## Sotah Daf 15b

###### Sotah 15b:1
[Sotah 15b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:1)

דְּשַׁמְעֵיהּ לְרַבִּי מֵאִיר דְּקָאָמַר: הִיא הֶאֱכִילַתּוּ מַעֲדַנֵּי עוֹלָם — לְפִיכָךְ קׇרְבָּנָהּ מַאֲכַל בְּהֵמָה. אָמַר לוֹ: הָתִינַח עֲשִׁירָה, עֲנִיָּה מַאי אִיכָּא לְמֵימַר! אֶלָּא: כְּשֵׁם שֶׁמַּעֲשֶׂיהָ מַעֲשֵׂה בְהֵמָה — כָּךְ קׇרְבָּנָהּ מַאֲכַל בְּהֵמָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
And why did Rabban Gamliel speak up? It was **because he heard Rabbi Meir saying** an alternative explanation: **She fed him,** i.e., her paramour, **delicacies from around the world; therefore, her offering is animal food.** Rabban Gamliel **said to him:** Your explanation **works out well** in the case of **a rich** *sota*, but with regard to **a poor** *sota*, who cannot afford such delicacies, **what is there to say? Rather,** the reason she brings an offering of animal food is: **Just as her actions were the actions of an animal, so too her offering is animal food.**


###### Sotah 15b:2
[Sotah 15b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:2)

**מַתְנִי׳** הָיָה מֵבִיא פְּיָלִי שֶׁל חֶרֶס וְנוֹתֵן לְתוֹכָהּ חֲצִי לוֹג מַיִם מִן הַכִּיּוֹר. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: רְבִיעִית. כְּשֵׁם שֶׁמְּמַעֵט בַּכְּתָב, כָּךְ מְמַעֵט בַּמַּיִם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**MISHNA:** The priest **would bring an earthenware** drinking **vessel [*peyalei*] and he would pour into it half a *log* of water from the basin** in the Temple. **Rabbi Yehuda says:** The priest would pour only **a quarter**-*log* of water. **Just as** Rabbi Yehuda **minimizes the writing,** as he requires that less be written on the scroll of the *sota* than do the Rabbis, **so too he minimizes the** amount of **water** to be taken from the basin for the erasing of the text.


###### Sotah 15b:3
[Sotah 15b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:3)

נִכְנַס לַהֵיכָל וּפָנָה לִימִינוֹ, וּמָקוֹם הָיָה שָׁם אַמָּה עַל אַמָּה, וְטַבְלָא שֶׁל שַׁיִשׁ, וְטַבַּעַת הָיְתָה קְבוּעָה בָּהּ כְּשֶׁהוּא מַגְבִּיהַּ, וְנוֹטֵל עָפָר מִתַּחְתֶּיהָ, וְנוֹתֵן כְּדֵי שֶׁיֵּרָאֶה עַל הַמַּיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּמִן הֶעָפָר אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בְּקַרְקַע הַמִּשְׁכָּן יִקַּח הַכֹּהֵן וְנָתַן אֶל הַמָּיִם״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The priest **would enter the Sanctuary and turn to his right. And there was a place there,** on the Sanctuary floor, with an area of **a cubit by a cubit, and a marble tablet [*tavla*]** was there, **and a ring was fastened to** the tablet to assist the priest **when** he **would raise** it. **And** the priest **would take** loose **dust from underneath it and place** the dust into the vessel with the water, **so that** the dust **would be visible upon the water, as it is stated:** “And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; **and of the dust that is on the floor of the Tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water”** (Numbers 5:17).


###### Sotah 15b:4
[Sotah 15b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:4)

**גְּמָ׳** תָּנָא: פְּיָלִי שֶׁל חֶרֶס חֲדָשָׁה, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל. מַאי טַעְמָא דְּרַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל? גָּמַר ״כְּלִי״ ״כְּלִי״ מִמְּצוֹרָע: מָה לְהַלָּן חֶרֶס חֲדָשָׁה — אַף כָּאן חֶרֶס חֲדָשָׁה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**GEMARA:** The Sages **taught:** It must be **a new earthenware vessel;** this is **the statement of Rabbi Yishmael.** The Gemara asks: **What is the reasoning of Rabbi Yishmael?** The Gemara answers: Rabbi Yishmael **derives** this by means of a verbal analogy between **“vessel”** in the case of the *sota* (Numbers 5:17) and **“vessel” from** the case of **a leper** (Leviticus 14:5). **Just as there,** with regard to the leper, **a new earthenware** vessel is required, **so too here,** a **new earthenware** vessel is required.


