The MDY B-Set edition, an audio series of the Talmud Bavli, Masechet Sotah, has been dedicated by our good friends and Talmid, Mr. Chaimy and Dina Dana, for the success of their children and especially for a complete recovery for Moshe ben Dina, and for the elevation of the souls of Yosef ben Sarina, David ben Frida, Meir ben Zohara, Moshe ben Feiga Rut, Sarah bat Esther, Feiga Rut bat Esther, and Esther bat Yocheved. May the spirit of Hashem rest upon them in Gan Eden, Amen. May you merit to perform good deeds. Today’s Daf is being studied for the elevation of the soul of my esteemed teacher, Rabbi Yosef ben Sara, and my esteemed grandmother, Yaffa bat Sarah, and Rabbi Avraham ben Esther. May the spirit of Hashem rest upon them in Gan Eden, Amen. Today’s Daf is being studied for a complete recovery for Moshe ben Dina, Sarah Ruchama bat Rachel, and Sarah bat Rachel. Please, God, heal them, both spiritually and physically, and may their healing come soon. Thus may it be Your will, and let us say Amen.
We begin today’s Daf on Kaf Zayin Amud Bet, starting from the bottom line of the Gemara. Let us review the statement that the Gemara is going to analyze from the Mishnah. The Mishnah opened with the words: “Just as the waters check her, so the waters check him.” The Mishnah states that just like the waters inspect the Sotah lady—if she is guilty, the waters will cause her to explode—it also checks him. Now, the question is: who is the “him” that we are referring to? When the Mishnah says, “the waters check him,” who is this “him”? The Gemara begins its inquiry: “To whom does ‘him’ refer?”
If you are going to say that it refers to her husband, then the Gemara asks: “What do you want from the husband? He is innocent. He didn’t do anything wrong. Why should the waters check him?” The Gemara continues: “And if you might say that it is referring to a case where he is not so innocent—perhaps he actually has a sin. What sin are we referring to?” Rashi explains that this refers to a situation where he had relations with her after she was secluded. The Halacha states that once she is on her way to the Beit HaMikdash to drink, until the matter is resolved, he is forbidden to be with her. So maybe the Gemara is suggesting that if he had a forbidden relation with his wife on the way to the Beit HaMikdash, just as the water is going to affect her, it will also affect him because he is guilty as well.
The Gemara responds: “That cannot be the case. When he is guilty of sin, does the water check her? No.” The Gemara cites a Beraitah: “The man is cleansed from sin, and that woman will bear her sin. When the man is cleansed from sin, the waters check his wife; if the man is not cleansed from sin, the waters do not check his wife.” This teaches us that the Torah tells us that only when the husband is free from sin do the waters work on her. Therefore, if he is guilty of a sin, for example, having relations after she was secluded, the waters will not even work on his wife. Hence, she will not explode because he is guilty. Therefore, that is not the case we are looking for; we are searching for a case where both individuals will be punished.
So it cannot be the husband. If the husband committed an act of prohibition, the waters do not work on her. Therefore, we return to the question: who is the “him” that the Mishnah refers to, which also suffers the punishment? The Gemara concludes that it must refer to the fellow with whom she had relations, meaning the “boel.” This makes sense, as he is guilty as well. The Gemara then asks: “Why didn’t the Mishnah state it explicitly?” Why does the Mishnah use the vague terminology “him”? Let the Mishnah say: “Just as the waters check her, so the waters check the boel.” The Mishnah could have stated it clearly.
The Gemara explains that the Mishnah prefers to maintain consistency in terminology. Since in the beginning of the Mishnah it started with the word “her,” it refers to the “boel” as “him.” Later in the Mishnah, it uses the word “husband,” therefore it uses the term “boel.” The Mishnah is simply being consistent in its terminology. The Gemara continues with a quote from our Mishnah: “Just as she is forbidden to her husband, so she is forbidden to the boel.” How do we know this? The verse states: “And she has become impure, and she has become impure.” Now we face the same question: Is it from the fact that the word “impure” is stated twice, meaning she will be impure to both individuals, or is it from the extra “vav”? The Gemara states: “You still have to ask, is it ‘impure, impure’ or is it the ‘vav’?”
The Gemara attempts to bring proof from something later in the Mishnah: “Just as she is forbidden to her husband, so she is forbidden to the boel.” We learned in the Mishnah, as we just mentioned, that just as she becomes forbidden to the husband, she also becomes forbidden to the boel. The Gemara continues to analyze the wording. The Gemara states: “If it is true that it is the double language, why not just state it in the feminine?” Let it just say, “her stomach and her legs.” The Gemara concludes that it must be referring to the boel, which means it teaches us both things: the law of the boel and the order of the punishment.
The Gemara now addresses the question of Rabbi Akiva, who argued with Rabbi. Rabbi Akiva does not hold the same interpretation as Rabbi. Rabbi Akiva states that the verse teaches us that the waters work on both of them. The Gemara continues to analyze the implications of this teaching, noting that it is indeed a significant halachic ruling.
As the discussion progresses, the Gemara delves into the implications of the waters’ effects on both the Sotah and the boel. The waters are said to cause physical manifestations based on the guilt of the individuals involved. The distinctions made in the text are crucial, as they clarify the responsibilities and consequences faced by both parties in the context of the Halacha.
In conclusion, the discussions in the Gemara surrounding the Sotah and the boel highlight the intricate nature of Halachic rulings and the importance of precise language in conveying the law. The careful analysis of terms and their implications serves to ensure that the teachings of the Torah are upheld and understood correctly, emphasizing the weight of actions and their consequences in the spiritual and communal life of the Jewish people.