Rabbinic JudaismJerusalem Talmud Sotah 3.4HOLYMAP · SACRED TEXTS
The Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem Talmud Sotah 3.4

The Jerusalem Talmud

Jerusalem Talmud Sotah 3.4

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

MISHNAH: She does not finish drinking before her face becomes yellow, her eyes protrude, and her veins swell. She is taken outside so that she does not pollute the temple courtyard. If she has merit, it suspends. There is merit which suspends for one year, there is merit which suspends for two years, there is merit which suspends for three years. From this, Ben Azai concluded that one is obligated to teach his daughter Torah, so that when she needs to drink, she will know that the merit will assist her. Rebbi Eliezer says: whoever teaches his daughter Torah teaches her debauchery. Rebbi Joshua said: a woman prefers one qab and frivolity to nine qabim and abstinence. He used to say: a foolish pious man, a sly wicked man, a predatory woman, and hits by the predatory, these are the ones who ruin the world.

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

HALAKHAH: “She does not finish drinking”, etc. But did we not think to say “All of them, not part only”? It is as if somebody said, X did not finish drinking when he started shaking.

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

“There is merit which suspends for one year, there is merit which suspends for two years, there is merit which suspends for three years.” There is merit which suspends for one year,” from Nabuchadneṣar: “At the end of twelve months.” “There is merit which suspends for two years,” from Amnon: “It was after two years.” “There is merit which suspends for three years,” from Ahab: “They sat for three years when there was no war between Aram and Israel.” Rebbi Yose said, it was said that the entire twelve months he occupied himself with deeds of charity. And all these two years he occupied himself with Torah. That is what it says: “They were in a Yeshiva for three years when there was no war between Aram and Israel.”

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

“An offering of remembrance,” a general statement; “referring to sin”, a detailed statement. If a general statement is followed by a specific one, the general does not mean more than the specific. If you say so, do you not find the argument disadvantaged? If punishment, which is given out sparingly, can refer, then reward, which is given out in abundance, should do so much more! But, “an offering of remembrance,” if she has merit, “referring to sin”, if she has no merit. It was stated: Rebbi Tarphon said, all statements of “remembrance” in the Torah have a good meaning except this one which is for punishment. Rebbi Aqiba said to him: If it only said, “referring to sin”, and then was silent, I would agree with your statement. But since it says “an offering of remembrance,” this must be for a good [purpose].

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

It was stated: Rebbi Jehudah says in the name of Rebbi Eleazar ben Matthias: It says, “but if the woman was not impure but was pure.” Would we not know that if she was not impure she was pure? Why does the verse say, “but she was pure”? Only that at the end the Omnipresent rewards her for the abuse, that if she was sterile she will become pregnant, [if she] was having difficult births she will have easy ones, [if she] had ugly children she will have good looking ones, black ones she will have white ones, short ones she will have tall ones, females she will have males, single children she will have twins. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said to him: If it were so then all women should be misbehaving in order to become pregnant! But does Rebbi Simeon not interpret “she will be found innocent and become pregnant with seed”? He does, legitimate seed, not illegitimate.

6
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Ben Azai does not follow Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah, as it was stated: It happened that Rebbi Joḥanan ben Beroqa and Rebbi Eleazar Ḥasma were walking from Jabneh to Lydda when they were visiting Rebbi Joshua in Beqiïn. He asked them, what was new today in the House of Study? They said to him, we all are your students and drink from your waters. He said to them, even so, it is impossible that there not be a new idea every day in the House of Study. Who stayed there over the Sabbath? They said to him, Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah. And what was his text? “Assemble the people, men, women, and children.” What did he say about this? Since the men come to learn and the women to hear, why do the children come? It must be to give a reward to those who bring them. He said to them, the generation is not orphaned which counts Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah among them.

