Sotah 2b

סוטה ב׳ ע״ב

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Topic

How many witnesses a סוטה case needs for the defilement, the warning and the seclusion, and the meaning of קינוי

Overview

This amud finishes a ברייתא that learns a rule from דברים: when the Torah says עד without a number, it means two witnesses. So the סוטה verse 'ועד אין בה' means there were not two witnesses, only one, and that one witness is enough to forbid her. The גמרא asks why this rule was needed and works through several possible misreadings of the verse. Next it explains the dispute in the משנה. רבי יהושע needs two witnesses for both the warning (קינוי) and the seclusion (סתירה). רבי אליעזר needs two only for the warning, because seclusion is the start of טומאה. A ברייתא then brings רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה's reverse report of רבי אליעזר: the warning works on one witness or the husband's own word, while the seclusion needs two. The חכמים object that this has 'no end,' since a husband could falsely claim he warned her, and רבי יוחנן's comment on this objection is reworded. רב חנינא מסורא rules that today a husband should not warn his wife, since there is no bitter water to clear her. The amud ends with ריש לקיש and אביי giving two meanings of the word קינוי, which reflect whether the warning needs witnesses.

Opening lines

The steps (41)

1. QuestionWhy does the verse add the word 'one'?
2. ResponseThe general rule: 'witness' means two unless the Torah says 'one'
3. ConclusionApplying the rule to the סוטה: not two witnesses, only one, and she is forbidden
4. ChallengeWhy was the rule needed? With no witness at all, how could she be forbidden?
5. ResolutionWithout the rule, we might think one witness is not believed about her
6. ChallengeIf two witnesses are needed, the verse would be unnecessary
7. ResolutionA סוטה might have been believed with one witness
8. ChallengeThe verse's own words show she is forbidden
9. ResolutionThe rule was still needed, because the reading could survive the phrase 'she was not seized'
10. QuestionWhat is the source for רבי יהושע's view?
11. Responseרבי יהושע learns from 'בה': not for warning, not for seclusion
12. Statementרבי אליעזר learns from 'בה' only to exclude the warning
13. ChallengeWhy doesn't רבי אליעזר also exclude the seclusion?
14. ResolutionSeclusion is linked to defilement in the verse
15. ChallengeThe warning is also linked to defilement in a verse
16. ResolutionThe word 'בה' must exclude at least one of them
17. QuestionWhy exclude the warning and not the seclusion?
18. ResponseSeclusion is more like defilement because it forbids her
19. RejectionThe warning is the main cause
20. RejectionWithout seclusion, the warning means nothing
21. RejectionWithout the warning, seclusion is useless too
22. ConclusionSeclusion is the better match for defilement
23. StatementA different report of רבי אליעזר's view
24. ChallengeThe Sages object: there would be no end to it
25. QuestionWhat is רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה's source?
26. ResponseThe word ״בָּהּ″ excludes seclusion
27. ChallengeWhy not exclude the warning instead?
28. ResolutionWarning and defilement are linked in the verse
29. ChallengeSeclusion is also placed next to defilement in the verse
30. ResolutionThe link teaches the length of seclusion
31. QuestionWhat does 'no end to the matter' mean?
32. ResponseThe husband could falsely claim he warned her
33. ChallengeThe same problem exists in our משנה
34. ResolutionEven in this version there is no end
35. ChallengeChallenging the order of רבי יוחנן's statement
36. ResolutionRewording רבי יוחנן's statement
37. StatementNowadays a man should not warn his wife
38. Statementריש לקיש explains the word קינוי
39. ConclusionSo ריש לקיש holds a warning works on the husband's word
40. StatementA second meaning of the word קינוי: bad feeling between husband and wife
41. ConclusionWhat אביי's explanation shows: the warning needs two witnesses