## Sotah Daf 20b

###### Sotah 20b:1
[Sotah 20b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:1)

חוּץ מִפָּרָשַׁת סוֹטָה בִּלְבַד. רַבִּי יַעֲקֹב אוֹמֵר מִשְּׁמוֹ: חוּץ מִפָּרָשַׁת סוֹטָה שֶׁל מִקְדָּשׁ. מַאי בֵּינַיְיהוּ? אָמַר רַבִּי יִרְמְיָה: לִמְחוֹק לָהּ מִן הַתּוֹרָה אִיכָּא בֵּינַיְיהוּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**except for** the ink used to write the Torah **passage about the *sota*,** even when written in a Torah scroll. **Rabbi Ya’akov says in the name of** Rabbi Meir: It is **except for** the ink used to write the scroll with the ***sota* passage** used **in the Temple.** The Gemara asks: **What is** the difference **between these** two opinions? The Gemara replies: **Rabbi Yirmeya says** that there is a difference **between them** with regard to whether it is permitted **to erase** the passage **for** the *sota* **from a Torah** scroll. According to Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Meir holds that this is permitted, and therefore the passage in the Torah scroll must be written with ink that does not contain iron sulfate, so that it can be erased. By contrast, according to Rabbi Ya’akov, Rabbi Meir holds that it is prohibited to erase the passage from a Torah scroll, and therefore the passage may be written with ink containing iron sulfate.


###### Sotah 20b:2
[Sotah 20b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:2)

וְהָנֵי תַּנָּאֵי כִי הָנֵי תַּנָּאֵי. דְּתַנְיָא: אֵין מְגִילָּתָהּ כְּשֵׁירָה לְהַשְׁקוֹת בָּהּ סוֹטָה אַחֶרֶת. רַבִּי אַחַי בַּר יֹאשִׁיָּה אוֹמֵר: מְגִילָּתָהּ כְּשֵׁירָה לְהַשְׁקוֹת בָּהּ סוֹטָה אַחֶרֶת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara assumes that according to Rabbi Ya’akov it is prohibited to erase the passage from a Torah scroll, since he holds that the scroll must be written for the sake of the *sota*, whereas Rabbi Yehuda, who permits this, holds that the scroll need not be written for the sake of the *sota*. **And** therefore, the opinions of **these *tanna’im* are parallel** to the opinions of **those *tanna’im*, as it is taught** in a *baraita*: **The scroll** of one *sota* **is not fit** to be used in the preparation of the water **to give** to **another *sota* to drink,** as it was not written for the sake of the other *sota*. **Rabbi Aḥai bar Yoshiya says: Her scroll is fit** to be used in the preparation of the water **to give** to **another *sota* to drink,** since it does not need to be written for the sake of the *sota*.


###### Sotah 20b:3
[Sotah 20b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:3)

אָמַר רַב פָּפָּא, דִּילְמָא לָא הִיא: עַד כָּאן לָא קָאָמַר תַּנָּא קַמָּא הָתָם, אֶלָּא כֵּיוָן דְּאִינְּתִיק לְשׁוּם רָחֵל — לָא הָדְרָא מִינַּתְקָא לְשׁוּם לֵאָה, אֲבָל תּוֹרָה, דִּסְתָמָא כְּתִיבָה — הָכִי נָמֵי דְּמָחֲקִינַן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Pappa said: Perhaps** that **is not so,** and the two disputes are not comparable. It is possible that **the first *tanna*** of the *baraita* **states** that the scroll may not be used for another *sota* **only there,** in the case if a scroll written for a specific woman; **since it was** originally **designated in the name of** one woman, e.g., **Rachel, it cannot again be designated in the name of** another woman, e.g., **Leah. However,** in the case of **a Torah** scroll, **which is written without specifying** anyone, **indeed we may erase** the passage to prepare the water for a *sota* even though it was not written for her sake.


