Sotah 32a — the Talmud in English

And here, with what are we dealing?

What is explained in the Mishna—that two contradict one, one after the other, whereas one does not contradict two even simultaneously—we established as referring to disqualified testimony.

It is speaking

for example, where a woman came first.

For the witness who testified that she had become impure was disqualified, such as a woman; and concerning this we learned that two disqualified witnesses are trusted to contradict him even one after the other, for with disqualified witnesses we follow the majority. And likewise, what we learned—that one cannot contradict two even simultaneously—is speaking of one disqualified witness who came to contradict the testimony of two disqualified witnesses, for with disqualified witnesses we follow the majority.

And explain Rabbi Nehemiah’s [opinion] in this way:

One must emend the words of Rabbi Nehemiah as follows:

Rabbi Nehemiah says: Wherever the Torah trusted one witness,

such as in the testimony concerning a sota,

follow the majority of opinions,

for if there are contradicting testimonies, we follow the majority.

And

therefore,

they made

in this testimony

two women

who testify

against one woman,

as opposed to one woman,

like two men

who testify

against one man,

as opposed to one man, for the words of one do not have the status of [the words of] two. And here too, the words of one woman do not have the status of [the words of] two women.

And even though here there is not the superiority of the two as there is with valid testimony, nevertheless, we follow the majority of opinions. And the same law applies to three women against two women: the three are trusted.

But two women

who testify

against one man,

as opposed to one valid man, we do not follow the majority of opinions; rather,

it is considered half and half,

for the force of one valid witness is equivalent to that of many disqualified witnesses, and one valid witness contradicts many disqualified witnesses simultaneously, whereas many disqualified witnesses do not contradict one valid witness one after the other.

And we raised an objection:

And why do I need two [cases] involving disqualified testimony?

In the Mishna two laws were taught: one, that two disqualified witnesses contradict one disqualified witness even one after the other; and the second, that one disqualified witness is unable to contradict two disqualified witnesses even simultaneously. And seemingly one of the two laws is superfluous, for the basis of both is the same: with disqualified witnesses we follow the majority of opinions.

And we answered:

You might have said: When we follow the majority of opinions,

if we had learned only the first law, I would say: When do we follow the majority—in particular

to be stringent,

to require her to drink, when two disqualified witnesses contradict one who testified that she had become impure, and she returns to her previous law, that she must drink.

But to be lenient,

to be lenient for her so that she should not drink, as in the second case, where one disqualified witness comes to contradict two disqualified witnesses simultaneously—

we do not follow [the majority],

we do not follow the majority of opinions, saying that the one cannot contradict the words of the two, and their testimony remains valid and she does not drink. Rather, since there is some contradiction of their words, their testimony is contradicted from the outset, and the woman remains under her previous law: it is uncertain whether she became impure, and she drinks in order to clarify the uncertainty.

It teaches us this,

for this the tan-nai needed to teach us: that even in such a case we follow the majority of opinions, and one disqualified witness cannot contradict the testimony of two disqualified witnesses even simultaneously; and it has already been established that she became impure, and she does not drink.

In summary:

A. A witness who testified that she had become impure, and his fellow contradicted him: if he contradicted him simultaneously, his testimony is invalid; and if he contradicted him one after the other, his testimony remains valid.

B. A valid witness who testified that she had become impure, and two valid witnesses contradicted him—even one after the other—his testimony is invalid. C. A valid witness who testified that she had become impure, and two disqualified witnesses contradicted him one after the other: two formulations were stated concerning this in the Gemara according to Rabbi Nehemiah. According to the first formulation, his testimony is invalid, since we follow the majority of opinions; and according to the second formulation, a valid witness is considered like many disqualified witnesses, and his testimony remains valid.

D. A disqualified witness who testified that she had become impure, and two disqualified witnesses contradicted him—even one after the other—his testimony is invalid, because we follow the majority of opinions.

