **issue a warning to her** in an effective manner? If he **says to her in the presence of two** witnesses: **Do not speak with** the **man** called **so-and-so, and she** nevertheless **spoke with him, she is still permitted to her home,** i.e., she is permitted to engage in sexual intercourse with her husband, **and** if she is the wife of a priest **she is** still **permitted to partake of *teruma*.** However, if after he told her not to speak with so-and-so, **she entered into a secluded place and remained with** that man long **enough to** become **defiled,** i.e., sufficient time to engage in sexual intercourse, **she is forbidden to her home** from that moment until she undergoes the *sota* rite. **And** likewise, if she was the wife of a priest **she is prohibited from partaking of *teruma*,** as she was possibly disqualified by her infidelity, so long as her innocence is not proven by means of the bitter water. **And if** her husband **dies** childless before she drinks the bitter water, **she perform *ḥalitza*** with her late husband’s brother **and may not enter into levirate marriage,** as, if she had been unfaithful, levirate marriage is forbidden.
‎[3] **And these** are women who, despite being married to priests, **are prohibited from partaking of *teruma*** due to suspicion of adultery: A woman **who says** to her husband: **I am defiled to you,** i.e., she admitted to having committed adultery with another man; **and** in a case **where witnesses came** forth and testified **that she is defiled; and** a woman **who says** after a warning and seclusion: **I will not drink** the bitter water of a *sota*; **and** in a case **where her husband does not want to force her to drink** the water even after she secluded herself with another man after his warning; **and** in a case **where her husband engaged in sexual intercourse with her on the way** to bringing her to the Temple to drink the bitter water, as in such a case the water will not be effective in evaluating whether she was unfaithful, due to the husband’s own prohibited act. The mishna details the procedure for administering the drinking of the bitter water of a *sota*. **What does** her husband **do with her** after she secluded herself with the man about whom she had been warned? **He brings her to the court that is** found **in that location, and** the court **provides him** with **two Torah scholars** to accompany him, **lest he engage in sexual intercourse with her on the way** to the Temple, which is not only prohibited but will also prevent the bitter water from evaluating her. **Rabbi Yehuda says: Her husband is trusted with regard to her,** so there is no need to provide scholars to accompany him.
‎[4] The mishna details the next stage of the process. **They would bring her up to the Sanhedrin that was in Jerusalem, and** the judges would **threaten her** in order that she admit her sin. **And** this was done **in the manner that they** would **threaten witnesses** testifying **in** cases of **capital** law. In those cases, the judges would explain to the witnesses the gravity of their testimony by stressing the value of human life. Here too, the judges would attempt to convince the woman to admit her sin, to avoid the loss of her life. **And** additionally, the judge would **say to her: My daughter, wine causes a great deal** of immoral behavior, **levity causes a great deal** of immoral behavior, **immaturity causes a great deal** of immoral behavior, and **bad neighbors cause a great deal** of immoral behavior. The judge encouraged her to admit her sin by explaining to her that he understands that there may have been mitigating factors. The judge then continues: **Act for the sake of His great name, so that** God’s name, **which is written in sanctity, shall not be erased on the water.** If the woman admits to having committed adultery, the scroll upon which the name of God is written will not be erased. **And** additionally, the judge **says in her presence matters that are not worthy of being heard** by **her and all her father’s family,** in order to encourage her to admit her sin, as the Gemara will explain.
‎[5] **If** after the judge’s warning **she says: I am defiled,** she writes **a receipt** for **her marriage contract.** That is, she writes a receipt indicating that she has no claims on her husband with regard to the sum written in her marriage contract, as a woman who admits to adultery forfeits her right to this payment. **And she is** then **divorced** from her husband. **But if** after the warning **she** maintains her innocence and **says: I am pure, they bring her up to the Eastern Gate, which is at the opening of** the **Gate of Nicanor, because** three rites were performed **there: They give the *sota* women** the bitter water **to drink, and they purify women who have given birth** (see Leviticus 12:6–8), **and they purify the lepers** (see Leviticus 14:10–20). The mishna continues describing the *sota* rite. **And the priest grabs hold of her clothing** and pulls them, unconcerned about what happens to the clothing. **If** the clothes **are torn,** so **they are torn; if the stitches come apart,** so **they come apart.** And he pulls her clothing **until he reveals her heart,** i.e., her chest. **And** then **he unbraids her hair. Rabbi Yehuda says: If her heart was attractive he would not reveal it, and if her hair was attractive he would not unbraid** it.
