Commentary for Kiddushin 54:11

אשכחן סוטה דאיסורא ממונא מנלן תנא דבי רבי ישמעאל ק"ו ומה סוטה

But if it means that he warned her as an arusah, she privily closeted herself [with the man against whom she was warned] likewise when an arusah, and he makes her drink when a nesu'ah<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., after his warning was ignored, he completed and consummated the marriage, and then subjected her to the water ordeal. - If a woman disregards her husband's warning he must not live with her; hence he himself sinned in consummating the marriage.');">²⁰</span> - then can the water test her? Surely Scripture said: And the man shall be free from iniquity,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 31.');">²¹</span> [which means,] when the husband himself is free from sin, water tests his wife; if the husband himself is not free from sin, water cannot test his wife!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' This interpretation is put upon the sentence because in its literary sense it is unnecessary; why would we have thought that the husband bears blame?');">²²</span> Hence [it is possible only] by means of superimposition.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., it is impossible that an oath shall be taken by itself for misconduct whilst an arusah. She can swear in the first place only because she is charged with adultery when a nesu'ah, and upon this another oath is superimposed, viz., that she was not unfaithful as an arusah too.');">²³</span> Now, we have found this [a superimposed oath] in the case of sotah,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A wife charged with adultery, v. Glos. truxht');">²⁴</span> which belongs to ecclesiastical law.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' , lit., 'prohibition,' is used in contradistinction to tbunn money, i.e., civil law dealing with financial questions only.');">²⁵</span> How do we know it of civil law? - The School of R'Ishmael taught: A minori: if we superimpose [an oath] in the case of a sotah,

Daf Shevui to Kiddushin