The Adi B Sit edition, an audio series of the Talmud Bavli, Masechet Sotah, has been dedicated by our good friends and Talmid, Mr. Chaimy and Dina Danna. May Hashem protect and sustain them 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 fulfill mitzvot. Today’s daf is being studied for the elevation of the soul of Marat Zekanti Yaffa Bat Sarah and also for the elevation of the soul of Mori Zekani Yosef Ben 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, Hashem, heal them. Healing of the soul and healing of the body; may their healing come soon, and may it be Your will, and let us say, Amen.
We begin today’s daf on Mem Hey Amud Rishon, starting on the second line. To review, we had a very important machloket in our Mishnah between the shitos of Tana Kamma and Rabbi Yehuda, which is actually a machloket between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Shimon. How many judges were involved in the mitzvah of Eglah Arufah? According to Rabbi Yehuda, it was five, and according to Rabbi Shimon, it was three. They derived this from the words "Zekenecha V'Shoftecha." These are plural words, and that is where they derived their numbers from.
The Gemara states, "Ela Ma'atah," according to this reasoning, "V'Yatz'u Shenayim U'Madedu Shenayim," which means in the parsha itself of the Eglah Arufah, the pasuk says that the judges will go out. Therefore, you should also derive that "V'Yatz'u" means two more, and "U'Madedu" means they will measure, which adds another two as well. Thus, for Rabbi Yehuda, you have four additional judges, making a total of nine—five plus four. For Rabbi Shimon, you would have seven—three plus four. The Gemara responds, "No, those words are needed for a different derasha that we learned in the Beraita: 'V'Yatz'u Hen V'Lo Shilucheihen,' which means the judges that are going to go out to measure between the two cities must go out themselves and not send their messenger. Even if it was clear and evident that it was closer to one of the two cities, they must still go out and measure. Why? Because it is a mitzvah to involve oneself in the actual measuring itself. Therefore, those words are used, and we do not include them to add more judges.
The Gemara states that our Mishnah does not align with Rabbi Eliezer Ben Yaakov, who stated that the Sanhedrin themselves, the Rabbis of the Sanhedrin, do the judging and that you do not need a king for this, nor do you need a Kohen Gadol. This must not be like Rabbi Eliezer Ben Yaakov, as it is taught: Rabbi Eliezer Ben Yaakov says, "Zekenecha" refers to the Sanhedrin. When it says "Shoftecha," it refers to the king and the Kohen Gadol. How does the word "Shoftecha" refer to a king or a Kohen Gadol? The king is involved in justice, as it is written, "Melech BeMishpat Ya'amid Aretz." Therefore, "Shoftecha" refers to a king. The Kohen Gadol is mentioned in the pasuk that states, "UVata El HaKohanim HaLeviyim VeEl HaShofet Asher Yihiyeh." Therefore, the Shofet over the Kohanim is indeed the Kohen Gadol.
The Gemara then poses a question: Rabbi Eliezer Ben Yaakov argues regarding the king and the Kohen Gadol. Rabbi Eliezer Ben Yaakov says you need them involved in the procedure, whereas Rabbi Shimon may agree with either Rabbi Yehuda that they need five or Rabbi Shimon that they need three. Or perhaps he argues and says that you need the entire Sanhedrin, as when it says "Zekenecha," it may refer to the entire Sanhedrin. Rav Yosef seeks to bring a proof from the story of a Zaken Mamre, a chacham who receives a psak from the Sanhedrin and argues against it. The Gemara states that if the Zaken Mamre found the Sanhedrin outside their offices, and he rebelled against them, he must be judged as a Zaken Mamre, and therefore he is liable to bring korbanot and is subject to death.
The Gemara then discusses the need for the Sanhedrin to be in a specific place for the Zaken Mamre to be considered a rebel. It states that if he found the Sanhedrin outside their offices, how many Sanhedrin did he find? If he only found some of them, perhaps the others would agree with him, and he cannot be considered a Zaken Mamre. Therefore, it must be that he found all of them outside their offices. But if they were out for a matter of mitzvah, they can all go out. The Gemara concludes that they went out for the mitzvah of measuring the Eglah Arufah, which aligns with Rabbi Eliezer Ben Yaakov’s opinion.
The discussion continues regarding cases of finding a corpse buried under rubble or hanging from a tree, where there would be no Eglah Arufah. The Gemara suggests that our Mishnah must be Rabbi Yehuda, as it excludes the hidden cases. The Gemara then explores the laws of Shichacha, which deals with a farmer forgetting a bundle of wheat in the field. The pasuk states, "Ve-shachachta omer ba-sadeh," implying that the forgetting occurs when the wheat is on the surface of the field, excluding something that is buried. Rabbi Yehuda states that the laws of Shichacha do not apply to hidden items, while the Rabbis argue that the laws do apply even to hidden items.
As the Gemara progresses, it examines the implications of the word "adama" in the context of the Eglah Arufah. The Gemara concludes that the Mishnah must align with Rabbi Yehuda, as it excludes the hidden cases. The discussion of the laws continues, with further exploration of the implications of hidden items and the application of Shichacha. The Gemara also discusses the measurements related to the corpse and the implications of the laws surrounding the Eglah Arufah.
Ultimately, the Gemara concludes with a discussion on the importance of precise measurements and the various opinions regarding the appropriate actions to take when dealing with corpses and the laws surrounding them. This intricate exploration of halachic principles highlights the significance of each ruling and the careful consideration required in determining the appropriate actions in each case.