Sotah 001
|
BET MIDRASH VIRTUALI
of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel
RABIN MISHNAH STUDY GROUP
|
|
TRACTATE SOTAH, CHAPTER ONE, MISHNAH ONE:
|
One who warns his wife – Rabbi Eli'ezer says that this warning is done
[in the presence of] two [witnesses] and that he makes her drink on the testimony of one witness or [even just of] himself. Rabbi Yehoshu'a says that he must warn her [in the presence of] two [witnesses] and make her drink on the testimony of two witnesses. EXPLANATIONS:
1:
For modern susceptibilities, one of the most difficult passages among the legal portions of the Torah must be the legislation that provides for the 'trial by ordeal' of the wife suspected by her husband of adultery. It is a 'trial by ordeal' because the outcome is not decided on the basis of evidence offered and weighed, but on the results obtained when the woman drinks a potion. And for people with contemporary standards for measuring legislation of this kind the provisions of the passage seem to be decidedly 'politically incorrect'. The suspicious husband accuses the wife; not only does she seem to have no defence, but neither is there is any reciprocal resource. The wife is required to take part in the ordeal whether she wishes to or not. And the details of the ordeal seem to be decidedly misogynistic, for the woman is judicially subjected to embarrassing public humiliation. 2:
If any man's wife goes astray, and is unfaithful to him,and a man lies with her carnally … and he is
suspicious of his wife… then the man shall bring his wife to the priest,… The priest shall bring her near, and set her before God; and the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is on the floor of the sanctuary the priest shall take, and put it into the water. The priest shall set the woman before God, and let the hair of the woman's head go loose… The priest shall have in his hand the bitter cursing water. The priest shall cause her to swear an oath, and shall tell the woman, 'If no man has lain with you, and if you haven't gone astray to impurity, being under your husband, be free from this bitter cursing water. But if you have gone astray, being under your husband, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you other than your husband:…' then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall tell the woman, 'May God make you a curse and an oath among your people, when God allows your thigh to fall away, and your body to swell; and this cursing water will go into your bowels, and make your body swell, and your thigh fall away.' The woman shall say, 'Amen, Amen.' The priest shall write these curses on a page, and he shall blot them out into the bitter water. He shall make the woman drink the bitter cursing water… When he has made her drink the water, then it shall happen, if she is defiled, and has committed a trespass against her husband, that the cursing water will enter into her and become bitter, and her body will swell, and her thigh will fall away: and the woman will be a curse among her people. If the woman isn't defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
3:
It is quite clear that this whole piece of legislation was problematic for the sages. (Indeed, as we shall see when we reach the last chapter of this tractate, one of the greatest of them actually acted on the courage of his convictions and eventually abolished the ceremony altogether – and the reasons he gives are decidedly PC.) The sages were not unused to such a situation. When we studied tractate Sanhedrin we saw how the sages spent the whole of chapter 8 so re-interpreting the legislative requirements connected with the 'stubborn and rebellious son' [Deuteronomy 21:18-23] that they were even able to boast that no such case had ever been or ever would be! [Tosefta Sanhedrin 11:2, Gemara Sanhedrin 71a]. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, they probably knew that they would not be bale to make such a boast about the 'Sotah' – the woman suspected of infidelity to her husband. 4:
Before we begin our review of our present mishnah I would like to re-emphasize a point that has been made
throughout our study of this tractate [Sanhedrin]. The best way that I can make this emphasis is to suggest that you do the following: read through the Torah reading for last Shabbat (Parashat Ki-Tetze). First of all think about the literal meaning of some of the mitzvot that you find there – and there are many to choose from that are topics that we have covered in our study in this tractate [Sanhedrin]. After that, re-read the mitzvot you have chosen and try to recall how the sages re-interpreted them. I think that you will then realize the true power of 'The Unwritten Torah' [Torah she-b'al-Peh]. In many cases the sages completely revolutionized the implications of the mitzvah; in many more cases they reduced its scope or applicability almost to non-existence. It will then become clear that, compared with the literal meaning of the biblical text, the sages were liberal in their outlook (though I do not think that this was their conscious intent). Hermeneutic interpretation was, perhaps, one of the greatest gifts that the sages collectively possessed.
The methodology of the sages is not to deny the scriptural law (as moderns would probably do). They
could not do so and would not dream of doing so. But they could 'interpret' scripture – and they did! To be continued. |
Click here to access the new Home Page of the
Bet Midrash Virtuali, which includes the RMSG archive.
To subscribe to the Rabin Mishnah Study Group email service
click here.
To unsubscribe send an email to nhis address
To dedicate a shiur (lesson) send an amount of your choice, clearly marked
'For BMV', to:
The Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel,
475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115-0122
Contributions are tax-deductible in the US.
You must also send a private e-mail, stating the requested date and the occasion for the
dedication, to Rabbi Simchah Roth nhis address
Please note that nhis address is also the address for discussion,
queries, comments and requests.