Sotah (Talmud)

Sotah is a tractate (massekhet) of the Talmud that deals with the laws concerning a woman suspected of adultery, as outlined in Numbers 5:11-31. The term "Sotah" literally translates to "wayward woman." The tractate explores the complex ritual involved in testing the accused woman's fidelity through the "bitter waters," also referred to as the "waters of bitterness that cause the curse".

The tractate Sotah is found in both the Mishnah and the Babylonian Talmud (Bavli). The Mishnah version is part of the Seder Nashim (Order of Women), which deals with family and marital laws. The Babylonian Talmud provides extensive commentary and discussion on the Mishnah, including legal arguments, ethical considerations, and narrative accounts.

Key topics discussed in Tractate Sotah include:

• The Sotah Ritual: A detailed explanation of the steps involved in the ritual for determining the guilt or innocence of the accused woman, including the writing of the divine name on a parchment, its dissolution in water, and the woman's oath and drinking of the water.
• Conditions for the Sotah Ritual: The circumstances under which the ritual can be performed, including the evidence required to suspect the woman of infidelity, and the need for proper warnings.
• Impact of the Ritual: The consequences of the ritual for both the woman and her adulterer, should she be guilty.
• Broader Discussion of Adultery and Marital Faithfulness: Extrapolations from the Sotah ritual to address related issues of marital fidelity, jealousy, and the responsibilities of both husband and wife.
• "When the Wicked Increase": A famous passage describing societal decline and the deterioration of morality, often cited for its pessimistic view of human nature in times of moral decay and its foreshadowing of the messianic era's difficulties. This section is somewhat tangential to the core legal concerns of the tractate.
• Language and Script Issues: Discussions concerning the languages and scripts allowed for use in various legal and ritual documents, particularly related to the script used for the divine name in the Sotah ritual.
• Laws of War: The tractate includes a section dedicated to the laws related to declaring war, selecting soldiers, and offering a peaceful resolution before engaging in combat, as derived from Deuteronomy 20.