‎[6] If **she was dressed in white** garments, **he** would now **cover her with black** garments. If **she was wearing gold adornments,** **or chokers [*katliyot*],** or **nose rings, or** finger **rings, they removed them from her in order to render her unattractive. And afterward** the priest **would bring an Egyptian rope** fashioned from palm fibers, **and he would tie it above her breasts.** **And anyone who desires to watch her may come to watch, except for her slaves and maidservants,** who are not permitted to watch **because her heart is emboldened by them,** as seeing one’s slaves reinforces one’s feeling of pride, and their presence may cause her to maintain her innocence. **And all of the women are permitted to watch her, as it is stated:** “Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, **that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness”** (Ezekiel 23:48).
‎[7] The mishna teaches lessons that can be derived from the actions and treatment of a *sota*. **With the measure that a person measures, he is measured with it.** For example, **she,** the *sota*, **adorned herself to** violate **a transgression, the Omnipresent** therefore decreed that **she** be **rendered unattractive; she exposed herself for** the purpose of violating **a transgression,** as she stood in places where she would be noticed by potential adulterers, so **the Omnipresent** therefore decreed that **her** body be **exposed** publicly; **she began her transgression with** her **thigh and afterward with** her **stomach, therefore the thigh is smitten first and then the stomach, and the rest of all** her **body** does **not escape** punishment.
‎[8] The mishna provides additional examples of people who were treated by Heaven commensurate with their actions. **Samson followed his eyes, therefore** he was punished measure for measure, as **the Philistines gouged out his eyes, as it is stated: “And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes”** (Judges 16:21). **Absalom was** excessively **proud of his hair,** and **therefore he was hanged by his hair. And** furthermore, **because he engaged in sexual intercourse with ten of his father’s concubines** (see II Samuel 15:16 and 16:22), **therefore ten spears [*loneviyyot*] were put,** i.e., thrust, **into him, as it is stated: “And ten young men that bore Joab’s armor compassed about** and smote Absalom, and slew him” (II Samuel 18:15). **And because he stole** three times, committing **three thefts** of people’s hearts: **The heart of his father,** as he tricked him by saying that he was going to sacrifice offerings; **the heart of the court,** as he tricked them into following him; **and the heart of the Jewish people, as it is stated: “So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel”** (II Samuel 15:6), **therefore three spears were embedded into** his heart, **as it is stated:** “Then said Joab: I may not tarry like this with you. **And he took three spears in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom,** while he was yet alive” (II Samuel 18:14).
‎[9] The mishna continues: **And the same** is so **with regard to the** reward of **good** deeds; a person is rewarded measure for measure. **Miriam waited for** the baby **Moses** for **one hour** at the shore of the Nile, **as it is stated: “And his sister stood afar off,** to know what would be done to him” (Exodus 2:4). **Therefore the Jewish people delayed** their travels in the desert for **seven days** to wait **for her** when she was smitten with leprosy, **as it is stated:** “And Miriam was confined outside of the camp seven days; **and the people journeyed not until Miriam was brought in again”** (Numbers 12:15). **Joseph merited to bury his father,** resulting in a display of great honor to his father, **and there was none among his brothers greater than he** in importance, for he was viceroy of Egypt, **as it is stated: “And Joseph went up to bury his father;** and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the Elders of his house, and all the Elders of the land of Egypt, and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house; only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. **And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen;** and it was a very great company” (Genesis 50:7–9). **Who, to us,** had **a greater** burial **than Joseph, as it was none** other than **Moses who involved** himself in transporting **his** coffin. **Moses merited** to be the only person involved **in** the transportation of **Joseph’s bones** to be buried in Eretz Yisrael, **and there was none among the Jewish people greater than he, as it is stated: “And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him”** (Exodus 13:19). **Who** had **a greater** burial **than Moses, as no one involved himself in his** burial **other than the Omnipresent** Himself, **as it is stated: “And He buried him in the valley** in the land of Moab over against Beth Peor; and no man knows of his sepulcher unto this day” (Deuteronomy 34:6). The mishna comments: **Not only with regard to Moses did** the Sages **say** that God takes part in his burial, **but** also **with regard to all the righteous individuals, as it is stated: “Your righteousness shall go before you and the glory of the Lord shall gather you in”** (Isaiah 58:8).
Version: William Davidson Edition - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-noe-edition-koren-talmud-bavli-1
License: CC-BY-NC