Questions tagged [tractate-sotah]
Tractate dealing with process of Sotah (suspicious wife), mandetory Hebrew torah verses, Mashuach milchama (Cohen appointed for war) and egla Arufa (breaking calfs neck for unknown murder).
62
questions
2
votes
2
answers
147
views
Sotah in third temple?
Putting the possibility of building a third temple aside, (this is a theoretical question), if the third temple was rebuilt, would the sotah ritual still apply like it did during the second temple ...
- 820
2
votes
0
answers
40
views
Why is the Mitzvah of Parah Adumah considered a reward?
The Gemara (Sotah 17a) says that the Mitzvah of Parah Adumah was given as a reward for Avraham Avinu’s humility, and Rashi explains that it’s considered a reward, because A. It purifies. B. It atones ...
- 3,197
0
votes
0
answers
34
views
Meaning of Sotah 48b - '...irons chariots ceased...'
Sotah 48b states as follows:
'Rabbi Ami says: From the time when the First Temple was destroyed, shiny [peranda] silk [shira] and white glass ceased to exist. This is also taught in a baraita: From ...
- 263
2
votes
1
answer
89
views
Why did Rav Yaakov snap back at his adoptive father?
It says in Sotah 49a that
רַב אַחָא בַר יַעֲקבֹ אִיטַּפַל בֵיהּ בְרַב יַעֲקבֹ בַר בְרַתֵּיהּ כִי גָּדַל א״ל אַשְקְיָין מַיָּא אָמַר לוֹ לָאו בְרִיךְ אֲנָא
Rav Acha bar Yaakov reared Rav Yaakov, his ...
- 901
2
votes
0
answers
55
views
Why does the Gemara reference R' Yaakov in an odd way?
In Sotah 46a, it says the following:
אָמַר לְהוּ הַהוּא מֵרַבָנָן ור׳ יַעֲקבֹ שְמֵיהּ לְדִידִי מְפָרְשָא לִי מִינֵּיהּ דְרַבִי יוֹחָנָן מְשִיכַת עוֹל לְרָחְבוֹ טֶפַח
One of the rabbis said to them, ...
- 901
3
votes
1
answer
79
views
How can we compare a Ba'al Ga'avah who did teshuva to avraham avinu?
It says in Masechet Sotah 5a:
דָרַש רַב עֲוְִירָא זִמְנִין אָמַר לָהּ מִשְּמֵיהּ דְרַב אַסִּי וְְזִמְנִין אָמַר לָהּ מִשְּמֵיהּ דְרַב אַמִי כָל אָדָם שֶיֵּש בוֹ גַּסּוּת הָרוּחַ לַסּוֹף מִתְמַעֵט ...
- 901
1
vote
1
answer
79
views
Where are the "many times" (פעמים רבות) referred to by Maimonides in his commentary on Mishnah Sotah 3:4? Which statement of בן עזאי?
The Mishnah Sotah 3:4 states:
אֵינָהּ מַסְפֶּקֶת לִשְׁתּוֹת עַד שֶׁפָּנֶיהָ מוֹרִיקוֹת וְעֵינֶיהָ
בּוֹלְטוֹת וְהִיא מִתְמַלֵּאת גִּידִין, וְהֵם אוֹמְרִים הוֹצִיאוּהָ
הוֹצִיאוּהָ, שֶׁלֹּא תְטַמֵּא ...
- 2,064
2
votes
1
answer
160
views
Tzadok the Kohen Gadol considered greater than Aharon and his sons?
When I was recently learning Sotah I saw on daf 48b that Tzadok, during the time of Dovid HaMelech, was a rare instance during that period, of someone who asked the Urim VeTumim and was answered.
רַב ...
- 30.2k
0
votes
1
answer
74
views
Karpas - Samech Parech
I've heard many times from my Rabbeim throughout the years that כרפס is the same letters as ס' פרך, representing the 60 myriads of Jews who were forced to do עבודת פרך (often translated as crushing ...
- 5,365
1
vote
0
answers
46
views
Parallels in Sotah 11a and Shabbat 33b
I noticed yesterday that there are some similarities between the story brought in Sotah 11a and the one in Shabbat 33b. In Sotah 11a it says:
"Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says that Rabbi Simai says: ...
