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Sotah 17a

סוטה י״ז ע״א

Learn Sotah 17a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Which פסוקים are written on the סוטה's scroll, the drashos behind the dispute, and related אגדה about marriage and אברהם's rewards

Overview

The משנה asks which פסוקים the כהן writes on the סוטה's scroll, which is later erased into her water. The first view, which the גמרא identifies as רבי מאיר, starts at 'ואם לא שכב איש' and skips the lines where the כהן makes her swear and where she answers 'אמן אמן'. רבי יוסי says nothing is skipped. רבי יהודה says only the two actual curse פסוקים are written. The גמרא shows that all three read one פסוק, 'וכתב את האלות האלה', word by word, each word either including or excluding. It defends רבי מאיר's reading: a ה follows the word it is attached to. רבי תנחום explains that the word 'הנקי' itself hints at a curse. The גמרא then turns to אגדה: רבי עקיבא on the שכינה between husband and wife, and רבא on the סוטה's dust and on the מצוות אברהם's children earned through his humility, תכלת and תפילין. A new משנה then begins listing materials the scroll may not be written on, and that list continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

מַתְנִי׳

MISHNA:

בָּא לוֹ לִכְתּוֹב אֶת הַמְּגִילָּה,

When he comes to write the scroll,

מֵאֵיזֶה מָקוֹם הוּא כּוֹתֵב?

from what place does he write?

מִ״וְאִם לֹא שָׁכַב אִישׁ וְגוֹ׳

From "And if no man has lain [with you], etc."

The steps (25)

  1. QuestionWhere does the priest start writing the scroll?
  2. ResponseHe starts at the oath section
  3. StatementWhat is skipped and what is written
  4. Statementרבי יוסי: nothing is skipped
  5. Statementרבי יהודה: only the actual curse verses are written
  6. QuestionWhat is the disagreement based on?
  7. ResponseThey disagree about how to read one פסוק
  8. Statementרבי מאיר's word-by-word reading of the פסוק
  9. Statementרבי יוסי: 'את' brings back the commands and the 'אמן'
  10. ResponseWhy רבי מאיר does not agree with רבי יוסי
  11. Statementרבי יהודה reads every word as leaving something out
  12. QuestionWhy does the letter ה include in one word and exclude in another?
  13. ResponseA ה follows the word it is attached to
  14. ChallengeChallenge: רבי מאיר does not infer a positive from a negative
  15. Resolutionרבי תנחום: the word הִנָּקִי hints at a curse
  16. Statementרבי עקיבא: the שכינה between husband and wife, or fire
  17. Statementרבא: the woman's fire is stronger
  18. StatementWhy the סוטה gets dust
  19. Statementאברהם's humility earned two מצוות
  20. ChallengeWhat about the dust for covering blood?
  21. ResolutionCovering blood brings no benefit
  22. Statementרבא: אברהם's thread and shoe strap earned two מצוות
  23. Questionתפילין clearly bring honor, but what does תכלת bring?
  24. Responseרבי מאיר: תכלת reminds us of the כסא הכבוד
  25. StatementThe משנה begins listing materials not allowed for the סוטה scroll