Sotah 33

<big><strong>מתני׳</strong></big> בא לו לכתוב את המגילה מאיזה מקום הוא כותב (במדבר ה, יט) מואם

<b><i>MISHNAH</i></b>. WHEN HE COMES TO WRITE THE SCROLL, FROM WHAT PLACE DOES HE WRITE? FROM IF NO MAN HAVE LAIN WITH THEE<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Num. V, 19, — 'be thou free from this water of bitterness'. ');">¹</span>

לא שכב איש וגו' ואת כי שטית תחת אישך ואינו

… BUT IF THOU HAST GONE ASIDE, BEING UNDER THY HUSBAND ETC.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 20, — [This is taken to imply a curse; v. infra]. ');">²</span>

כותב והשביע הכהן את האשה וכותב יתן ה' אותך לאלה ולשבועה ובאו המים המאררים האלה במעיך לצבות בטן ולנפיל ירך ואינו כותב ואמרה האשה אמן אמן

HE DOES NOT, HOWEVER, INCLUDE, THEN THE PRIEST SHALL CAUSE THE WOMAN TO SWEAR,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 21. ');">³</span>

רבי יוסי אומר לא היה מפסיק

BUT CONTINUES WITH, THE LORD MAKE THEE A CURSE AND AN OATH&nbsp;… AND THIS WATER THAT CAUSETH THE CURSE SHALL GO INTO THY BOWELS AND MAKE THY BELLY TO SWELL, AND THY THIGH TO FALL AWAY.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 22. ');">⁴</span>

ר' יהודה אומר כל עצמו אינו כותב אלא יתן ה' אותך לאלה ולשבועה וגו' ובאו המים המאררים האלה במעיך וגו' ואינו כותב ואמרה האשה אמן אמן

HE DOES NOT, HOWEVER, INCLUDE, AND THE WOMAN SHALL SAY, AMEN, AMEN. R. JOSE SAYS, HE MAKES NO OMISSIONS.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And the whole Scriptural passage is included. ');">⁵</span>

<big><strong>גמ׳</strong></big> במאי קא מיפלגי בהאי קרא קמיפלגי (במדבר ה, כג) וכתב את האלות האלה הכהן בספר

R. JUDAH SAYS, HE WRITES NONE OF ALL THIS EXCEPT, THE LORD MAKE THEE A CURSE AND AN OATH ETC. AND THIS WATER THAT CAUSETH THE CURSE SHALL GO INTO THY BOWELS ETC. AND DOES NOT INCLUDE, AND THE WOMAN SHALL SAY, AMEN, AMEN.

ר"מ סבר אלות אלות ממש האלות לרבות קללות הבאות מחמת ברכות אלה למעוטי קללות שבמשנה תורה האלה למעוטי צוואות וקבלות אמן

<b><i>GEMARA</i></b>. On what point do they differ? — They differ in [the interpretation of] the following verse: And the priest shall write these curses in a book.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Num. V, 23. ');">⁶</span>

ורבי יוסי כולהו כדקאמרת את לרבות צוואות וקבלות

R. Meir<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Who is the author of the anonymous statement in the Mishnah, v. Sanh. 86a. ');">⁷</span>

ור"מ אתים לא דריש

is of the opinion that curses denotes [the passages which are] actually curses;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'The Lord make thee etc.', verse 20. ');">⁸</span>

ור' יהודה כולהו במיעוטי דריש להו אלות אלות ממש האלות למעוטי קללות הבאות מחמת ברכות אלה למעוטי קללות שבמשנה תורה האלה למעוטי צוואות וקבלות

the curses<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' According to Hebrew idiom, 'these curses' is literally 'the curses the these'. ');">⁹</span>

ורבי מאיר מ"ש האי ה"י דמרבי ביה ומאי שנא האי ה"י דמעיט ביה

is to include the curses which result from the benedictions;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [I.e., 'if no man have lain with thee&nbsp;… be thou free' implies that 'if thou hast gone aside&nbsp;… be thou not free']. ');">¹⁰</span>

ה"י דגביה דריבויא ריבויא היא ה"י דגביה דמיעוטא מיעוטא

'these' is to exclude the curses in Deuteronomy;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If the text of Num. V, 23 had read 'and the priest will write the curses in a book' it might have been understood as referring to the curses in Deut. XXVIII, 16ff. ');">¹¹</span>

והא לית ליה לר"מ מכלל לאו אתה שומע הן

'the these' is to exclude instructions [given to the officiating priest] and the responses of Amen [made by the woman]. R. Jose agrees with all that has been stated, except that he interprets the particle 'eth<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The sign of the accusative before 'these curses'. ');">¹²</span>

אמר רבי תנחום (במדבר ה, יט) הנקי כתיב

as indicating the inclusion of instructions and responses, whereas R. Meir draws no deductions from the occurrences of the particle 'eth. R. Judah, on the other hand, expounds all the above points as implying limitation; 'curses' denotes [the passages which are] actually curses; 'the curses' is to exclude the imprecations which result from the benedictions; 'these' is to exclude the imprecations in Deuteronomy; 'the these' is to exclude instructions and responses. What is the difference that R. Meir interprets the definite article [in the curses] as implying amplification and the definite article [in the these] as implying limitation? — When the definite article occurs in connection with amplification<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The phrase 'and the priest will write' is a general statement — an amplification. ');">¹³</span>

