Understanding Kiddushin Daf Yomi Essays - Book Of Numbers, Sivan

Understanding Kiddushin Daf Yomi Sotah 17 1) WHAT PARTS OF PARSHAS SOTAH ARE WRITTEN AND ERASED QUESTION: The Mishnah cites three opinions of Tana'im regarding which verses of the Parshah of Sotah are written down and erased in the Mayim ha'Me'orerim, as the Torah commands (Bamidbar 5:23). The Parshah of Sotah (Bamidbar 5:19-22) consists of two distinct sections. The first section is a Shevu'ah with an Alah (Alah refers to a description of the punishment that will befall her if she sinned). This section is comprised of the words Im Lo Shachav Ish (second half of verse 19) until the end of verse 20. The second section is the Shevu'ah and an Alah, wherein the Kohen details to the woman what will happen to her if she sinned. Both sections begin with Tzava'os, introductory sentences telling the Kohen to administer the Shevu'ah. At the conclusion of the Parshah, the Torah tells the woman to answer Amen, Amen to the Alos. Rebbi Yosi maintains that the Kohen writes the entire Parshah. The Gemara explains that he derives from the Heh of ha'Alos (Bamidbar 5:23) that the first half of the Parshah is to be written. This first half is referred to as the Klalos ha'Ba'os Machmas Berachos (the Klalah that is implied by the Berachah). From the word Es in the phrase Es ha'Alos (ibid.) he derives that the Kohen must write the Tzava'os and Kabalos as well (the commands to the Kohen to administer the Shevu'ah, and the command to the woman to answer Amen, Amen). It seems that Rebbi Yosi holds that the Kohen starts writing from the beginning of the Parshah of Sotah, from the beginning of verse 19 (v'Hishbi'a Osah ha'Kohen), the command to the Kohen to administer the first Shevu'ah. However, RASHI on the Mishnah (DH Lo Hayah Mafsik) tells us that even according to Rebbi Yosi, the Kohen starts writing from the words Im Lo Shachav Ish (the second half of verse 19), which is the beginning of the actual Shevu'ah. He does not start writing from the beginning of the Parshah. This is also the opinion of the RAMBAM (in Perush ha'Mishnayos). Why do they not explain that Rebbi Yosi holds that the Kohen starts from the Tzava'ah of the Shevu'ah? If, like they say, Rebbi Yosi maintains that the first Tzava'ah is not written down, then what is Rebbi Yosi's source to differentiate between the two Tzava'os? The word Es, which teaches that the Tzava'ah is to be written, is an article subordinate to the word ha'Alos which refers to both the Alah and the Shevu'ah, and therefore Es should include both Tzava'os! The Es should include both the Tzava'ah of the Alah (the second Tzava'ah), and the Tzava'ah of the Klalah (the first Tzava'ah), because the Klalah itself is alluded to by the Heh of ha'Alos! ANSWER: Rashi learns from the wording of Rebbi Yosi in the Mishnah that Rebbi Yosi does not mean to include the Tzava'ah of the Klalah. Rebbi Yosi heard Rebbi Meir say that the Kohen starts from Im Lo Shachav (the beginning of the Klalah) and then skips the Tzava'ah between the Klalah and the Alah. Rebbi Yosi argues and says the Kohen did not skip anything but wrote everything from the point at which he started. Rebbi Yosi is not arguing that the Kohen starts *earlier*. Rather, he is arguing that once the Kohen has started writing the verses (from Im Lo Shachav), he continues without skipping. He agrees with Rebbi Meir that the Tzava'ah of the Klalah is not written. He argues only about writing the Tzava'ah of the Alah. How, though, does Rebbi Yosi learn from the verse to differentiate between the two Tzava'os? The answer is that Rebbi Yosi maintains that the Es is coming to add something to what is written *openly* in the verse -- the Alos, but not to something that is only hinted to in the verse, which is the Klalah (hinted to by the letter Heh of ha'Alos). 2) QUESTION: The Gemara asks why Rebbi Meir insists that the verse Im Lo Shachav is to be written and erased. Rebbi Meir holds that we cannot infer the inverse from a statement, and thus there is no point in writing the verse, If no man has lain with you and you have not committed adultery..., because it is not part of the Klalah that says that she will die if she sinned. What is the Gemara's question? Rebbi Meir says that the Heh of ha'Alos teaches that we write the Klalos ha'Ba'os Machmas Berachos. Even