- 24.9k
2
votes
1
answer
67
views
Apparent contradiction in Bamidbar 35:1-5
I am aware that Sotah 27b and Rashi do not not regard these verses as self-contradictory, although they point to the apparent contradiction.
The verses in English:
The LORD spoke to Moses in the ...
- 1,376
2
votes
2
answers
152
views
Under what mechanism is the Sotah's Megillah allowed to be erased?
Normally, it is an Issur Deorayta (Torah Prohibition) to erase Hashem's name - לא תעשון כן לה׳ א–לוקיכם.
However, by the Sotah we do erase Hashem's name.
Is this working using the methodology of עשה ...
- 957
2
votes
1
answer
637
views
Where in the Tanakh is it derived that females are to cover their heads when praying?
Where in the Tanakh is it extrapolated that females are to cover their heads or hair when praying or reciting the name of HaShem?
I form this question upon reading the following: Women and girls ...
- 43
5
votes
1
answer
101
views
Eidim Zommemin on Sotah?
Tosefta Sotah 2:6 notes the Halacha of the Korban of a Sotah who was made a sotah by Eidim Zommemin.
I am wondering what their punishment would be.
Seemingly, there should be lashes.
Is it possible to ...
- 957
3
votes
0
answers
85
views
Sotah 34a se’a as unit of weight?
In Sotah 34a, the weight of the stones at the Jordan from Joshua 4:3 is given as “about forty se’a.” Some (for instance Steinsaltz) use this in the discussion of the cluster of grapes brought back by ...
- 51
8
votes
1
answer
90
views
Can three Talmudic passages about mitzvot "protecting" and mitzvot "saving" be reconciled?
The Talmud in Shabbat 49a records the following story:
שפעם אחת גזרה מלכות רומי הרשעה גזירה על ישראל שכל המניח תפילין ינקרו את מוחו והיה אלישע מניחם ויוצא לשוק ראהו קסדור אחד רץ מפניו ורץ אחריו וכיון ...
- 49.1k
2
votes
1
answer
84
views
Why does the gemara seem to care more about erasing God's name than getting the correct ruling for a sotah?
In the mishna on Sotah 7a , we learn that the beis din intimidates the sotah in order to try to get her to admit to wrongdoing and avoid drinking the sotah water. The gemara on 7b asks why our mishna ...
- 24.7k
4
votes
1
answer
123
views
Why does the gemara not consider the possibility that someone will warn his wife about seclusion when he's mad at her?
The gemara in Sotah 2b discussed two different versions of a statement by Rabbi Eliezer: one from the mishna on 2a and one from a beraisa. In the mishna, Rabbi Eliezer states that in order for a woman ...
- 24.7k
0
votes
1
answer
119
views
What is the Chidush that Parashat Hamelech is read off the Torah scroll in Hebrew?
ואלו נאמרין בלשון הקודש: מקרא ביכורים, וחליצה, ... ברכת כהנים,... ופרשת המלך... (Sotah 32a)
these are recited only in the sacred tongue, Hebrew: Bikkurim and Chalitzah and the blessings and curses ...
- 25.7k
10
votes
1
answer
105
views
Is there any connection between the Sotah, the Mizbeiach, and the Beis HaMikdash keychain?
In exactly three contexts, the Mishnah notes that there was an amah square marble slab with a ring, using exactly the same language each time.
The first is in Sotah 2:2, regarding the Sotah procedure:...
- 34.1k
3
votes
3
answers
245
views
What is Rambam's source that the Sages issued a command to not teach your daughter Torah?
The Mishnah in Sotah (3:4) states:
אם יש לה זכות היתה תולה לה יש זכות תולה שנה אחת יש זכות תולה ב' שנים יש זכות תולה ג' שנים מכאן אומר בן עזאי חייב אדם ללמד את בתו תורה שאם תשתה תדע שהזכות תולה לה ר&...
- 49.1k
4
votes
1
answer
179
views
Sotah saving herself by disqualifying the mincha
The gemara in Zevachim 47a quotes the opinion of Rabbi Elazar Bar Rabbi Yose who holds that not only the kohen who is being makrev a korban can disqualify, but even the owner can disqualify. Upon ...
- 41k
5
votes
2
answers
231
views
The minimum amount of water a Sotah must drink
I was wondering if there is a minimum amount of water a Sotah must drink in order for the water to take effect.
The closest I found to this being addressed was Rashi on Bamidbar 5:13 who quotes a ...