E. Two disqualified witnesses who testified that she had become impure, and a valid witness contradicted them simultaneously: according to the first formulation, their testimony remains valid, for we follow the majority; and according to the second formulation, their testimony is invalid, for one valid witness is equivalent to many disqualified witnesses.

F. Two disqualified witnesses who testified that she had become impure, and a disqualified witness contradicted them simultaneously: their testimony remains valid, for we follow the majority of opinions.

G. And wherever we have said that his testimony remains valid, the woman does not drink; rather, she is forbidden to her husband forever.

H. And wherever we have said that his testimony is invalid, she drinks in order to clarify the uncertainty.

The way is upon you, chapter “One Who Made [His Wife] Jealous.”

Mishna:

These

mitzvot that depend upon speech

are recited in every language:

the passage of the Sota,

the oath and the curse, are recited in every language.

The declaration concerning the tithe,

is what the Torah said [Deuteronomy 26:12]: “When you have finished tithing every tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe [when you finish separating the tithes of the third year, establish the time of the removal and the declaration on the eve of Passover of the fourth year], you shall give it to the Levite [the first tithe], to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow [the poor man’s tithe], and they shall eat within your gates and be satisfied. And you shall say before the Lord your God: I have removed the holy thing from the house [this is the second tithe that he brought up to Jerusalem], and I have also given it to the Levite [this is the first tithe], to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow [this is the poor man’s tithe], according to all Your mitzvot that You commanded me [that I gave them in their proper order]. I have not transgressed from Your mitzvot [to separate from one species for another species], and I have not forgotten [to bless over the separation of terumot and tithes]. I have not eaten from it in mourning [I did not eat from the second tithe in mourning], and I have not removed from it while impure [whether I was impure and it was pure, or whether it was impure and I was pure], and I have not given from it for the dead [I did not make from it a coffin or shrouds for the dead]. I have heeded the voice of the Lord my God [to bring it to the chosen House], I have done according to all that You commanded me. Look down from Your holy dwelling, from the heavens, and bless Your people Israel and the land that You gave us, as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey”; and this declaration is recited in every language.

The recitation of Shema, the prayer, and the blessing of the food.

And the oath of testimony,

is what the Torah said [Leviticus 5:1]: “And if a person sins, and hears the voice of an oath [an oath], and he is a witness, or he saw, or he knew [that they made him swear concerning money about which he is a witness, that if he knows testimony concerning it, he should testify for him], if he does not tell [he denied and said that he does not know testimony concerning him], he shall bear his iniquity. And it shall be, when he is guilty of one of these, that he shall confess that wherein he sinned. And he shall bring his guilt-offering to the Lord for his sin that he sinned, a female from the flock, a sheep or a she-goat, for a sin-offering, and the koen shall make atonement for him for his sin”; and this oath is recited in every language.

And the oath concerning a deposit,

is what the Torah said [Leviticus 5:21]: “If a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord, and denies to his fellow concerning a deposit [that was deposited with him, and he swore that it was not in his possession], or concerning a loan, or concerning robbery, or he oppressed his fellow. Or he found a lost article and denied it, and swore falsely. And he shall bring his guilt-offering to the Lord, an unblemished ram from the flock”; and this oath is recited in every language.

And these are recited

only

in the language of holiness:

The reading of the first fruits,

which is what the Torah said [Deuteronomy 26:2]: “And you shall take from the first of every fruit of the ground that you shall bring from your land. And you shall come to the koen who will be in those days, and you shall say to him: I declare today to the Lord your God, that I have come to the land that the Lord swore to our fathers to give us. And you shall respond and say before the Lord your God: An Aramean [Laban the Aramean] destroyed my father [Laban sought to uproot everything when he pursued Jacob], and he descended [Jacob] to Egypt, and he sojourned there with few people, and he became there a great, mighty, and numerous nation. And the Egyptians did evil to us and afflicted us, and they imposed hard labor upon us. And we cried out to the Lord, God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice, and He saw our affliction, our labor, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand, with an outstretched arm, with great awe, with signs, and with wonders. And He brought us to this place, and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first fruit of the ground that You gave me, O Lord”; and this reading—from “I declare” until “that You gave me, O Lord”—is recited only in the language of holiness.

