Truth or Dare

(11) ה' spoke to Moses, saying: (12) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: Any party whose wife has gone astray and broken faith with him, (13) in that another man has had carnal relations with her unbeknown to her husband, and she keeps secret the fact that she has defiled herself without being forced, and there is no witness against her, (14) but a fit of jealousy comes over him and he is wrought up about the wife who has defiled herself—or if a fit of jealousy comes over him and he is wrought up about his wife although she has not defiled herself— (15) that party shall bring his wife to the priest. And he shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour. No oil shall be poured upon it and no frankincense shall be laid on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of remembrance which recalls wrongdoing. (16) The priest shall bring her forward and have her stand before ה'. (17) The priest shall take sacral water in an earthen vessel and, taking some of the earth that is on the floor of the Tabernacle, the priest shall put it into the water. (18) After he has made the woman stand before ה', the priest shall bare the woman’s head and place upon her hands the meal offering of remembrance, which is a meal offering of jealousy. And in the priest’s hands shall be the water of bitterness that induces the spell. (19) The priest shall adjure the woman, saying to her, “If no other party has lain with you, if you have not gone astray in defilement while living in your husband’s household, be immune to harm from this water of bitterness that induces the spell. (20) But if you have gone astray while living in your husband’s household and have defiled yourself, if any party other than your husband has had carnal relations with you”— (21) here the priest shall administer the curse of adjuration to the woman, as the priest goes on to say to the woman—“may ה' make you a curse and an imprecation among your people, as ה' causes your thigh to sag and your belly to distend; (22) may this water that induces the spell enter your body, causing the belly to distend and the thigh to sag.” And the woman shall say, “Amen, amen!” (23) The priest shall put these curses down in writing and rub it off into the water of bitterness. (24) He is to make the woman drink the water of bitterness that induces the spell, so that the spell-inducing water may enter into her to bring on bitterness. (25) Then the priest shall take from the woman’s hand the meal offering of jealousy, elevate the meal offering before ה', and present it on the altar. (26) The priest shall scoop out of the meal offering a token part of it and turn it into smoke on the altar. Last, he shall make the woman drink the water. (27) Once he has made her drink the water—if she has defiled herself by breaking faith with her husband, the spell-inducing water shall enter into her to bring on bitterness, so that her belly shall distend and her thigh shall sag; and the wife shall become a curse among her people. (28) But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she shall be unharmed and able to retain seed. (29) This is the ritual in cases of jealousy, when a woman goes astray while living in her husband’s household, and defiles herself, (30) or when a fit of jealousy comes over a husband and he is wrought up over his wife: the woman shall be made to stand before ה' and the priest shall carry out all this ritual with her. (31) The man shall be clear of guilt; but that woman shall suffer for her guilt.

BUT IF THOU HAST GONE ASIDE.

Now there is nothing amongst all the ordinances of the Torah which depends upon a miracle, except for this matter, which is a permanent wonder and miracle that will happen in Israel, when the majority of the people live in accordance with the Will of G-d; for He was pleased for His righteousness’ sake to teach the women that they do not do after the lewdness of the other nations, and to purify Israel from adulterous offspring, so that they are worthy that the Divine Presence dwell among them.

Therefore this matter [i.e., the effect of the water on the sotah] stopped from the time that the people became debauched with [sexual] sins, as the Rabbis have said: “When adulterers became frequent, the water of sotah ceased, for it is said, I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for they themselves consort with lewd women, and they sacrifice with harlots, and the people that is without understanding is distraught. Now this verse does not mean to say that adulterous women will be free from [punishment for their] sin, because their husbands [likewise] commit adultery;

it [is only saying] that this great miracle will not be done for them, for it occurs as a sign of honor for them because of their being a holy people, but they do not understand this goodness, nor do they desire it. Therefore the verse states, and the people that is without understanding is ‘yilaveit’ (distraught), that is to say, trapped by its foolishness. Similarly, but a prating fool ‘yilaveit, ’ which the Jerusalem Targum translated: “but the fool is caught by his lips.”

