Sotah - Daf 31
- The difference between serving Hashem out of fear or love
The Gemara says that since the phrase "ירא אלקים" – fearing of Hashem, is written both by Iyov and Avraham, this teaches: מה ירא אלקים האמור באברהם מאהבה – Just as the “fearing of Hashem” said regarding Avraham stemmed from love of Hashem (since he is called "אברהם אוהבי" – Avraham who loved Me”), אף ירא אלקים האמור באיוב מאהבה – so too the “fearing of Hashem” said regarding Iyov stemmed from love of Hashem. The Gemara explains the difference between one who acts out of fear or love of Hashem: Rebbe Shimon ben Elazar said, גדול העושה מאהבה יותר מן העושה מיראה – Greater is one who acts out of love of Hashem than one who acts out of fear of Hashem, שזה תלוי לאלף דור וזה תלוי לאלפים דור – for the merit of [he who acts out of fear] lasts for a thousand generations, and the merit of this [he who acts out of love] lasts for two thousand generations, because one pasuk says: לאלפים לאהבי ולשומרי מצותי – “for thousands of generations to those who love Me and those who guard my mitzvos,” and another says: ולשומרי מצותיו לאלף דור – “and to those who guard His mitzvos [i.e., those who act out of fear], for a thousand generations” (the number of generations is understood to refer to the closest phrase).
- One witness to טומאה is sufficient to prevent the sotah from drinking and receiving her kesubah
The first Mishnah in the sixth Perek teaches that although there is a machlokes regarding how many witnesses are required to establish seclusion, tumah is different: אמר עד אחד אני ראיתיה שנטמאת – If one witness said, “I saw her become defiled,” לא היתה שותה – she would not drink because he is believed, and she loses her kesubah as well. A Baraisa establishes the source: since the Torah elsewhere refers to a single witness as "עד אחד" – one witness, instead of simply עד, this teaches thatכל מקום שנאמר עד הרי כאן שנים – anywhere it says "עד" in the Torah, it really means there are two witnesses, עד שיפרוט לך הכתוב אחד – unless the Torah specifies “one” as it did above. Based on this principle, the pasuk about sotah which says: "ועד אין בה" – there is no “witness” about her means: תרי לית בה אלא חד – two witnesses to her defilement there are not, but one witness there is, and about this the Torah says "והיא לא נתפשה" אסורה – “and she was not forced” for relations and is therefore forbidden. Thus, a single witness is relied upon to establish her tumah.
- Conflicting testimony from single witnesses about tumah
The Mishnah says that if one witness says she was defiled and one says she was not, the sotah drinks (meaning it remains in doubt). The Gemara asks, having proven that a single witness is believed that she had relations, how can a single witness contradict that testimony? But Ulla taught: כל מקום שהאמינה תורה עד אחד – Wherever the Torah believed a single witness, הרי כאן שנים – it has the equivalence of two witnesses (that are normally required), ואין דבריו של אחד במקום שנים – therefore (since the second witness has no special status), the words of this one witness are not considered next to those of “two” (the single believed witness), so her tumah should be established. Because of this question, Ulla and Rav Yitzchak emended the Mishnah to read: לא היתה שותה – She would not drink, i.e., the first testimony is accepted, and her adultery is confirmed. Rebbe Chiya, however, did not emend the Mishnah, and explains: כאן בבת אחת – [The Mishnah] is a case where the witnesses testified at the same time (before the first one’s testimony was accepted), כאן בזה אחר זה – but [Ulla’s statement] is a case where the witnesses testified one after the other, so the first witness’s testimony was accepted and attained the force of two witnesses.