###### Sotah 15b:5
[Sotah 15b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:5)

וְהָתָם מְנָלַן? דִּכְתִיב: ״וְשָׁחַט אֶת הַצִּפּוֹר הָאֶחָת אֶל כְּלִי חֶרֶשׂ עַל מַיִם חַיִּים״, מָה ״מַיִם חַיִּים״ — שֶׁלֹּא נֶעֶשְׂתָה בָּהֶן מְלָאכָה, אַף ״כְּלִי״ — שֶׁלֹּא נֶעֶשְׂתָה בּוֹ מְלָאכָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And there,** with regard to the leper, **from where do we** derive that a new vessel is required? The Gemara answers: **As it is written: “And he shall slaughter one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water”** (Leviticus 14:5). **Just as running water has not been used** beforehand **for work,** i.e., once used it is no longer considered to be running, **so too** the **vessel** must **not have been used for work.**


###### Sotah 15b:6
[Sotah 15b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:6)

אִי: מָה לְהַלָּן מַיִם חַיִּים, אַף כָּאן מַיִם חַיִּים?!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **If** this verbal analogy is extended, then **just as there, running water** from a flowing spring is required, **so too here,** with regard the *sota*, **running water** from a spring should be required for the water of a *sota*.


###### Sotah 15b:7
[Sotah 15b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:7)

לְרַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל הָכִי נָמֵי. דְּאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: מֵי כִיּוֹר, רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר: מֵי מַעְיָין הֵן, וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים: מִשְּׁאָר מֵימוֹת הֵן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara answers: **According to Rabbi Yishmael** it is **indeed** so, **as Rabbi Yoḥanan says:** With regard to **the water of the basin** in the Temple **Rabbi Yishmael says: It is** collected from **spring water. And the Rabbis say: It** may also be **from** any **other** type of **water** and need not be collected from spring water.


###### Sotah 15b:8
[Sotah 15b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:8)

אִיכָּא לְמִיפְרַךְ: מָה לִמְצוֹרָע, שֶׁכֵּן טָעוּן עֵץ אֶרֶז וְאֵזוֹב וּשְׁנִי תוֹלָעַת!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: The verbal analogy **can be refuted:** One cannot apply *halakhot* stated with regard to a leper to a *sota*, **as what** is unique **about a leper** is **that he requires cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet** wool for the performance of his purification ritual, and these are not required of the *sota*. Why, then, should a new vessel be required by the *sota*?


###### Sotah 15b:9
[Sotah 15b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:9)

אָמַר רַבָּה, אָמַר קְרָא: ״בִּכְלִי חֶרֶס״, כְּלִי שֶׁאָמַרְתִּי לְךָ כְּבָר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabba said: The verse** cited in the mishna **states:** “And the priest shall take holy water **in an earthen vessel”** (Numbers 5:17). The Torah makes no prior mention of the need for the priest to bring with him an earthenware vessel. Therefore, the verse must mean that the water should be placed in **the vessel that I have already told you** about, i.e., the vessel used for the leper.


###### Sotah 15b:10
[Sotah 15b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:10)

אָמַר רָבָא: לֹא שָׁנוּ אֶלָּא שֶׁלֹּא נִתְאַכְּמוּ פָּנָיו, אֲבָל נִתְאַכְּמוּ פָּנָיו — פְּסוּלִין. מַאי טַעְמָא, דּוּמְיָא דְּמַיִם: מָה ״מַיִם״ — שֶׁלֹּא נִשְׁתַּנּוּ, אַף ״כְּלִי״ — שֶׁלֹּא נִשְׁתַּנָּה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rava says:** Even according to the opinion that a new vessel is not required, **they taught** that the earthenware vessel is taken **only when its exterior was not blackened** from usage. **But if its exterior was blackened, then it is unfit** for use by the *sota*. **What is the reason** for this? Its requirements are **similar** to those **of water: Just as** the **water** must be clear and **unchanged** in **appearance, so too** the **vessel** must **be unchanged** in appearance.


###### Sotah 15b:11
[Sotah 15b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:11)

בָּעֵי רָבָא: נִתְאַכְּמוּ וְהֶחְזִירָן לְתוֹךְ כִּבְשַׁן הָאֵשׁ וְנִתְלַבְּנוּ, מַהוּ? מִי אָמְרִינַן: כֵּיוָן דְּאִידְּחוֹ אִידְּחוֹ, אוֹ דִילְמָא כֵּיוָן דַּהֲדוּר הֲדוּר?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rava raised a dilemma:** If the vessel’s exterior **was blackened, and it was returned to the furnace and became white** again, **what is** the *halakha*? **Do we say** that **once it has been disqualified, it is disqualified** forever and can never be rendered fit for use? **Or perhaps since it has returned** to a white appearance **it has returned** to a state of fitness.


