Part of the purpose of the harsh treatment of the Sotah is convincing the suspected adulteress to admit her infidelity. By doing so she is…
I Thought I Was Humble: Sotah 40
In our last post we discussed the Talmudic tendency to group together sayings of one particular sage quoting another. In…
Please Bless Me: Sotah 38
Originally meant as an oral “text” the Talmud features a number of mnemonic devices to aid in recall and memorization. Thus…
Do Not Pray: Sotah 37
It is an amazing aspect of the human condition that two people can see the same thing yet see it most differently. That is likely why the…
Language Barriers: Sotah 33
One of most bitter and divisive (Jewish) fights of the 19th century was that regarding the use of the vernacular in the synagogue -…
Mind Your Own Business: Sotah 21
In our last post we discussed how a rasha arum, a cunning evildoer, is amongst the mevali olam, those who are destroyers of…
The Religious Hypocrite: Sotah 22
“He [Rabbi Yehoshua] used to say: a pious fool, a cunning evildoer, an ascetic woman and the wounds of the ascetics destroy the world…
The Bare Torah: Sotah 21
In our last post we discussed the view of Rabbi Eliezer that one who teaches his daughter Torah is as if he has taught her tiflut, frivolity. To…
Our Daughter's Torah: Sotah 21
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It is this notion that lay at the heart of one of the most important disputes of the Talmud (though many are…
Time for Carpool: Sotah 20
For most people carpool is a scheduling nuisance, one of those necessary but unwanted jobs of parenting. Helping with homework is not much better.…
A Holy Sinner: Sotah 15
Just this week an Ontario Court ruled that a 19 year old convicted of first degree murder of a police officer would be spared jail time (he was 15 at…
What a Beginning: Sotah 14
What a Beginning!: Sotah 14 “Rav Simlai expounded: The Torah begins with an act of chesed, benevolence, and ends…
Sotah 14: Where is Moshe Buried?
As we end the first chapter of masechet Sotah (and as discussed in our last post) we transition from discussing the punishment of the sotah…
Sotah 12: The Heroics of Miriam
"In the measure that a person measures so it is measured to him. She [the sotah] adorned her body in order to transgress, God has…
Sotah 10: Giving Thanks
Teaching is what one would call a long-term investment. Teachers plant seeds but rarely get to see the fruit of their labour, leading many to…
The Potential Rewards of Sin (Sotah 7b)
Our Sages were great realists. They understood the complexities of the human condition and how even otherwise great people can make…
Home Alone? (Sotah 7)
The Mishna is almost exclusively a legal code and like all codes displays little 'emotion' even when it describes emotionally wrenching…
Adultery and Washing One's Hands (Sotah 4)
Jewish law and thought covers all aspects of life and that means nothing is beyond the purview of Talmudic and rabbinic discussion. With the primary…