- 12k
2
votes
2
answers
136
views
How to understand "a person only sins if a spirit of foolishness enters him?"
The gemara in Sotah 3a states:
ריש לקיש אמר אין אדם עובר עבירה אא"כ נכנס בו רוח שטות שנא' (במדבר ה, יב) איש איש כי תשטה אשתו תשטה כתיב
Reish Lakish says: A man commits a transgression only if a ...
- 12k
1
vote
4
answers
879
views
Parnassah and Marriage: Rambam vs. The Lubavitcher Rebbe
Reading Rambam's Mishneh Torah, Human Dispositions 5:11, we stumble upon the following opinion:
The way of sensible people: A man should first select a permanent vocation out of which to derive a ...
- 1,175
13
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Historically, were women trained for obligatory wars? Or did they serve some other military function?
Sotah 8:7 says that for obligatory wars all go out to fight, "even a bridegroom from his chamber and a bride from her canopy". Historically, was this in fact our practice? Did women participate in ...
- 56.4k
7
votes
2
answers
292
views
In the time of the mishna, were there Jewish cities without courts?
In a discussion of the heifer ritual when a murder victim is found between two cities, Sotah 9:2 lists some cases when a city does not bring a heifer, including a city where a majority of the ...
- 56.4k
2
votes
1
answer
53
views
Does any ongoing transgression exempt one from going to war?
We know from Devarim 20:8 that someone who is "fearful and faint-hearted" is sent home from battle (in optional wars) lest he demoralize others. In Sotah 8:5 Rabbi Yose the Galilean says this refers ...
- 56.4k
6
votes
1
answer
123
views
For things that can be said in any language, how fully must you understand the language?
Sotah 7:1 gives a list of things that are said in any language, including the Sh'ma and the t'filah. Several commentaries I've seen explain that these texts are so important that you need to ...
- 56.4k
8
votes
1
answer
192
views
Who are "the women who twist yarn by the moon"?
Sotah 6:1 talks about when a man who hears about his wife violating his warning divorces her rather than invoking the sotah test:
Someone who warned his wife [against being secluded with a certain ...
- 56.4k
6
votes
1
answer
91
views
What happens if the accused sotah did commit adultery, but not with the man she was warned about?
Sotah 5:1 says:
Just as the water checks her [the woman], so does the water check him [the man]
The rest of the discussion there is about how the physical consequences that happen to her also ...
- 56.4k
2
votes
2
answers
248
views
If only a married woman can be a sotah, why does a non-spouse have authority to warn her?
Sotah 4:1 explains that certain women do not drink the sotah waters and do not receive the ketubah because they are not yet married and the torah says "she goes astray while married to her husband". ...
- 56.4k
5
votes
0
answers
47
views
God's Nichum Aveilim
Asking for a friend:
On Kiddushin 38a, Tosfos s.v. Tzei, explain that Hashem didn't approach Yehoshua until after the 30 days of mourning for Moshe had elapsed, since the Shechinah does not descend ...
- 20.9k
4
votes
2
answers
135
views
How early in the process can the accused sotah refuse to drink?
The mishnayot in the first chapter of Sotah describe the beginning of the process -- the accusing husband brings her to the court where they try to intimidate her into confessing, and if she doesn't ...
- 56.4k
10
votes
1
answer
1k
views
A female thief is not sold to make restitution -- so what happens instead?
The mishna in Sotah 3:8 says, in a list of differences in halacha between men and women:
A man is sold for his theft [i.e., to repay it], a woman is not sold for her theft. (Sefaria translation)
...
- 56.4k
4
votes
1
answer
138
views
What is the amount of time a suspected woman needs to be secluded to be considered a Sotah?
The Gemara lists a series of opinions (9 by my count) in Sotah 4a as to how long the amount of secluded time must be for a forewarned woman to be considered a potential Sotah.
Do we know which Tanna ...
- 12k
8
votes
1
answer
93
views
In regard to a Sotah, does "zchus tola la" also apply to the person she was mezanah with?
By a Sotah, there's a concept of "zchus tola lah" Mishnah Sotah 3:4
אִם יֶשׁ לָהּ זְכוּת, הָיְתָה תוֹלָה לָהּ. יֵשׁ זְכוּת תּוֹלָה שָׁנָה אַחַת, יֵשׁ זְכוּת תּוֹלָה שְׁתֵּי שָׁנִים, יֵשׁ ...