###### Sotah 15b:12
[Sotah 15b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:12)

תָּא שְׁמַע, רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר: עֵץ אֶרֶז וְאֵזוֹב וּשְׁנִי תוֹלַעַת שֶׁהִפְשִׁיל בָּהֶן קוּפָּתוֹ לַאֲחוֹרָיו — פְּסוּלִין. וְהָא הָתָם הָדְרִי וּמִפַּשְׁטִי!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Come** and **hear** evidence from that which **Rabbi Elazar says: If** the leper **tied** the **cedar wood, and** the **hyssop, and** the **scarlet** wool for his purification **to his basket behind him,** so as to carry it on his back, they are **disqualified,** since their form has changed. **But there,** after those items have been tied, they can be **smoothed out again** as if they had never been used, and still they are unfit. Evidently, after being disqualified an item cannot become fit again.


###### Sotah 15b:13
[Sotah 15b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:13)

הָתָם דְּאִיקְּלוּף אִיקְּלוֹפֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara answers: **There,** the items are permanently unfit **because they are peeled** due to tying and can never truly return to their original appearance. That case does not provide proof.


###### Sotah 15b:14
[Sotah 15b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:14)

נִכְנַס לַהֵיכָל וּפָנָה לִימִינוֹ וְכוּ׳. מַאי טַעְמָא? דְּאָמַר מָר: כׇּל פִּינּוֹת שֶׁאַתָּה פּוֹנֶה לֹא יְהוּ אֶלָּא דֶּרֶךְ יָמִין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The mishna states: The priest **would enter the Sanctuary and turn to his right.** The Gemara asks: **What is the reason** that he should do so? The Gemara responds: **As the Master said: All turns that you turn should be only to the right.**


###### Sotah 15b:15
[Sotah 15b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:15)

מָקוֹם הָיָה שָׁם אַמָּה כּוּ׳. תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: ״וּמִן הֶעָפָר אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה״, יָכוֹל יְתַקֵּן מִבַּחוּץ וְיַכְנִיס.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The mishna continues: **There was a place there,** on the Sanctuary floor, with an area of **a cubit** by a cubit, and a marble tablet was there and a ring was fastened to the tablet so that it could be raised. When the priest would raise the tablet, he would take loose dust from underneath it and place the dust into the vessel with the water, so that the dust would be visible upon the water, as it is stated: “And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is on the floor of the Tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water” (Numbers 5:17). **The Sages taught** in a *baraita*: If the verse had stated only: **“And of the dust that is** on the floor,” one **might** have thought that the priest could **prepare** the concoction from dust **from outside** the Sanctuary **and bring it in** afterward.


###### Sotah 15b:16
[Sotah 15b:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:16)

תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: ״בְּקַרְקַע הַמִּשְׁכָּן״. אִי ״בְּקַרְקַע הַמִּשְׁכָּן״, יָכוֹל יַחְפּוֹר בְּקַרְדּוּמּוֹת — תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: ״אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה״. הָא כֵּיצַד? יֵשׁ שָׁם — הָבֵא, אֵין שָׁם — תֵּן שָׁם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Therefore, **the verse states:** “The dust that is **on the floor of the Tabernacle,”** indicating that the dust must be from inside the Sanctuary. **If** the verse had stated only: **“On the floor of the Tabernacle,”** one **might** have thought that the priest may **dig with axes** to loosen the dust there. Therefore, **the verse states:** “And of the dust **that is** on the floor of the Tabernacle,” indicating that the dust must be lying there loosely. **How so?** If **there is** already loose earth **there** on the Sanctuary floor, **bring** it; if **there is none there,** then **place** loose dust **there** from elsewhere, and then pick it up and use it.


###### Sotah 15b:17
[Sotah 15b:17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/15b:17)

תַּנְיָא אִידַּךְ: ״וּמִן הֶעָפָר אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה וְגוֹ׳״ — מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָיָה מְתַקֵּן מִבַּחוּץ וּמַכְנִיס. ״בְּקַרְקַע הַמִּשְׁכָּן״, אִיסִי בֶּן יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: לְהָבִיא קַרְקַע

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**It is taught** in **another** *baraita*: The verse states: **“And of the dust that is** on the floor of the Tabernacle”; the fact that the verse does not explicitly state to take the dust from the floor of the Tabernacle **teaches that** the priest **would prepare** dust **from outside and bring it into** the Sanctuary. When the verse states: “The dust that is **on the floor of the Tabernacle,” Isi ben Yehuda says** that this phrase serves **to include the floor of** the Tabernacle when it stood in