Sotah 14a — the Talmud in English

And the wicked kingdom had already sent

Rome

to ![](pamud.bmp "

precise page location")

Gastrah

governor

of Beit Peor: “Show us where Moses is buried!”

They stood above, and it appeared to them

that he was

below.

They stood

below, and it appeared to them

that he was

above.

They divided into two groups.

Those who were standing above, it appeared to them that he was below

and those who stood

below, it appeared to them that he was above.

To fulfill that which is stated: “

And no man knows his burial place.”

Rabbi Hama bar Rabbi Hanina said: Even Moses our Master does not know where

he is

buried.

[unclear: isolated letter]

Here it is written: “

And no man knows his burial place,”

and there it is written: “

And this is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed.”

And we expound that “and no man knows” also refers to Moses our Master himself.

And Rabbi Hama bar Rabbi Hanina said: For what reason was Moses buried near Beit Peor?

In order to atone for the deed of Peor,

for they sinned with the daughters of Moab.

And Rabbi Hama bar Rabbi Hanina said: For what reason was Moses’ grave concealed from the eyes of flesh and blood?

Because it is revealed and known before the Holy One, blessed be He, that the Temple is destined to be destroyed and Israel exiled from their land.

Perhaps at that time they would come to Moses’ grave and stand weeping and entreat Moses, saying to him: “Moses our Master, stand in prayer on our behalf!” And Moses would stand and annul the decree.

Because the righteous are more beloved in their death than during their lifetime.

For so you

find that when Israel were in the wilderness, and they acted corruptly in their deeds and made a calf, the Holy One, blessed be He, became angry with Israel and said to Moses: “Leave Me, and I shall destroy them.”

How many righteous were there in that generation, and how many pious men: Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Eldad and Medad, and the seventy elders, and the rest of the sages and students—and He did not act on their account and did not annul the decree, but only on account of Moses.

And Rabbi Hama bar Rabbi Hanina said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “

After Hashem your God you shall walk”?

But is it possible for a person to walk after the Divine Presence?

Yet is it not already stated: “

For Hashem your God is a consuming fire”?

Rather, [it means] to walk after the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Just as He clothes the naked, as it is written: “

And Hashem God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and He clothed them,”

so too you clothe the naked.

The Holy One, blessed be He, visited the sick, as it is written: “

And Hashem appeared to him at the terebinths of Mamre”;

so too you visit the sick!

The Holy One, blessed be He, comforted mourners, as it is written: “

And it was after the death of Abraham, and God blessed Isaac his son,”

for He comforted him over the death of his father and gave him the blessing of mourners;

so too you comfort mourners!

The Holy One, blessed be He, buried the dead, as it is written: “

And He buried him in the valley”;

so too you bury the dead! “

Garments of skin”:

there is a dispute

between Rav and Shmuel

about its explanation.

One said: Something that comes from the skin,

which was made of wool that comes from the skin of the animal.

And one said: Something from which the skin derives benefit,

which was made of linen that a person wears on his skin.

Rabbi Simlai expounded: The Torah begins with acts of kindness and ends with acts of kindness.

Its beginning is acts of kindness,

for He clothed the naked,

as it is written: “

And Hashem God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and He clothed them.”

And its end is acts of kindness, as it is written: “

And He buried him in the valley.”

Rabbi Simlai expounded: For what reason did Moses our Master desire to enter the Land of Israel?

Did he need to eat of its fruit, or did he need to be satiated by its goodness?

Rather, Moses said as follows: Israel were commanded many mitzvot, and they are fulfilled only in the Land of Israel; I shall enter the Land of Israel so that they may all be fulfilled through me.

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Is it only reward that you seek to receive

for the mitzvot?

I reckon it for you as though you performed them!

As it is stated,

in the Book of Isaiah: “

Therefore I shall apportion him among the many, and with the mighty he shall apportion spoil, because he poured out his soul to death, and he was counted with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of the many, and he interceded for the transgressors.”

And Rabbi Simlai explains the verse concerning Moses our Master: “

Therefore I shall apportion him among the many”

I might

have said that I shall apportion him

like

the

later righteous

and not like the earlier ones?

