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Sotah 9a

סוטה ט׳ ע״א

Learn Sotah 9a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

The סוטה's punishment מידה כנגד מידה, and how and when the הקב"ה punishes nations, kings and individuals.

Overview

This amud finishes a list showing that the סוטה is punished מידה כנגד מידה: every part of her sin is matched by a part of her punishment, on her body and in the ceremony. She sinned in secret, so the הקב"ה brings her sin into the open, and two different פסוקים are brought for this. The גמרא then asks why three separate פסוקים about punishment are needed, and explains what each one adds. The last of them leads to רב חיננא בר פפא's rule that a nation is punished only when it is sent away. רבא's teaching about Egypt's three cups clashes with that rule, so the rule is reworded to be about a king. אמימר gives another version: the הקב"ה strikes a nation once, but בני ישראל survive many blows. Next come רב המנונא's teaching that a person is punished only when his measure is full, and רב חיננא בר פפא's teaching that enemies never captured the works of משה and דוד. The amud ends by returning to the סוטה: whoever wants what is not his loses even what he has.

Opening lines

פָּנֶיהָ מוֹרִיקוֹת.

her face turns pale.

הִיא כָּחֲלָה לוֹ עֵינֶיהָ —

She painted her eyes for him;

לְפִיכָךְ עֵינֶיהָ בּוֹלְטוֹת.

therefore her eyes bulge.

הִיא קָלְעָה לוֹ אֶת שְׂעָרָהּ —

She braided her hair for him;

The steps (19)

  1. StatementFace, eyes, hair and finger: the punishment matches the sin
  2. StatementThe belt and the thigh
  3. StatementHer stomach, her קרבן, and the cup she drinks from
  4. StatementShe sinned in secret, so the Hidden One turns to face her
  5. StatementAnother reading: what was hidden becomes public
  6. QuestionWhy do we need the boot verse?
  7. ResponseThe boot verse teaches matching measure
  8. QuestionWhy do we need the 'full measure' verse?
  9. ResponseA nation is punished only when it is sent away
  10. ChallengeEgypt was punished more than once
  11. ChallengeThe later Egyptians are still the same Egyptians
  12. Resolutionרב חיננא בר פפא's rule is really about a king
  13. Statementאמימר's version: הקב"ה does not strike a nation twice
  14. StatementA person is punished only when his measure is full
  15. StatementA home of praise: משה and דוד
  16. ProofHow דוד's gates and משה's משכן were protected
  17. QuestionWhere was the Mishkan hidden?
  18. ResponseUnder the tunnels of the היכל
  19. StatementWanting what is not yours makes you lose what you have