דריש ר"ע איש ואשה זכו שכינה ביניהן לא זכו אש אוכלתן

it also denotes amplification, and when it occurs in connection with limitation<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'These' is a limited term. ');">¹⁴</span>

אמר רבא ודאשה עדיפא מדאיש (מ"ט) האי מצרף והאי לא מצרף

it also denotes limitation. But R. Meir does not accept the rule that an affirmative is to be deduced as the corollary of a negative!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' How then does he consider verse 20 to imply a curse, v. Kid. 61a-62a and Shebu. 36a. ');">¹⁵</span>

אמר רבא מפני מה אמרה תורה הבא עפר לסוטה זכתה יוצא ממנה בן כאברהם אבינו דכתיב ביה (בראשית יח, כז) עפר ואפר לא זכתה תחזור לעפרה

— R. Tanhum said: It is written hinnaki.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'Be free' in Num. V, 19. Since the word is defectively spelt without the mater lectionis, and the Hebrew letter he closely resembles the letter heth, it might be taken to mean 'be strangled'; and so an imprecation is mentioned and it has not to be deduced as a corollary, v. Shebu (Sonc. ed.) p. 213, n. 6. ');">¹⁶</span>

דריש רבא בשכר שאמר אברהם אבינו ואנכי עפר ואפר זכו בניו לב' מצות אפר פרה ועפר סוטה

R. Akiba expounded: When husband and wife are worthy, the <i>Shechinah</i> abides with them; when they are not worthy fire consumes them.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The letters of the word for 'husband' are aleph, yod and shin, and for 'wife' aleph, shin and he. The yod and he form the Divine Name; but if omitted, only aleph and shin are left which form the word esh 'fire'. ');">¹⁷</span>

והאיכא נמי עפר כיסוי הדם

Raba said: [The fire which results] from the woman is severer than that from the man.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., a bad wife is more destructive of domestic happiness than a bad husband. ');">¹⁸</span>

התם הכשר מצוה איכא הנאה ליכא

What is the reason? In the case of the former [the letters aleph and shin] are consecutive, but not in the case of a man.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The first and second letters of the word for 'woman' or 'wife' form esh; but in the word for 'husband' or 'man' they are the first and third letters. ');">¹⁹</span>

דרש רבא בשכר שאמר אברהם אבינו (בראשית יד, כג) אם מחוט ועד שרוך נעל זכו בניו לב' מצות חוט של תכלת ורצועה של תפלין

Raba said: Why does the Torah command that dust should be provided for [the ceremony of] a suspected woman? If she be innocent, there will issue from her a son like our father Abraham, of whom it is written: Dust and ashes;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gen XVIII, 27. ');">²⁰</span>

בשלמא רצועה של תפלין דכתיב (דברים כח, י) וראו כל עמי הארץ כי שם ה' נקרא עליך ותניא ר"א הגדול אומר אלו תפלין שבראש

and if she be not innocent, she reverts to dust.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Dies from the effect of the water. ');">²¹</span>

אלא חוט של תכלת מאי היא דתניא היה ר"מ אומר מה נשתנה תכלת מכל מיני צבעונין

Raba expounded: As a reward for our father Abraham having said: 'I am but dust and ashes', his descendants were worthy to receive two commandments, viz., the ashes of the red heifer and the dust [of the ceremony] of a suspected woman. But there is likewise dust for the covering of the blood!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Of a slaughtered animal (Lev. XVII, 13). ');">²²</span>

מפני שהתכלת דומה לים וים דומה לרקיע ורקיע דומה לכסא הכבוד שנאמר (שמות כד, י) ויראו את אלהי ישראל ותחת רגליו כמעשה לבנת הספיר וכעצם השמים לטהר וכתיב (יחזקאל א, כו) כמראה אבן ספיר דמות כסא

— In this case [the use of dust is merely] the completion of the commandment without any advantage [to the performer].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Whereas the dust in the ceremony of the ordeal helps to restore the confidence of a husband in his wife or punishes immorality and the ashes of the red heifer serve to cleanse the unclean. ');">²³</span>

<big><strong>מתני׳</strong></big> אינו כותב לא על הלוח ולא על הנייר ולא על

Raba expounded: As a reward for our father Abraham having said: I will not take a thread nor a shoelatchet,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gen. XIV, 23. ');">²⁴</span> his descendants were worthy to receive two commandments, viz., the thread of blue<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' On the fringes of the garment (Num. XV, 38). ');">²⁵</span> and the thong of the phylacteries. It is right in the case of the thong of the phylacteries, for it is written: And all the peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Deut. XXVIII, 10. ');">²⁶</span> and it has been taught: R. Eliezer the Elder says: This refers to the phylactery worn upon the head;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Hence its advantage to him who performs the precept. ');">²⁷</span> but what is [the advantage to him who performs the law] of the thread of blue? — It has been taught: R. Meir used to say: Why is blue specified from all the varieties of colours? Because blue resembles [the colour of] the sea, and the sea resembles [the colour of] heaven, and heaven resembles [the colour of] the Throne of Glory, as it is said: And they saw the God of Israel and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the very heaven for clearness,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ex. XXIV, 10. ');">²⁸</span> and it is written: The likeness of a throne as the appearance of a sapphire stone.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ezek. I, 26. [And he who fulfils the precept is blessed, as it were, with the Divine Presence (Rashi).] ');">²⁹</span> <b><i>MISHNAH</i></b>. HE WRITES NEITHER ON A [WOODEN] TABLET NOR ON PAPYRUS NOR ON