The verse states: “

And with the mighty he shall apportion spoil,”

that is,

like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were mighty in Torah and mitzvot. “

Because he poured out

the emptied [from the language of “and she emptied her pitcher”]

his soul to death”—

for he gave himself over to death

on behalf of Israel,

as it is stated: “

And if not, erase me now from Your book.” “

And he was counted with the transgressors”—

for he was counted among those who died in the wilderness. “

And he bore the sin of the many”—

for he atoned for the deed of the calf. “

And he interceded for the transgressors”—

for he requested mercy for the transgressors of Israel, that they should repent.

And intercession means nothing other than prayer, as it is stated,

in the Book of Jeremiah, when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: “

But you, do not pray on behalf of this people, and do not raise on their behalf song and prayer, and do not intercede with Me.”

The way is upon you, chapter “The One Who Is Jealous for His Wife”

A. It is stated in the section of the Sota: "

And the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He shall not pour oil upon it [upon her offering], and he shall not place frankincense upon it, for [her offering, the offering of] jealousy is it, an offering of remembrance, recalling iniquity.

And the priest shall bring her near, and shall stand her before the Lord."

And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel, and from the dust that shall be on the ground of the Tabernacle, the priest shall take and place it into the water.

And the priest shall stand the woman before the Lord, and he shall loosen the hair of the woman’s head, and he shall place upon her palms the offering of remembrance; it is an offering of jealousy.

And in the priest’s hand shall be the bitter water that brings bitterness.

And the priest shall administer the oath to her.

And the priest shall take from the woman’s hand the offering of jealousy, and he shall wave the offering before the Lord, and he shall bring it near to the altar. And the priest shall take a handful from the offering, its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar.

And afterward he shall give the water to the woman to drink."

B. The Tosafot write here that the order of our Mishna is not like the order stated in the Torah. And they were uncertain which of them is valid. However, below [17b, s.v. “before”] they wrote: “The order of the passage is primary, but the order of the Mishna is not even [required] as a mitzva alone”!

According to Maimonides, there is another order, neither like the order of the verses nor like the order of the Mishnayot.

Mishna:

Was

her husband

bringing her offering

of his wife

inside an Egyptian wicker basket [

a basket made from the palm’s fibers, soft branches that grow around the palm ],

and he placed it

upon her palms,

and the offering remained in her hand until the completion of the entire procedure, and this was

in order to weary her,

and in order that she refrain from drinking.

The Mishna explains that the offering of the sota differs in several details from the other offerings:

a.

All the offerings

other

beginning [

that is, the beginning of their bringing into the Temple courtyard ]

and their end are in a service vessel.

But

this one,

the offering of the sota,

its beginning,

the beginning of its bringing into the Temple courtyard, is

in an Egyptian basket, and

only

its end

is

in a service vessel.

b.

All the offerings

other

require oil and frankincense, and

whereas

this one,

the offering of the sota,

requires neither oil nor frankincense.

c.

All the offerings come from wheat,

and

whereas

this one

comes from barley.

d.

The offering of the Omer, even though it comes from barley,

that is, although the offering of the Omer also comes from barley, it is distinct from the offering of the sota—

it,

the offering of the Omer,

would come

at any rate from the

groats [

the choicest flour, after it has been sifted through thirteen sieves ].

And

whereas

this one,

the offering of the sota—it is not merely that it comes from barley, but it

comes as flour,

as it is ground, without sifting, with everything mixed into it.

Rabban Gamaliel says [

as in: Rabban Gamaliel said ]:

Just as her deeds

of the sota are

the deed of an animal,

for she abandoned herself to intercourse with one who was not her partner,

so her offering

is

animal food,

that is, barley.

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: “And he places it upon her hands in order to weary her”:

It was taught: Abba Hanan says [

he explained ]

in the name of Rabbi

Eliezer: And why all this!?

Why do we trouble ourselves to weary her!? [

In order to weary her ]

in order that she retract

and admit that she is impure, for then she will not be tested, and she will live.

And we have to learn from here:

If in this way the Torah had compassion [

for it said “and he shall place it upon her palms” in order to weary her, so that she would admit and not die ]

upon those who transgress His will,

like this sota, who committed adultery, and the Torah had compassion upon her so that she would not die,

a fortiori

that the Torah has compassion

upon those who perform His will.

And we challenge this:

From where,

from where do we know that the reason for the matter is that they weary her so that she will admit—

because it had compassion

upon her so that she would not die

is it!?

Perhaps

they weary her so that she will say, “I will not drink,”

in order [

so that ]

the scroll will not be erased,

and the sacred Name will be erased in the water!?

And we answer:

He holds,

Rabbi Eliezer: