Sotah

Embark on a journey of Jewish learning and discovery, exploring the depth of our Sotah resources, where tagged items including audio, programs, and podcast episodes await your exploration.

Time for Carpool: Sotah 20

Rabbi Jay Kelman

For most people carpool is a scheduling nuisance, one of those necessary but unwanted jobs of parenting. Helping with homework is not much better. Yet perhaps we should volunteer to do carpool more often and ask teachers to assign more homework. “…
Article
Nov 20, 2015

A Holy Sinner: Sotah 15

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 the time of the murder) as the judge ruled that the injuries he suffered as a result of his actions…
Article
Nov 19, 2015

What a Beginning: Sotah 14

Rabbi Jay Kelman

What a Beginning!: Sotah 14     “Rav Simlai expounded: The Torah begins with an act of chesed, benevolence, and ends with an act of chesed. It begins with an act of chesed, as it is written: ‘And the…
Article
Nov 16, 2015

Sotah 14: Where is Moshe Buried?

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 to the reward for mitzvoth. The last example cited is that of Moshe who as reward for busying…
Article
Nov 13, 2015

Sotah 12: The Heroics of Miriam

Rabbi Jay Kelman

  "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 disgraced her; she exposed her body in order to transgress, God has exposed her. She began the…
Article
Nov 10, 2015

Sotah 10: Giving Thanks

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 ponder how much of a difference they really make. Contrast this to the business world where results…
Article
Nov 9, 2015

The Potential Rewards of Sin (Sotah 7b)

Rabbi Jay Kelman

  Our Sages were great realists. They understood the complexities of the human condition and how even otherwise great people can make terrible, even tragic mistakes, both intentional and not. They of course picked this up from the Torah…
Article
Nov 8, 2015

Home Alone? (Sotah 7)

Rabbi Jay Kelman

The Mishna is almost exclusively a legal code and like all codes displays little 'emotion' even when it describes emotionally wrenching moments. It calmly lays out the legal principle for the case at hand and it is the rare Mishna that tells…
Article
Nov 5, 2015

Adultery and Washing One's Hands (Sotah 4)

Rabbi Jay Kelman

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 theme of masechet Sotah being that of marital infidelity we should not be surprised to find  …
Article
Nov 3, 2015

You Get What You Deserve (Sotah 2)

Rabbi Jay Kelman

  The opening lines of a book are meant to set the tone of the book - providing background, introducing its major characters and themes. Masechet Sotah does not disappoint. On the opening page we discuss the themes of marriage, sexual…
Article
Oct 29, 2015