And halitza,

which is what the Torah said [Deuteronomy 25:7]: “But if the man does not wish to take his yevama, then his yevama shall go up to the gate, to the elders, and she shall say: My yavam refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel; he does not wish to perform yibbum with me. And the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and he shall stand and say: I do not wish to take her. And his yevama shall approach him before the eyes of the elders, and she shall remove his shoe from upon his foot, and she shall spit before him, and she shall respond and say: So shall be done to the man who does not build the house of his brother”; and all the statements mentioned are recited only in the language of holiness.

Blessings and curses,

which is what the Torah said [Deuteronomy 11:29]: “And it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you to the land to which you are coming to possess it, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. Are they not across the Jordan, beyond the way of the setting of the sun, in the land of the Canaanite who dwells in the Arava, opposite Gilgal, beside the terebinths of Moreh?” And it says [Deuteronomy 27:12]: “These shall stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan: Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Yissakhar, Yosef, and Binyamin. And these shall stand for the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuven, Gad, Asher, Zevulun, Dan, and Naftali. And the Levites shall respond and say to every man of Israel in a loud voice: Cursed is the man who makes a graven image or a molten image, an abomination of the Lord” [until the end of the order of the curses], and before every curse they would precede a blessing: “Blessed is the man who does not make a graven image or a molten image,” and everything is said only in the language of holiness.

The blessing of the koanim

that they say during the raising of the hands.

And the blessing of the High Koen

on the Day of Atonement, after the service of the day that he performed in the Holy of Holies: he would read in the Torah and recite eight blessings, as the Mishna explains below, 40b.

And the passage of the king,

it is explained in the Mishna below, 41a.

And the passage of the beheaded heifer,

which is what the Torah said [Deuteronomy 21:1]: “When a slain person is found on the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess, fallen in the field, and it is not known who struck him, then the city nearest to the slain person shall be: the elders of that city shall take a calf of cattle. And the elders of that city shall bring down the calf. And they shall break the calf’s neck there in the valley. And the koanim, the sons of Levi, shall approach, and all the elders of that city who are nearest to the slain person. And they shall respond and say [the elders of the city]: Our hands did not spill this blood, and our eyes did not see.” [And the koanim say]: “Atone for Your people Israel, whom You redeemed, O Lord, and do not place innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel”; and everything is recited in the language of holiness.

And the anointed for war when he speaks to the people,

which is what the Torah said [Deuteronomy 20:2]: “And it shall be, when you approach the war, that the koen [the High Koen who was anointed for this purpose] shall approach and speak to the people. And he shall say to them: Hear, Israel, you are approaching today the war against your enemies; let your heart not be faint, do not fear, do not panic, and do not be terrified before them. For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you”; and the koen says only in the language of holiness.

The Mishnayot from here onward explain those matters that were taught in our Mishna as being recited only in the sacred tongue; in some of them the Mishna explains the nature of those matters, and in some of them the Mishna explains the source for reciting them in the sacred tongue, even though we might have said: Just as with the sota, the recitation of the first fruits, and the recitation of the Shema, although the Torah gave a formula for their recitation, the Torah did not insist that they be recited as they are written in the Torah in the sacred tongue, so too is the law with these; we might have said: Although the formula of their recitation is written in the Torah, nevertheless it is not necessary to recite them as they are written in the sacred tongue, but the law is the same with the other languages, [Rashi].

And the Mishna explains:

How is the recitation of the first fruits performed

—that is to say: From where [do we know] that it is recited only in the sacred tongue?

Because it is stated concerning the recitation of the first fruits:

“And you shall respond and say before the Lord

your God”,

and below,

with regard to the blessings and curses,

it says:

“And the Levites shall respond and say”—

And we learn by a gzera shava, “response, response”:

Just as below—

with regard to the blessings and curses—

in the sacred tongue, so too here—

with regard to the recitation of the first fruits—

in the sacred tongue.