7
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

A lady asked Rebbi Eliezer, why did one sin of the golden calf lead to three different kinds of death? He said to her, the wisdom of a woman is only in her spinning rod, as is written: “All wise women span with their hands.” His son Hyrkanos said to him, in order not to give her an answer you made me lose 300 kor of tithes every year. He answered him: May the words of the Torah be burned and not be delivered to women! After she had left, his students said to him, rabbi, this one you pushed away with a stick, what do you explain to us? Rebbi Berekhiah, Rebbi Abba bar Cahana in the name of Rebbi Eliezer: Anybody against whom there were witnesses and warning was executed in court. Anybody against whom there were witnesses but no warning was checked similar to a suspected wife. Anybody against whom there were neither witnesses nor warning died from a plague. Rav and Levi bar Sissi both say: One who sacrificed, burned, and poured out a libation was executed in court. He who clapped his hands, danced, laughed, was checked similar to a suspected wife. If he enjoyed himself silently, he died from a plague.

8
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Who is a foolish pious man? He saw a baby struggling in a river. He said, after I take off my phylacteries, I shall save him. By the time he takes off his phylacteries, that one is dead. He saw a prime fig and said, I shall give it to the first person I shall meet. He saw a preliminarily married girl and ran after her. That is what we have stated: “If somebody pursues another to kill him, after a male, or after a preliminarily married girl.”

9
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

“A sly wicked man.” Rebbi Zeriqan in the name of Rav Huna: That is one who chooses leniencies for himself and teaches restrictions to others. In this matter, it was stated: “About anybody who wants to take upon himself the stringencies both of the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel it was said: ‘The silly one walks in darkness’. The leniencies of both of them, he is called wicked. Only either following the words of the House of Shammai in their leniencies and stringencies, or following the words of the House of Hillel in their leniencies and stringencies.” That is, before there came the disembodied voice. But after the disembodied voice was heard, “practice follows the House of Hillel forever.” And any who transgresses the words of the House of Hillel is deserving of death. It was stated: There came the disembodied voice and said: “Both of them are the words of the Living God, but practice follows the House of Hillel forever.” Where was the disembodied voice heard? Rav Bebai in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: The disembodied voice was heard at Yabneh.

10
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

A predatory woman. That is one who sits and makes fun of the words of the Torah: “She said, you shall come to me … and he slept with her that night.” Rebbi Abbahu said, one could think that this was the [divine] intention. He only knew that she was doing this only to produce more tribes.

11
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

“Hits by the predatory”. That is the one who counsels the orphans to hide support from the widow. As the following: Rebbi Sabbatai’s widow was wasting the estate. The orphans came before Rebbi Eleazar. He said to them, what can one do for you; you are stupid. Some scribe came out and said to them: I shall tell you what he said: Behave as if you would sell and she will demand her ketubah and lose her support. In the evening she came before Rebbi Eleazar. He said, this one was hit by the predatory. It should come over me if I had intended that.

12
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

A student of Rebbi had 199 denar; Rebbi used to let him receive the tithe of the poor once every three years. His students cast an evil eye on him and completed for him. The next time, when he wanted to let him receive as usual, he said: My teacher, I have the measure. He said, this one was hit by a beast of prey. He gave a hint to his student who took him to a store, made him spend a carat, then he (Rebbi) let him receive as he was used to do.

13
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

They added to these a fasting virgin, a neighborly widow, and a child outgrowing his months. A fasting virgin; she pretends to have lost her hymen by fasting. A neighborly widow, by running around she spreads bad reputations. A child outgrowing his months: Rebbi Ḥilqiah in the name of Rebbi Simon. That is one who is more advanced in his studies than usual for his age and he denigrates those older than him. Rebbi Yose said, that is one nine-years-old who looks like a twelve-years-old. He sleeps with any of the incest prohibitions in the Torah and they are executed because of him but he is free from prosecution.

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The Jerusalem Talmud, edition, translation and commentary by Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999–2015). CC BY. Text from Sefaria (sefaria.org); commentary notes omitted. · Source ↗

Hebrew/Aramaic text: The Jerusalem Talmud, edition by Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999–2015), via Sefaria (sefaria.org). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Changes: footnotes and HTML formatting removed.

The Jerusalem Talmud, edition, translation and commentary by Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999–2015). CC BY. Text from Sefaria (sefaria.org); commentary notes omitted. · Source ↗

English translation: The Jerusalem Talmud, translation and commentary by Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999–2015); commentary notes omitted, via Sefaria (sefaria.org). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Changes: footnotes and HTML formatting removed.

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