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Seder Nashim (Women & Family)

Mishnah Sotah · chapter 4

Hebrew public domain · English CC-BY (Kulp)

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    A betrothed woman and a shomeret yavam do not drink [the bitter waters] and do not receive their ketubah, as it is said, “When a wife, being under her husband, goes astray” (Numbers 5:29), this excludes a betrothed woman and a shomeret yavam. A widow who had married a high priest, a divorced woman or a halutzah who had married an ordinary priest, a mamzeret or a netinah who had married an Israelite, and the daughter of an Israelite who had married a mamzer or a natin do not drink [the bitter waters] and do not receive their ketubah.

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    And these are the [women] who do not drink and do not receive their ketubah: She who says “I am defiled”; When witnesses came [and testified] that she was defiled; And she who says “I refuse to drink.” When her husband says “I am not letting her drink”, And when her husband has sexual relations with her on the journey [to Jerusalem] she receives her ketubah but does not drink. If the husbands died before [the women] drank: Beth Shammai says: they receive their ketubah but do not drink, And Beth Hillel says: they do not drink and they do not receive their ketubah.

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    [A wife] who was pregnant by a former husband or was nursing a child by a former husband does not drink and does not receive the ketubah, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the sages says: he may separate her [from himself] and take her back after the period [of two years]. An aylonit [who is incapable of giving birth], an old woman, and one who is unfit to bear children do not drink and do not receive the ketubah. Rabbi Eliezer says: he may marry another wife and be fruitful and multiply with her. All other women either drink or do not receive the ketubah.

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    The wife of a priest drinks and [if she is found to be innocent] is permitted to her husband. The wife of a eunuch drinks. Through [seclusion with] all persons forbidden to her in marriage wives are subjected to warning with the exception of a minor and one not a human.

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    In the following cases a court can give the warning [on behalf of the husband]: When the husband became a deaf-mute or an idiot, or was imprisoned. Not in order to make her drink did they say this, but to disqualify her from receiving her ketubah. Rabbi Yose says: also to make her drink; when her husband is released from prison he makes her drink.

Hebrew. The Mishnah, Hebrew: 'Torat Emet 357' (public domain), served by the Sefaria v3 API (sefaria.org)

English. The Mishnah, English: 'Mishnah Yomit' by Dr. Joshua Kulp, served by the Sefaria v3 API (sefaria.org)

We show the license-cleared original Hebrew and an established translation, each word traceable to a public-domain lexicon. We never machine-translate a primary text.

Mishnah Sotah 4: word by word · Bubble Bible