This is the reason for what the Sages have said: “And the man shall be clear from iniquity. When the man is clear of iniquity, the water [of the sotah] tests his wife; but if the man is himself not free from iniquity, the water does not put his wife to the proof.”

Now the “freedom from iniquity” of the husband means [in this context] that he had no sexual relations with her after he had warned her and she [nevertheless] had secret contact [with the suspected adulterer]. And there are scholars who explain that if the husband had ever in his lifetime had a forbidden sexual intercourse, the water [of the sotah] no longer tests his wife. And according to the final decision of the law, even if his sons or daughters committed adultery and he did not rebuke them the water did not put his wife to the test [even though he himself is clear from iniquity]. In short, this procedure was miraculous, as [a sign of] honor for Israel.

See also: The Sotah Ritual: Permitting a Jealous Husband to Remain with His Wife,

Prof. Hanna Liss and Sotah by Ishay Rosen-Zvi

(13) [Genesis 11:28 says,] “And Haran died in the presence of his father Terach.” ...

Thereupon Terach seized him and delivered him to Nimrod. "Let us worship fire," Nimrod said. "Let us rather worship water which quenches fire," Avraham said. "Let us worship water," Nimrod said. "Let us rather worship the clouds which bear the water," Avraham said. "Let us then worship the clouds," Nimros said. "Let us worship the wind which disperses the clouds," Avraham said. "Let us worship the wind," Nimrod said. "Let us worship human beings which can stand up to the wind," Avraham said. "You are just bandying words, and we will worship nothing but the fire. Behold, I will cast you into it, and let your God whom you adore come and save you from it!" Nimrod said. Now Haran was standing there undecided. "If Avraham is victorious, I will say that I am of Avraham’s belief, while if Nimrod is victorious, I will say that I am on Nimrod’s side," he thought. When Avraham descended into the fiery furnace and was saved, Nimrod asked him, "Of whose belief are you?" "Of Abraham’s," he replied. Thereupon he seized him and cast him into the fire; his innards were scorched and he died in the presence of his father. Hence it is written, "And Haran died in the presence of his father Terach."

(9) From the time when adulterers proliferated, the performance of the ritual of the bitter waters was nullified; they would not administer the bitter waters to the sota. And it was Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai who nullified it, as it is stated: “I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for they consort with lewd women” (Hosea 4:14), meaning that when the husbands are adulterers, the wives are not punished for their own adultery.

(1) A man takes a woman [into his household as his wife] and becomes her husband. She fails to please him because he finds something obnoxious about her, and he writes her a bill of divorcement, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house; (2) she leaves his household and becomes [the wife] of another man ; (3) then this latter man rejects her, writes her a bill of divorcement, hands it to her, and sends her away from his household; or the man dies who had last taken her as his wife. (4) Then the first husband who divorced her shall not take her [into his household] to become his wife again, since she has been defiled —for that would be abhorrent to ה'. You must not bring sin upon the land that your God ה' is giving you as a heritage.

ונקה האיש מעון THEN SHALL THE MAN BE GUILTLESS FROM INIQUITY — This means, if the waters try her (have effect on her), he should not worry and say: “I have incurred guilt through her death!” — No, he is free from punishment. Another explanation is: As soon as he has made her drink the water and she is proved innocent she may lawfully remain with him as his wife, and he is free from sin in permitting this, but if he lives with her before this, he is not free, for a סוטה (a wife suspected of infidelity) is forbidden to her husband pending her trial (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 21).

(5) You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I your God ה' am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me,

(9) Pursue her lovers as she will,
She shall not overtake them;
And seek them as she may,
She shall never find them.
Then she will say,
“I will go and return
To my first husband,
For then I fared better than now.” (10) And she did not consider this:
It was I who bestowed on her
The new grain and wine and oil;
I who lavished silver on her
And gold—which they used for Baal.