The Sotah Waters

Who is the Sotah?

The Sotah is a woman who finds herself in a very specific, very peculiar set of circumstances.

1. She was warned by her husband, in front of two witnesses, not to be alone with a particular man (he warns her due to his jealousy and/or because he suspects her of improper behavior with this man)

2. She was alone with that particular man and was seen (by either one or two witnesses; there's a difference of opinion in the Gemara)

At this point she is no longer allowed to live with her husband unless she does one of two things:

1. Refuses to take the test of the sotah waters, in which case she gets a divorce and loses her marriage settlement (To make this very clear: Nobody forces the Sotah to drink the bitter waters. She can say no. She should say no if she is guilty of adultery. The court does not wish her to die in a terrible and frightful manner if this can be avoided.)

2. Drink the sotah waters (She has the option to back out of this; indeed, the priest and the judges beg her to confess and refuse the waters if she is truly guilty. It is only after the scroll has been blotted out and/or the woman has taken the oath that she is forced to drink.)

If she is guilty, she dies a horrible death. If she is not guilty, she blossoms, looks youthful and bears children if she was formerly barren, or now has an easier time in childbirth (if it was formerly painful.) She is blessed.

The most fascinating thing I ever learned in connection to Sotah was taught to me at Templars (this is one of the few times where I can truly say, "Thank you Templars!")

It has to do with this verse:

לא וְנִקָּה הָאִישׁ, מֵעָו‍ֹן; וְהָאִשָּׁה הַהִוא, תִּשָּׂא אֶת-עֲו‍ֹנָהּ. {פ}
31 And the man shall be clear from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.

There are many interpretations of this verse. The most fascinating interpretation is offered by the Sifri to Numbers 5:31:

(Thanks so much to Moshe Y. Gluck of ESefer for scanning this for me. When people you don't even know take the trouble to scan sources for you, it demonstrates that something very beautiful exists in the world, namely, kindness. Thank you.)

This Sifri is incredible.

Here's what it says, in effect:

The water will only punish the woman if her husband is clean of that sin. If, however, her husband committed adultery, regardless of whether or not she herself sinned, she goes unpunished and does not die. In order to accuse your wife, you have to hold the moral high ground. If you the husband committed adultery, then you have no right to accuse your wife of being an adulteress.

Tit for tat. Fair and square. Because it is very fair. Even if you are not an adulterer now, if at one point in time you were an adulterer, this was your sin. How dare you accuse your wife when this was the sin you yourself committed! Verse 5:31 is cause and effect, "And the man shall be clear from iniquity," that is, he himself never committed adultery, "and that woman shall bear her iniquity," and in that case the woman shall be punished.

In other words, people who live in glass houses shouldn't cast stones.

Isn't that excellent? I think it's one of my favorite takes on the Torah.