## Sotah Daf 35b

###### Sotah 35b:1
[Sotah 35b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:1)

מַאן אַמְרְיָךְ (לְהָא) דְּאִימָּרַיְיתְּ וּמַאן אֲתָא עֲלָךְ דְּאִיפַּיַּיסְתְּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Who angered you,** i.e., the Ark, so much **that you became** so **angry** that you gave yourself into captivity? **And who came to you to appease you?**


###### Sotah 35b:2
[Sotah 35b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:2)

״וַיַּךְ בָּעָם שִׁבְעִים אִישׁ חֲמִשִּׁים אֶלֶף אִישׁ״, רַבִּי אֲבָהוּ וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר, חַד אָמַר: שִׁבְעִים אִישׁ הָיוּ, וְכׇל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד שָׁקוּל כַּחֲמִשִּׁים אֶלֶף. וְחַד אָמַר: חֲמִשִּׁים אֶלֶף הָיוּ, וְכׇל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד שָׁקוּל כְּשִׁבְעִים סַנְהֶדְרִין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The verse states: **“And He smote of the people seventy men, fifty thousand men”** (I Samuel 6:19). **Rabbi Abbahu and Rabbi Elazar** disagree over the interpretation of the verse. **One says** that **there were seventy men, and each and every one** of them **was equivalent to fifty thousand** men. **And one says** that **there were fifty thousand men, and each and every one was equivalent to** the **seventy** men in the **Sanhedrin.**


###### Sotah 35b:3
[Sotah 35b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:3)

״וַיְהִי כִּי צָעֲדוּ נֹשְׂאֵי אֲרוֹן ה׳ שִׁשָּׁה צְעָדִים וַיִּזְבַּח שׁוֹר וּמְרִיא״, וּכְתִיב ״שִׁבְעָה פָרִים וְשִׁבְעָה אֵילִים״. אָמַר רַב פָּפָּא בַּר שְׁמוּאֵל: עַל כׇּל פְּסִיעָה וּפְסִיעָה שׁוֹר וּמְרִיא, עַל כׇּל שֵׁשׁ וְשֵׁשׁ פְּסִיעוֹת שִׁבְעָה פָרִים וְשִׁבְעָה אֵילִים.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
With regard to David’s journey with the Ark to Jerusalem, the verse states: **“And when they who carried the Ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling”** (II Samuel 6:13). **And it is written** elsewhere that he sacrificed **“seven oxen and seven rams”** (I Chronicles 15:26). **Rav Pappa bar Shmuel says: For each and every step** David took, he sacrificed **an ox and a fatling,** and **for every six steps** that he took, he sacrificed **seven oxen and seven rams.**


###### Sotah 35b:4
[Sotah 35b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:4)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַב חִסְדָּא: אִם כֵּן, מִילֵּאתָ אֶת כׇּל אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּמוֹת! אֶלָּא אָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא: עַל כׇּל שֵׁשׁ וְשֵׁשׁ פְּסִיעוֹת — שׁוֹר וּמְרִיא, עַל כׇּל שִׁשָּׁה סְדָרִים שֶׁל שֵׁשׁ פְּסִיעוֹת — שִׁבְעָה פָרִים וְשִׁבְעָה אֵילִים.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Ḥisda said to him: If** that is **so,** and he sacrificed an offering for every step that he took, **you have filled all of Eretz Yisrael** with **altars,** as they had to build a new altar for each offering. **Rather, Rav Ḥisda said: For every six steps** he sacrificed **an ox and a fatling,** and **for every six sets of six steps** he sacrificed **seven oxen and seven rams.**


###### Sotah 35b:5
[Sotah 35b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:5)

כְּתִיב ״כִּידֹן״, וּכְתִיב ״נָכוֹן״. אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: בַּתְּחִלָּה כִּידוֹן, וּלְבַסּוֹף נָכוֹן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**It is written** that Uzzah died “when they came to the threshing floor of **Chidon”** (I Chronicles 13:9), **and** elsewhere **it is written** that it was “the threshing floor of **Nacon”** (II Samuel 6:6). **Rabbi Yoḥanan says: At first** the Ark was similar to **a javelin [*kidon*],** as it caused Uzzah’s death. **But ultimately,** after the people asked for forgiveness, it was **established [*nakhon*],** i.e., placed, in the house of Obed Edom, where it was a source of blessing.


###### Sotah 35b:6
[Sotah 35b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:6)

נִמְצֵאתָ אַתָּה אוֹמֵר שְׁלֹשָׁה מִינֵי אֲבָנִים הָיוּ: אֶחָד שֶׁהֵקִים מֹשֶׁה בְּאֶרֶץ מוֹאָב, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן בְּאֶרֶץ מוֹאָב הוֹאִיל מֹשֶׁה בֵּאֵר וְגוֹ׳״, וּלְהַלָּן הוּא אוֹמֵר: ״וְכָתַבְתָּ עֲלֵיהֶן אֶת כׇּל דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת וְגוֹ׳״, וְאָתְיָא ״בֵּאֵר״ ״בֵּאֵר״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The Gemara returns to the discussion of how the Ark was brought into Eretz Yisrael. **You are found saying** that **there were three sets of stones. One** is a set **that Moses erected in the land of Moab, as it is stated: “Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses took upon himself to expound [*be’er*]** this law, saying” (Deuteronomy 1:5). **And it states there** with regard to the mitzva to erect the stones on Mount Ebal: **“And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law** clearly elucidated [*ba’er*]” (Deuteronomy 27:8). **It is derived** through a verbal analogy between the word **“*be’er*”** that appears with regard to Moses, and the word **“*ba’er*”** that appears with regard to the mitzva to write the Torah on the stones on Mount Ebal that Moses also wrote down the Torah on stones.


