Sotah 106

6:
The Gemara [Sotah 47b] discusses what the mishnah means by the discontinuation of the tithing statement. When we studied 7:1 we learned that the 'tithing statement' could be made in any language, and not just Hebrew. Our explanation of this declaration is to be found there in paragraphs 4-7. The ancient agriculturalist was required to make from his produce certain compulsory donations to the indigent, to the Levites and to the Priests, and at certain stipulated times he was to make the declaration which is to be found in Deuteronomy 26:13-15. The Gemara explains that by the time of the High Priest Yoĥanan (whoever he may have been!) people had become lax about giving the donations to the Levites, instead giving all the tithes (except for the indigent) to the priests. Since the sages held that the 'tithing statement' to the effect that all tithes had been paid could only be made if all the tithes had been delivered to the beneficiaries detailed by the Torah it was not possible to permit this declaration, required by the Torah, once the majority of the people ceased 'following instructions'.

7:
The "Wakens" which High Priest Yoĥanan discontinued refers to a biblical verse [Psalm 44:24] which the Levites in the Bet Mikdash would add to the Psalm of the Day which they would sing while the daily sacrifice was being offered. The verse reads:

(Explanations concerning this singing by the Levitical choir and orchestra can be found in the BMV archives: Tamid 7:4)

The Gemara [Sotah 48a] explains that Yoĥanan's reason for putting an end to this practice was theological. He objected to the propagation of the idea that God sleeps (for Psalm 121:4 states quite explicitly that 'the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps'). He maintained that the verse to which he objected was only applicable when Israel was suffering and the gentiles were at ease. (This suggests that Yoĥanan the High Priest lived at a time of Israel's prosperity and security – which is a good argument for identifying him with one of the Hasmonean rulers.)

8:
The 'bashers' refers to a reprehensible custom that was prevalent at his time. It seems that people bringing their sacrifices would aim a hard blow on the animal's forehead so that blood would gush between their eyes thus blinding them and making it easier for them to be shackled in preparation for slaughter. Alas, the Gemara [Sotah 48a] does not attribute the discontinuation of this practice to humanitarian considerations but to the fact that the animal would appear to be suffering from a disqualifying physical blemish.

9:
The reference in our mishnah to hammering is in connection with what are called the 'intermediate' days of the festivals of Pesach and Sukkot. The first and last days of these festivals are declared by the Torah to be sacred days which must be free from 'melakhah' almost as stringently as Shabbat itself. (It is most convenient here – although somewhat misleading – to define a 'melakhah' as an act whose performance is forbidden on Shabbat.) The intervening days of these festivals, while holy days, are not restricted in this manner. Most people – then as now – just worked as usual on these days: Yoĥanan the High Priest forbade this, requiring the intermediate days of these festivals to be observed as holy days on which 'melakhot' were not forbidden.

10:
'Demai' is a term which we have explained on many occasions. Here is an explanation I gave when we studied Berakhot 7:1:

Harold Rosenblum has asked me a question about accessing the RMSG archives. Since he is not the first to ask this question let me respond 'publicly'.

In order to access the archives you must first access the home page of the Virtual Bet Midrash ('Bet Midrash Virtuali') Point your web browser to http://tempheb.bmv.org.il/bmv/bmvhome.asp. Close the popup window after noting it's contents, which is purely for the purposes of information.

On the left of your monitor you will note a link for 'Rabin Mishnah Study Group': click on it and this will bring you to the RMSG main page. Towards the bottom of your monitor on the left hand side you will see the catalogue of the RMSG archive. (The tractates in black type are tractates that we have studied in the past but which have not yet been archived.) Click on the tractate of your choice. This will bring you to the beginning of the tractate (Chapter One, Mishnah One). You will note before the first mishnah a tool that will enable you to navigate quickly to later mishnayot in that chapter. If you are interested in locating a different chapter in this tractate go directly to the end of this page where you will find links to all the other chapters of this tractate that are available. (In other words: you must always locate the first chapter of a tractate in order to be able to access others; but the links to all the other available chapters will be found at the end of each chapter.)