Commentary for Sotah 56:6

ותו לרבי עקיבא כהונה מנא ליה וכי תימא כהונה לא צריכא קרא

Hence [the Rabbis] said: Where there is a rational being to be interrogated, should a doubtful [case of defilement] occur in a private domain it is regarded as unclean, but should it occur in a public place as clean; and when there is no rational being to be interrogated whether it occurs in a private domain or in a public place a doubtful [case of defilement] is regarded as clean.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Thus the end of the cited Baraitha. ');">⁶</span> R. Akiba dealt above with [the woman being prohibited to partake] of the heave-offering, and R. Ishmael answers him with a statement about the priesthood!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Into which an adulteress cannot marry. The reply was quite irrelevant to the issue. ');">⁷</span> And further, whence does R. Akiba derive [the rule that the suspected woman cannot marry into] the priesthood? Should you answer that with reference to [this rule about] the priesthood a Scriptural text is not necessary,

Explore commentary for Sotah 56:6. In-depth commentary and analysis from classical Jewish sources.