Sotah 11a

סוטה י״א ע״א

Learn Sotah 11a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Sotah 11a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The end of the אבשלום section, reward for good deeds (מרים), and a verse-by-verse reading of the start of the slavery in מצרים.

Overview

The גמרא finishes showing that אבשלום's revolt was part of הקב"ה's deep plan. It then explains that יוסף being sent 'from the valley of חברון' began the plan told to אברהם. It asks how אבשלום could say 'I have no son' and gives two answers: he had no son fit to be king, or his sons died because he burned יואב's field. Returning to the משנה, רבא concludes that good deeds are rewarded in the same way as the deed, but always more generously than punishment, as with מרים. רבי יצחק reads the פסוק about מרים watching משה as hinting at the שכינה. The גמרא then goes verse by verse through the start of the slavery in מצרים: the 'new king', פרעה's plan to drown the babies and how it backfired measure for measure, and the three advisors בלעם, איוב and יתרו. It also explains odd words such as 'him', 'over him', מסכנות, פיתום and רעמסס, and the future tense of 'he will multiply.' The amud ends by quoting the next פסוק, 'And the Egyptians made the children of Israel work', which is explained on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (42)

1. ProofThe verse that shows אבשלום's revolt was planned from above
2. StatementA similar case: יוסף sent from the 'depth' of Hebron
3. ChallengeDidn't אבשלום have sons?
4. ResolutionFirst answer: no son fit to be king
5. ResolutionSecond answer: his sons died because he burned יואב's field
6. ChallengeHow can one hour match seven days?
7. Resolutionאביי: read the משנה as 'good is not like this'
8. Rejectionרבא: the משנה clearly says 'and the same'
9. Resolutionרבא: same kind of reward, but good is always bigger
10. StatementThe whole verse about מרים hints at the שכינה
11. ProofWord-by-word proof that each word points to the שכינה
12. StatementWas the 'new king' really new?
13. ProofThe reasons behind each opinion
14. StatementHow the same king 'did not know יוסף'
15. Statementפרעה planned first, so he was struck first
16. ChallengeWhy does פרעה say 'him' and not 'them'?
17. Resolution'Him' means the Savior of ישראל
18. Questionפרעה's advisors reject fire and sword
19. ResponseThe advisors choose water
20. RejectionThe flaw: the oath was only about the whole world
21. RejectionA second flaw: they could run into the water themselves
22. Proofרבי אלעזר: they were cooked in their own pot
23. QuestionHow do we know 'זדו' means cooking?
24. ResponseProof from יעקב's cooking
25. StatementThree people were in פרעה's council
26. StatementWhat happened to each of the three advisors
27. ProofProof that יתרו's descendants became scholars
28. ChallengeWhy does the פסוק say 'he will go up from the land'?
29. Resolutionפרעה hung his own curse on someone else
30. ChallengeWhy does the פסוק say 'over him' instead of 'over them'?
31. ResolutionThe brick mold on פרעה's neck
32. StatementThe meaning of the name 'שרי מסים'
33. ChallengeWhy does the verse say 'to afflict him' instead of 'them'?
34. Resolution'Him' means פרעה, who was given the Jews' burden as a show
35. Statementמסכנות: cities that endanger their owners
36. Statementמסכנות: cities that make their owners poor
37. StatementThe city's real name was פיתום; רעמסס means it kept collapsing
38. StatementThe city's real name was רעמסס; פיתום means the abyss swallowed it
39. ChallengeWhy does the verse use the future tense?
40. Resolutionריש לקיש: רוח הקודש was announcing the future
41. Statementויקצו: the Jews looked like thorns to the Egyptians
42. StatementQuoting the next verse about the slavery