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Sotah 44b

סוטה מ״ד ע״ב

Learn Sotah 44b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

The end of פרק משוח מלחמה, on exemptions from war and the types of war, and the start of the עגלה ערופה פרק, on its language, the number of judges, and which cases qualify.

Overview

This amud finishes the פרק of משוח מלחמה. The משנה explains that soldiers who flee are stopped because running away is where defeat begins. It then says that the exemptions from battle apply only in a מלחמת רשות, and רבי יהודה uses different names for the wars. The גמרא explains that רבי יוסי and רבי יוסי הגלילי disagree about a rabbinic sin. It also shows that a soldier shaking with visible fear goes home according to everyone. רבי יוחנן and רבא explain how the war labels line up, and רבא says the real dispute is about a preventive war. A new פרק then begins on the עגלה ערופה: its words are said in לשון הקודש, and certain bodies and locations are excluded. Finally, the גמרא examines why the תנאים count three or five judges from 'זקניך ושופטיך'. This discussion continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

שֶׁתְּחִילַּת נִיסָה נְפִילָה,

because the beginning of fleeing is falling,

שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״נָס יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים

as it is said: "Israel has fled before the Philistines,

וְגַם מַגֵּפָה גְדוֹלָה הָיְתָה בָעָם״,

and there was also a great slaughter among the people,"

וּלְהַלָּן הוּא אוֹמֵר:

and further on it says:

The steps (35)

  1. StatementWhy fleeing soldiers must be stopped
  2. StatementExemptions apply only to optional wars
  3. Statementרבי יהודה's version: מצוה wars versus obligatory wars
  4. QuestionWhat is the difference between רבי יוסי and רבי יוסי הגלילי?
  5. ResponseThe difference is a rabbinic sin
  6. QuestionWhose view does the ברייתא about talking between תפילין follow?
  7. ResponseThe ברייתא follows רבי יוסי הגלילי
  8. QuestionWhich תנא sends home a soldier shaking with fear?
  9. ResponseEven רבי יוסי הגלילי agrees in this extreme case
  10. ChallengeThe משנה's words about running away seem backwards
  11. ResolutionRead it the other way around
  12. Statementרבי יוחנן: the two sides just use different names
  13. Statementרבא: the wars everyone agrees about
  14. StatementWhere they argue: wars to weaken enemies before they attack
  15. ConclusionWhy it matters: being busy with a מצוה
  16. ConclusionHadran — Closing the פרק of משוח מלחמה
  17. StatementThe words of the heifer ceremony are said in Hebrew
  18. StatementThree judges from the High Court go out
  19. Statementרבי יהודה says five judges go out
  20. StatementBodies that were hidden, hanging, or floating are excluded
  21. StatementBodies found near a border, a non-Jewish city, or a city with no court
  22. StatementWe only measure to a city that has a court
  23. QuestionWhat Is the משנה Trying to Say?
  24. ResponseLearning the Language From the Word 'They Shall Answer'
  25. StatementThe משנה lays out the procedure: who goes out
  26. Statementרבי יהודה's Count: Five Judges
  27. Statementרבי שמעון's Count: Three Judges
  28. ChallengeBut the פסוק Also Says 'Your Judges'
  29. Resolution'Your Judges' Teaches They Must Be the Distinguished Ones
  30. ResolutionWhere רבי יהודה Learns 'Distinguished Ones'
  31. ResolutionWhy רבי שמעון needs both 'your elders' and 'your judges'
  32. Resolutionרבי יהודה rules out a small Sanhedrin from 'elders of the congregation'
  33. ChallengeIf he uses the shared-word link, why not learn everything from it
  34. ResolutionThe letter ו׳ in 'and your judges' adds to the count
  35. QuestionTurning to רבי שמעון's side