- 12k
4
votes
1
answer
121
views
What is specific about the pre-ordination of these 3 things - spouses, houses, and fields?
Gemara Sotah 2a
אמר רב יהודה אמר רב ארבעים יום קודם יצירת הולד בת קול יוצאת ואומרת בת פלוני לפלוני בית פלוני לפלוני שדה פלוני לפלוני...
Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Forty days before an embryo is ...
- 6,919
11
votes
4
answers
591
views
Does every woman have a destined match?
There is a Talmudic statement in Sotah 2a which is commonly used as the source that every person has their destined match (the parameters of "destined" is a separate discussion):
והא אמר רב יהודה ...
- 49.1k
4
votes
0
answers
77
views
Are there any merits which delay the adulterer's explosion?
In mSotah 5:1 it states that the Sotah waters check the woman and her presumed consort. I assume this 'checking' leads to the consort suffering the same death as the woman. The talmud further states ...
- 13.6k
7
votes
3
answers
357
views
Why does Rashi pair a Tzaddik with a Tzanuah and not a Tzadeikes?
The Gemara in Sotah 2a discusses that although a first marriage is predetermined, a second marriage is according to one’s status at the time (summary based on conclusion of Gemara there). Rashi there ...
- 34.1k
1
vote
2
answers
134
views
Does the Torah use the word טָמְאָה to imply physical defilement anywhere besides sotah?
In the parsha of sotah (Bamidbar 5:13) the Torah describes the woman who was secluded and had relations with another man as וְנִסְתְּרָ֖ה וְהִ֣יא נִטְמָ֑אָה meaning that she became physically defiled -...
- 13.6k
9
votes
2
answers
250
views
Why did Caleiv mention the quail?
After the meraglim gave their negative report on the Land of Israel, the Torah says (translations from Sefaria)
Numbers 13:30
וַיַּ֧הַס כָּלֵ֛ב אֶת־הָעָ֖ם אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה
Caleiv hushed the people before ...
- 19.6k
4
votes
2
answers
240
views
Why is one who touched doubtful Tumah in a public domain considered Tahor?
The source that doubtful Tumah in a private domain is Tamei is the Gemara in Sotah (28b - see there for translation):
מה ת"ל והיא נטמאה והיא לא נטמאה אם נטמאה למה שותה אם לא נטמאה למה משקה מגיד לך ...
- 40.3k
1
vote
1
answer
184
views
What's wrong Letzanut?
The Talmud in Sotah 42 says four groups do not receive the Shechina (divine presence) in the next world. One of these is the group of "letzim" (jesters).
What is considered bad letzanut? I assume ...
- 21.1k
4
votes
0
answers
472
views
Are the talmudic "Prushim" the Rabbinic Pharisees?
In Masechet Sotah, 20a, the mishna details harmful forces and reads (translation from dafyomi.co.il)
The following destroy the world - a foolish Chasid, a crafty evildoer, a woman who is Perushah, ...
- 37.8k
4
votes
1
answer
213
views
What happens to the Sotah?
In the Torah (Bamidbar 5:21) it says that when the guilty Sotah drinks the water, her "belly will swell and her thigh will fall."
Anyone have more details as to what this means? Does it mean ...
- 21.1k
1
vote
0
answers
103
views
How common is Yichud?
דתניא רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה אומר משום ר' אליעזר המקנא לאשתו מקנא ע"פ עד אחד או ע"פ עצמו ומשקה לה על פי שנים השיבו חכמים לדברי רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה אין לדבר סוף מ"ט דר' יוסי ברבי יהודה אמר קרא בה בה ולא ...
- 40.3k
4
votes
0
answers
138
views
what determines what parts of the talmud(if any) are in hebrew rather than aramaic?
I read in this question
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/226412/origins-of-turn-over-in-his-grave-turn-over-in-her-grave-etc-etc/226478?noredirect=1#comment576934_226478
That this line ...
- 2,087
5
votes
2
answers
164
views
Under whose rule was the second Beis Hamikdash destroyed?
Rashi in Sota (41a) says
אגריפס המלך. מלך ישראל היה מזרעו של הורדוס והוא שנחרב בהמ"ק בימיו
The Beis Hamikdash was destroyed in the days of Aggripas.
I thought that by the time of the destruction ...
- 40.3k