Sotah 10a

סוטה י׳ ע״א

Learn Sotah 10a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Aggadot about שמשון, five people struck through their special feature, תמנה and תמר, and the אשל of אברהם

Overview

This amud is full of stories and lessons about שמשון and others. First the גמרא finishes explaining that אבימלך's oath to אברהם no longer protected the פלשתים, and that is why שמשון punished them with foxes, an animal that 'turns back'. It also tells of the blessing ה׳ gave the young שמשון, his last prayer, the huge width of his shoulders, and what 'grinding in prison' really means. רבי יוחנן adds that שמשון judged like ה׳, that his name reflects ה׳ as a 'sun and shield', and that he limped on both legs. A ברייתא then lists five people who were struck through the very feature they were known for, and the גמרא proves each one, ending with אסא's gout and his sin of drafting תלמידי חכמים. Next, the גמרא gives three answers to why one פסוק says people went 'down' to תמנה and another says 'up'. It brings three readings of 'פתח עינים' in the story of תמר and יהודה. Finally it explains the אשל אברהם planted as an orchard or an inn. ריש לקיש's new reading of 'ויקרא' begins here and continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (40)

1. StatementThe oath of אבימלך was undone
2. QuestionWhat blessing did ה׳ give the young שמשון?
3. ResponseHe was blessed with physical strength and fertility
4. Statementשמשון's last prayer: remember my selfless service
5. QuestionWhy did שמשון use foxes?
6. ResponseAn animal that turns back punishes those who turned back on their oath
7. StatementThe width of שמשון's shoulders
8. StatementWhat 'grinding in prison' really means
9. Statementרב פפא's folk saying: give a person more of what he likes
10. StatementA man who is unfaithful will find his wife unfaithful
11. Statementשמשון judged ישראל like ה׳ does
12. Statementשמשון is named after ה׳
13. ChallengeThen his name should not be erasable
14. ResolutionHis name is only similar to ה׳'s name
15. Statementבלעם limped on one leg and שמשון on both
16. StatementFive people struck through their special feature
17. ProofProof that שמשון was struck through his strength
18. ProofProof that שאול was struck through his neck
19. Proofאבשלום was struck through his hair
20. Proofצדקיהו was struck through his eyes
21. Proofאסא was struck through his feet with gout
22. Questionמר זוטרא asks what gout feels like
23. Responseרב נחמן: like a needle in living flesh
24. QuestionHow did רב נחמן know?
25. ResponseThree explanations of how he knew
26. Statementאסא was punished for forcing תלמידי חכמים into labor
27. QuestionWhat does 'no one was exempt' mean?
28. ResponseEven a groom and bride were taken
29. ChallengeGoing down to תמנה or going up?
30. ResolutionDown for שמשון's disgrace, up for יהודה's rise
31. ResolutionTwo different towns named תמנה
32. ResolutionOne תמנה on a hillside
33. Statementתמר sat at the entrance of אברהם's tent
34. Statementעינים is simply the name of a place
35. Statementתמר's answers cleared every worry
36. Statementאברהם planted an orchard in באר שבע
37. StatementOrchard or inn: a dispute about the word אשל
38. ChallengeHow can you 'plant' an inn?
39. Resolution'Planting' can mean setting up tents
40. Statementריש לקיש begins rereading 'and he called'