The Mishna further explains:

How is halitza

which is [performed] in the sacred tongue

[performed]

; from where is it learned?

Because it is stated concerning halitza:

“And she shall respond and say”,

and below,

with regard to the blessings and curses,

it says:

“And the Levites shall respond and say”—

And we learn by a gzera shava, “response, response”:

Just as below—

with regard to the blessings and curses—

in the sacred tongue, so too here—

with regard to halitza—

in the sacred tongue.

Rabbi Judah says: It is not necessary

to learn it for halitza by a gzera shava, for it is learned by itself: Because it is stated concerning halitza:

“And she shall respond and say, thus”,

we have learned:

Until she says it in this wording

that is written in the Torah.

The Mishna further explains:

How were the blessings and curses [performed]

?

When Israel crossed the Jordan and came to Mount Gerizim and to Mount Ebal in Samaria

near Samaria,

which is beside Shechem, near Elon Moreh—

And from where [do we know] that they were beside Shechem? Because

it is stated

[Deuteronomy 11:29]: “And it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you to the land to which you are coming, to possess it, that you shall give the blessing upon Mount Gerizim and the curse upon Mount Ebal.

Are they not beyond the Jordan

after the way of the entrance of the sun, in the land of the Canaanite who dwells in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, near Elon Moreh?”—

And below—

with regard to Abraham—

it says:

“And Abram passed through the land, as far as the place of Shechem, as far as Elon Moreh”—

And we learn by a gzera shava:

Just as “

Elon Moreh”

that is stated below

with regard to Abraham, means

Shechem, so too Elon Moreh

Elon Moreh

that is stated here

with regard to the Levites, means

Shechem.

And when they reached those mountains, then:

Six tribes ascended to the top of Mount Gerizim, and six tribes ascended to the top of Mount Ebal.

And the priests and the Levites

and the Ark stood below in the middle

between the two mountains—

The priests surrounded the Ark, the Levites [surrounded] the priests, and all Israel [stood] here and there

on the two mountains.

As it is stated

[Joshua 8:33]: “

And all Israel and its elders and officers and judges stood on this side and on that side of the Ark

opposite the priests, the Levites, bearers of the Ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as the native, half of it facing Mount Gerizim [on the slope of Mount Gerizim] and half of it facing Mount Ebal, as Moses, servant of the Lord, commanded, to bless the people of Israel first [to precede the blessing with the curse]. And afterward he [Joshua] read all the words of the Torah, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the scroll of the Torah. There was not a matter of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before the entire congregation of Israel, and the women and the little ones and the stranger who walked among them.”

The Levites turned

their

faces toward Mount Gerizim and began with the blessing:

“Blessed is the man who does not make an idol or a molten image”,

and both these and those

the tribes on the two mountains

answered, “Amen.”

And again

they turned

the Levites their

faces toward Mount Ebal and began with the curse:

“Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image”,

and both these and those answered, “Amen.”

And so they would perform the blessing and afterward the curse,

until they completed the blessings and curses.

And afterward they brought the stones

that they had taken out of the Jordan when they crossed it,

and built the altar

on Mount Ebal,

and plastered it with plaster, and wrote upon it all the words of the Torah in seventy languages, as it is stated:

[Deuteronomy 27:2]: “And it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land that the Lord your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself [in the Jordan] great stones, and plaster them with plaster. And it shall be when you cross the Jordan that you shall set up these stones [other stones that you shall take out of the Jordan], which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. And you shall build there [on Mount Ebal] an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not wield iron over them. Whole stones shall you build the altar of the Lord your God, and you shall offer upon it burnt offerings to the Lord your God. And you shall sacrifice peace-offerings and eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God. And you shall write upon the stones [of the altar] all the words of this Torah

very clearly.”

And they took

[dismantled]

the stones

of the altar that they had built on Mount Ebal, [after offering upon them the sacrifices stated in the passage],

and the Israelites came

and spent the night in their place,

in their lodging-place, which was in Gilgal, and there they set up the stones that they had dismantled from the altar.