Sotah 21b — the Talmud in English

Ben Azzai says: A person is obligated to teach his

his daughter Torah.

Rabbi Eliezer says: Anyone who teaches his daughter Torah —

teaches her tiflut!

And the Gemara is astonished: Is the study of Torah by his daughter a study of

“tiflut”

—does it enter your mind

that one would call it

!? Rather, say:

say this: this is

as though he taught her tiflut.

That is, since there are many matters in the Torah that deal with the cunning of the wicked, their stratagems, and their deceptions—and all this so that the judge will know how people are capable of deceiving and how to arrive at an investigation of the truth—there is concern that if a woman studies Torah, she will come to conduct herself cunningly and to perform corrupt acts in secret, since women’s understanding is light and they are easily enticed into transgression.

Rabbi Abbahu said: What is the reason of Rabbi Eliezer?

As it is written [משלי ח] “

Proverbs 8]: “

I am wisdom; I dwell with cunning.”

Once wisdom

of Torah

enters a person —

cunning enters with him!

And we raise this concerning it:

But the Rabbis [בן עזאי, המחייב את האדם ללמד בתו תורה] [Ben Azzai, who obligates a person to teach his daughter Torah]

Ben Azzai, who obligates a person to teach his daughter Torah]—

this “

I am wisdom” —

what do they do with it?

What do they do with this verse? That is, why are they not concerned by the words of the verse, that Torah study brings to recognition of cunning, and therefore did they not fear lest cunning enter a woman and she come to sin in secret

. And we answer:

they require it

they need this verse

to

expound it

in accordance with Rabbi Yosei bar Rabbi Hanina.

For Yosei bar Rabbi Hanina said: The words of Torah endure only in one who makes himself naked

from every occupation,

with regard to them.

As it is stated “

I am wisdom [תורה] [Torah] —

[Torah]—

I dwell [במי שהוא] [in one who is]

[in one who is]

cunning.”

Rabbi Yohanan said: The words of Torah endure only in one who presents himself as one who does not

exist.

As it is stated “

And wisdom —

from[המשים עצמו כ] [one who presents himself as]

[one who presents himself as]

nothing, you will find.”

We learned in the Mishna:

Rabbi Yehoshua says: A woman desires

a kab and tiflut.

And we raise this concerning it:

what is he saying

Rabbi Yehoshua? And we answer:

this is what Rabbi Yehoshua is saying:

It is not good that the woman study Torah, because

a woman desires

prefers

a kab for a woman

of food, which is a small amount,

and

provided that there be

tiflut with it,

that her husband be with her always,

rather than

than

nine kabin,

of abundant sustenance,

and

a life of

separation

from her husband, as is the way of Torah scholars!

And since this is a woman’s way, it is not good that she study Torah.

We further learned in the Mishna:

He would say: A foolish pious person,

and

and so on

.

And the Gemara explains:

What are the circumstances of “

who is

a foolish pious person”? —

For example, when a woman is drowning in the river,

when he sees how a woman is drowning in the river,

and

the foolish pious person says:

It is not the way of the world,

this is not the trait of proper conduct

to look [להסתכל] [to look]

[at her]

at her, and to save her [ולהצילה [דהיינו, כיון שבשעת הצלתה הוא צריך להסתכל בה, הוא נמנע מלהצילה] [and to save her [that is, since at the time of saving her he must look at her, he refrains from saving her]].

[that is, since he must look at her while rescuing her, he refrains from rescuing her].

The Gemara further explains the words of Rabbi Yehoshua in the Mishna:

What are the circumstances of “

a cunning wicked person”? —

And the Gemara brings several opinions of amoraim as to what is a “cunning wicked person

” A.

Rabbi Yohanan said: This is one who presents his words to the judge before his fellow litigant comes.

For if the judge hears the words of one side without the presence of the opposing side, the words of the first become fixed in his heart, and he does not properly receive the words of the second. Therefore, one who does this is called “cunning,” because he acts cunningly, and is called wicked because he transgressed “You shall not bear a false report

B.

Rabbi Abbahu says: “

a cunning wicked person”

is one who gives a dinar to a poor person to complete for him two hundred zuz.

For we learned: One who has two hundred zuz,

he is not poor, and

he may not take gleanings, forgotten sheaves, the corner of the field, or the poor man’s tithe,

which are gifts to the poor.

If he had two hundred less one dinar,

he is within the category of a poor person and may support himself from charity. And therefore,

even

if

a thousand

dinars

are given to him

as charity

at one time, he may take!

Therefore, a person who gives one dinar to a poor person who comes to gather the gleanings for the poor in his field, intending thereby to complete the poor person’s money to two hundred zuz, and thereby prevent him from taking the gleanings from his field—and does this because he wants his poor relatives to take the gleanings—is wicked, for his intention is not to give charity to his fellow, but only to deprive him of the possibility of supporting himself from charity.

C.

Rabbi Asi said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: “

a cunning wicked person”

is one who gives advice

to orphans

to sell in “

few properties.”

And he said this according to his position —

For Rabbi Asi said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: Orphans who acted first and sold the few properties—what they sold, they sold!

That is, one who dies and leaves sons and daughters: the sons inherit the properties, and the daughters are supported from the properties that the sons inherited.

And if he left behind few properties, which are insufficient even for the sustenance of the sons and daughters, the Sages enacted that the daughters have the right to eat from the properties, whereas the sons must go around at the doors.

However, if, before the daughters came to the court to claim from the sons that they place the few properties in their possession so that they could be supported by them under the enactment of the Sages, the sons acted first and sold the properties, the daughters cannot make a claim against the orphans.

Therefore, one who advises the orphans to circumvent the enactment of the Sages and to sell the properties immediately, in order to prevent the daughters from being supported by them, is “wicked,” teaching others to circumvent the words of the Sages, and therefore he is also called “cunning

” D.

Abaye said: This is one who gives advice to sell properties, in accordance with Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel.

For it was taught:

One who says to his fellow,

“My properties

are given

to you

as a gift, but this is not a complete gift, for I give it only to you, not to your heirs.

And

therefore,

“after you,

when you die these properties will be given

to so-and-so.

And

if

the first took possession and sold

the properties,

and consumed

and exhausted the properties—if the first died, then

the second,

the one to whom the properties were given after the death of the first, goes and

removes

the properties that were sold

from the purchasers; these are the words of Rabbi.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: The second has only what the first left over

with him, and not what he sold.

And according to his words, he is wicked, for he prevents the fulfillment of the words of the giver, who acts cunningly.

E.

Rav Yosef bar Hama said in the name of Rav Sheshet: This is

a wicked and corrupt person who acts cunningly and pretends to be righteous,

the one who

“inclines”

others toward his ways,

who shows them to conduct themselves in his way as though he were righteous, while his entire aim is to conceal his corruption.

F.

Rabbi Zerika said in the name of Rav Huna: This is one who is lenient for himself and stringent for others.

He is wicked in that which he is lenient for himself, and cunning in that which he is stringent for others and pretends to be righteous.