###### Sotah 20b:4
[Sotah 20b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:4)

אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק: דִּילְמָא לָא הִיא, עַד כָּאן לָא קָאָמַר רַבִּי אַחַי בַּר יֹאשִׁיָּה הָתָם אֶלָּא בִּמְגִילָּה, דְּאִיכְּתוּב לְשׁוּם אָלוֹת בָּעוֹלָם. אֲבָל תּוֹרָה, דִּלְהִתְלַמֵּד כְּתִיבָה, הָכִי נָמֵי דְּלָא מָחֲקִינַן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said** that the comparison between the two disputes can be refuted for a different reason: **Perhaps** that **is not so.** It is possible that **Rabbi Aḥai bar Yoshiya states** that the scroll may be used for another *sota* **only there, with regard to** the **scroll** written for a specific *sota*, **as it was written for the purpose of** the **curses** of a *sota* **in general. However,** in the case of **a Torah** scroll, **which is written to be learned** from, **indeed we may not erase** it for a *sota*, as it was not written for the sake of a *sota* at all.


###### Sotah 20b:5
[Sotah 20b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:5)

וְרַבִּי אַחַי בַּר יֹאשִׁיָּה לֵית לֵיהּ כָּתַב לְגָרֵשׁ אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ וְנִמְלַךְ, מְצָאוֹ בֶּן עִירוֹ וְאָמַר לוֹ: שְׁמִי כְּשִׁמְךָ, וְשֵׁם אִשְׁתִּי כְּשֵׁם אִשְׁתְּךָ — פָּסוּל לְגָרֵשׁ בּוֹ?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **And doesn’t Rabbi Aḥai bar Yoshiya hold** in accordance with that which is taught in a mishna (*Gittin* 24a): With regard to one who **wrote** a bill of divorce with which **to divorce his wife but** later **reconsidered** and did not divorce her, if **a resident of his city found him and said to him: My name** is the same **as your name, and my wife’s name** is the same **as your wife’s name;** give me the bill of divorce, and I will use it to divorce my wife, it **is unfit to divorce** the other woman **with it.** The reason for this is that it was written for the sake of another woman. Seemingly, the same principle should apply with regard to the scroll of a *sota*.


###### Sotah 20b:6
[Sotah 20b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:6)

אָמְרִי: הָתָם ״וְכָתַב לָהּ״ אָמַר רַחֲמָנָא, בָּעִינַן כְּתִיבָה לִשְׁמָהּ: הָכָא נָמֵי ״וְעָשָׂה לָהּ״! מַאי עֲשִׂיָּיה — מְחִיקָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Sages **say** in response: **There,** with regard to a bill of divorce, **the Merciful One states: “And he shall write for her** a bill of divorce” (Deuteronomy 24:1). This teaches that **we require the writing** to be performed **for the sake of** the specific woman. However, no similar requirement is mentioned with regard to a *sota*. The Gemara asks: **Here, too,** with regard to the *sota*, the verse states: **“And** the priest shall **perform with her** all of this law” (Numbers 5:30), indicating that the ritual must be performed for the sake of the specific woman. The Gemara answers: **What** is the **performance** referred to in the verse? It is referring to the **erasure,** whereas the writing need not be done for the sake of a specific woman.


###### Sotah 20b:7
[Sotah 20b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:7)

אֵינָהּ מַסְפֶּקֶת לִשְׁתּוֹת עַד שֶׁפָּנֶיהָ [כּוּ׳]. מַנִּי — רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן הִיא, דְּאָמַר: מַקְרִיב אֶת מִנְחָתָהּ וְאַחַר כָּךְ מַשְׁקָהּ. דְּכַמָּה דְּלָא קָרְבָה מִנְחָתַהּ — לָא בָּדְקִי לַהּ מַיָּא, דִּכְתִיב: ״מִנְחַת זִכָּרוֹן מַזְכֶּרֶת עָוֹן״,

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna states: When a guilty woman drinks **she does not manage to** finish **drinking before her face** turns green and her eyes bulge, and her skin becomes full of protruding veins. The Gemara asks: In accordance with **whose** opinion is this mishna, which indicates that the water evaluates her while she is still drinking? **It is** in accordance with the opinion of **Rabbi Shimon, who says:** The priest **sacrifices her meal-offering and afterward forces her to drink, because** according to the opinion of the Rabbis the meal-offering is sacrificed only after she drinks, and **as long as her meal-offering has not been sacrificed the water does not evaluate her, as it is written:** “And he shall bring her offering for her…for it is a meal-offering of jealousy, **a meal-offering of remembrance, a reminder of iniquity”** (Numbers 5:15).


###### Sotah 20b:8
[Sotah 20b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:8)

אֵימָא סֵיפָא: יֵשׁ לָהּ זְכוּת הָיְתָה תּוֹלָה לָהּ, אֲתָאן לְרַבָּנַן, דְּאִי רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן, הָאָמַר: אֵין זְכוּת תּוֹלָה בַּמַּיִם הַמָּרִים!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **Say the latter clause** of the mishna: If **she has merit, it delays** her punishment **for her. We arrive at** the opinion of **the Rabbis, as, if** this statement were in accordance with the opinion of **Rabbi Shimon, didn’t he say: Merit does not delay** punishment **in** the case of **the bitter water** of a *sota*?


###### Sotah 20b:9
[Sotah 20b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:9)

אָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא: הָא מַנִּי — רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא הִיא, דְּאָמַר: מַקְרִיב אֶת מִנְחָתָהּ וְאַחַר כָּךְ מַשְׁקָהּ, וּבִזְכוּת סָבַר לַהּ כְּרַבָּנַן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Ḥisda said:** In accordance with **whose** opinion **is this** mishna? **It is** in accordance with the opinion of **Rabbi Akiva, who says:** The priest **sacrifices her meal-offering and afterward forces her to drink.** With regard to the order of the ritual he holds in accordance with Rabbi Shimon, **and with regard to** the matter of **merit** delaying punishment, **he holds in accordance with** the opinion of **the Rabbis.**


###### Sotah 20b:10
[Sotah 20b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:10)

וְהֵם אוֹמְרִים הוֹצִיאוּהָ וְכוּ׳. מַאי טַעְמָא — דְּדִילְמָא מֵתָה. לְמֵימְרָא דְּמֵת אָסוּר בְּמַחֲנֵה לְוִיָּה?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna states: **And** the people standing in the Temple **say: Remove her,** so that she does not render the Temple courtyard impure. The Gemara explains: **What is the reason** for this? It is **lest she die** there immediately and render the women’s courtyard, where she drinks the water, impure. The Gemara asks: **Is this to say that a corpse is prohibited** from being **in** the women’s courtyard, which has the same status as the **Levite camp** in the desert?


###### Sotah 20b:11
[Sotah 20b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:11)

וְהָתַנְיָא: טְמֵא מֵת מוּתָּר לִיכָּנֵס לְמַחֲנֵה לְוִיָּה. וְלֹא טְמֵא מֵת בִּלְבַד אָמְרוּ, אֶלָּא אֲפִילּוּ מֵת עַצְמוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיִּקַּח מֹשֶׁה אֶת עַצְמוֹת יוֹסֵף עִמּוֹ״, עִמּוֹ בִּמְחִיצָתוֹ!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**But isn’t it taught** in a *baraita*: **One who is ritually impure** with impurity imparted by **a corpse is permitted to enter the Levite camp. And** the Sages **said** this **not only** with regard to **one who is ritually impure** with impurity imparted by **a corpse; rather, even a corpse itself** may be brought into the Levite camp, **as it is stated: “And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him”** (Exodus 13:19), which is interpreted to mean: **With him, in his vicinity,** even though Moses was in the Levite camp.