###### Sotah 35b:7
[Sotah 35b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:7)

וְאֶחָד שֶׁהֵקִים יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בְּתוֹךְ הַיַּרְדֵּן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּשְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה אֲבָנִים הֵקִים יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בְּתוֹךְ הַיַּרְדֵּן״. וְאֶחָד שֶׁהֵקִים בַּגִּלְגָּל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְאֵת שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה הָאֲבָנִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר לָקְחוּ וְגוֹ׳״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And** there is **one** set **that Joshua erected in the Jordan, as it is stated: “Joshua also set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan,** in the place where the feet of the priests that bore the Ark of the Covenant stood, and they are there to this day” (Joshua 4:9). **And** there is **one** set **that** Joshua **erected in Gilgal, as it is stated: “And these twelve stones, which they took** out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal” (Joshua 4:20).


###### Sotah 35b:8
[Sotah 35b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:8)

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: כֵּיצַד כָּתְבוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַתּוֹרָה? רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: עַל גַּבֵּי אֲבָנִים כְּתָבוּהָ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְכָתַבְתָּ עַל הָאֲבָנִים אֶת כׇּל דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת וְגוֹ׳״, וְאַחַר כָּךְ סָדוּ אוֹתָן בְּסִיד.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**The Sages taught: How did the Jewish people write the Torah? Rabbi Yehuda says: They wrote it on stones, as it is stated: “And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law”** (Deuteronomy 27:8). **And afterward they plastered them** over **with plaster.**


###### Sotah 35b:9
[Sotah 35b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:9)

אָמַר לוֹ רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן: לִדְבָרֶיךָ, הֵיאַךְ לָמְדוּ אוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם תּוֹרָה? אָמַר לוֹ: בִּינָה יְתֵירָה נָתַן בָּהֶם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, וְשִׁיגְּרוּ נוֹטֵירִין שֶׁלָּהֶן, וְקִילְּפוּ אֶת הַסִּיד וְהִשִּׂיאוּהָ. וְעַל דָּבָר זֶה נִתְחַתֵּם גְּזַר דִּינָם לִבְאֵר שַׁחַת, שֶׁהָיָה לָהֶן לִלְמֹד וְלֹא לָמְדוּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Shimon said to him: According to your statement** that they plastered over the writing, **how did the nations of the world study Torah? He said to him: The Holy One, Blessed be He, granted them an extra** degree of **understanding, and they sent their scribes [*noteirin*], and they peeled off the plaster and copied it** down. **And on account of this matter their decree** to be sent **to the pit of destruction was sealed, as** once the Torah was in their possession **they should have studied** it, **and they did not study.**


###### Sotah 35b:10
[Sotah 35b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:10)

רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר: עַל גַּבֵּי סִיד כְּתָבוּהָ, וְכָתְבוּ לָהֶן לְמַטָּה ״יְלַמְּדוּ אֶתְכֶם לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכֹל וְגוֹ׳״. הָא לָמַדְתָּ שֶׁאִם הָיוּ חוֹזְרִין בִּתְשׁוּבָה — הָיוּ מְקַבְּלִין אוֹתָן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Shimon says:** That is not what happened. Rather, the Jewish people **wrote** the text of the Torah **on top of** the **plaster, and they wrote below for** the gentiles to read that the verse commands the Jewish people to destroy the gentile inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael: **“Lest they teach you to do like all** their abominations” (Deuteronomy 20:18). **You derive** from the fact that they wrote this verse **that if** the gentiles who lived in Eretz Israel **would have repented,** the Jews **would have accepted them,** i.e., allowed them to live in Eretz Yisrael.


###### Sotah 35b:11
[Sotah 35b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:11)

אָמַר רָבָא בַּר שֵׁילָא: מַאי טַעְמָא דְּרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן דִּכְתִיב: ״וְהָיוּ עַמִּים מִשְׂרְפוֹת סִיד״ — עַל עִסְקֵי סִיד.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rava bar Sheila said: What is the reason** for the opinion **of Rabbi Shimon? As it is written: “And the peoples shall be as the burnings of plaster”** (Isaiah 33:12). This is homiletically interpreted to mean that the nations were punished **on account of matters of plaster,** i.e., they did not study the Torah that was written on plaster.


###### Sotah 35b:12
[Sotah 35b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:12)

וְרַבִּי יְהוּדָה: כִּי סִיד, מָה סִיד אֵין לוֹ תַּקָּנָה אֶלָּא שְׂרֵיפָה — אַף אוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם אֵין לָהֶם תַּקָּנָה אֶלָּא שְׂרֵיפָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **And** how does **Rabbi Yehuda,** who holds that the Torah was not written on plaster, interpret this verse? The Gemara answers: He explains that the gentiles are **like plaster; just as plaster has no remedy but burning,** i.e., it is created by burning stone, **so too, the nations of the world have no remedy other than burning** in Gehenna.


###### Sotah 35b:13
[Sotah 35b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sotah/r/35b:13)

כְּמַאן אָזְלָא הָא דְּתַנְיָא ״וְשָׁבִיתָ שִׁבְיוֹ״ — לְרַבּוֹת כְּנַעֲנִים שֶׁבְּחוּצָה לָאָרֶץ, שֶׁאִם חוֹזְרִין בִּתְשׁוּבָה מְקַבְּלִין אוֹתָן?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**In accordance with whose** opinion is **that which is taught** in a *baraita*: The verse states: “When you go forth to battle against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands, **and you take them captive”** (Deuteronomy 21:10), implying that there is no obligation to destroy them, **to include** not only gentiles who are not Canaanites, but even **Canaanites that are** living **outside of Eretz** Yisrael, **as, if they repent, they are accepted** and allowed to live in Eretz Yisrael.