###### Sotah 20b:12
[Sotah 20b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:12)

אָמַר אַבָּיֵי: שֶׁמָּא תִּפְרוֹס נִדָּה. לְמֵימְרָא דְּבִיעֲתוּתָא מְרַפְּיָא? אִין, דִּכְתִיב: ״וַתִּתְחַלְחַל הַמַּלְכָּה מְאֹד״, וְאָמַר רַב: שֶׁפֵּירְסָה נִדָּה. וְהָא אֲנַן תְּנַן: חֲרָדָה מְסַלֶּקֶת דָּמִים! פַּחְדָּא צָמֵית, בִּיעֲתוּתָא מְרַפְּיָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Abaye said:** The woman is removed not due to a concern that she will die there but **lest** the fear of the water cause her to **begin to menstruate,** and it is prohibited for a menstruating woman to enter the Levite camp. The Gemara asks: **Is this to say that fear causes** muscular **relaxation** and menstrual bleeding? The Gemara responds: **Yes, as it is written: “And the Queen was exceedingly pained”** (Esther 4:4), **and Rav says:** This means that **she began to menstruate.** The Gemara asks: **But didn’t we learn** in a mishna (*Nidda* 39a) that **trepidation eliminates** the flow of menstrual **blood?** Presumably, the *sota* experiences trepidation. The Gemara answers: **Trepidation** generated by extended worry **contracts** the muscles and prevents the blood from flowing, but sudden **fear relaxes** the muscles and causes the blood to flow.


###### Sotah 20b:13
[Sotah 20b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:13)

יֵשׁ לָהּ זְכוּת הָיְתָה וְכוּ׳. מַנִּי מַתְנִיתִין? לָא אַבָּא יוֹסֵי בֶּן חָנָן, וְלָא רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן יִצְחָק אִישׁ כְּפַר דָּרוֹם, וְלֹא רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna states: **If she has merit, it** delays punishment…for one year…for two years…for three years. The Gemara asks: **Whose** opinion is expressed in **the mishna?** It is **not** the opinion of **Abba Yosei ben Ḥanan, and not** the opinion of **Rabbi Elazar ben Yitzḥak of Kefar Darom, and not** the opinion of **Rabbi Yishmael.**


###### Sotah 20b:14
[Sotah 20b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:14)

דְּתַנְיָא: אִם יֵשׁ לָהּ זְכוּת תּוֹלָה לָהּ שְׁלֹשָׁה חֳדָשִׁים, כְּדֵי הַכָּרַת הָעוּבָּר, דִּבְרֵי אַבָּא יוֹסֵי בֶּן חָנָן. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן יִצְחָק אִישׁ כְּפַר דָּרוֹם אוֹמֵר: תִּשְׁעָה חֳדָשִׁים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְנִקְּתָה וְנִזְרְעָה זָרַע״, וּלְהַלָּן הוּא אוֹמֵר: ״זֶרַע יַעַבְדֶנּוּ יְסֻפַּר״, זֶרַע הָרָאוּי לְסַפֵּר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
This is **as it is taught** in a *baraita*: **If she has merit, it delays** punishment **for her** for **three months, equivalent** to the time necessary **to recognize the fetus;** this is **the statement of Abba Yosei ben Ḥanan. Rabbi Elazar ben Yitzḥak of Kefar Darom says:** Merit delays punishment for **nine months, as it is stated: “Then she shall be cleared, and shall conceive seed”** (Numbers 5:28). It is possible to infer from this that if she has merit she will be cleared temporarily, for the length of time required to conceive a child, **and there,** in Psalms, **it says: “A seed shall serve him; it shall be told** of the Lord unto the next generation” (Psalms 22:31). This indicates that the **seed** must **be fit to tell** of the Lord once it matures, and a child can live only if it is born after the culmination of nine months in the womb.


###### Sotah 20b:15
[Sotah 20b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/20b:15)

רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר: שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ. וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵין רְאָיָה לַדָּבָר — זֵכֶר לַדָּבָר, דִּכְתִיב: ״לָהֵן מַלְכָּא מִלְכִּי יִשְׁפַּר עֲלָיךְ וַחֲטָיָךְ בְּצִדְקָה פְרֻק וַעֲוָיָתָךְ בְּמִחַן עֲנָיִן

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Yishmael says:** Merit delays punishment for **twelve months. And although there is no** explicit **proof for the concept** of merit delaying punishment for twelve months, there is **an allusion to the concept, as it is written** that Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar after interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream concerning the evil which would befall him: **“Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and redeem your sins with charity, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor;**