Sotah, Chapter Two, Mishnah Three. This Mishnah deals with a dispute over how much of the passage of the sotah is actually written on the scroll used in the procedure. To understand the Mishnah properly one would want to read the entire passage of the sotah, and although we will not do so now, we should note that it contains three distinct parts.
The three parts of the sotah passage:
The curses - the most essential part: the declaration to the woman that if she was unfaithful she will become "a curse and an oath among her people," her thigh will fall and her belly will swell, and this is what the water will do to her.
The curses derived from the blessings - the second level: the Torah says that if she did not commit adultery she will be clear of the water and will remain unharmed and free of it. From this we infer that if she did commit adultery, she is subject to those very curses.
The oath and her response - the least essential part, which we might call the external part: the Torah's instruction that the kohen administers the oath to her, and that she must answer "Amen, amen" to those oaths and curses.
The dispute in the Mishnah is over which of these three parts is included in the writing of the scroll.
The words of the Mishnah:
The Mishnah asks: "Ba lo lichtov es hamegillah - me'eizeh makom hu kosev?" - when he comes to write the scroll, from which part of the passage does he begin writing?
The first opinion in the Mishnah, the Tanna Kamma, says: "Mi'im lo shachav ish osach" - from the verse stating that if she did not commit adultery she will be clear; and the verse continues: "V'at ki satis tachas ishech" - but the passage does not conclude this sentence with the punishment.
On the other hand, "v'eino kosev" - he does not write the section of "V'hishbia hakohen es ha'ishah" - because that is an instruction to the kohen and not part of the curse. "V'kosev" - and he does write "Yiten Hashem osach l'alah v'lishvuah" - which is the essential part we mentioned: that she should become a curse, an imprecation and an oath, and that the bitter waters should enter her to make her belly swell and her thigh fall. Her response as well, that she must say "Amen, amen," is not written, since it is attached to the administering of the oath, which is an instruction, and so it is not included.
Rabbi Yosei: one does not break off at all, but writes everything - including the instruction to the kohen to administer the oath, and even her response of "Amen, amen." This is the most expansive opinion.
Rabbi Yehudah: he holds the most limited opinion, while the Tanna Kamma occupies the middle position. In his view one writes only "Yiten Hashem osach l'alah v'lishvuah" and so on - that the water should enter her and her thigh should fall and her belly swell - and one does not write "Amen, amen," nor the part recording her acceptance.
In summary: we have three opinions on the question of how much of the passage is written on the scroll:
The Tanna Kamma - the middle path: he includes the curse derived from the blessing ("Im lo shachav ish osach" - that if she did not do this she is clear, from which we infer that if she did do it she is guilty and punished), as well as the curse itself, but the instructions are not included.
Rabbi Yosei - the instructions are included as well.
Rabbi Yehudah - only the part that spells out what will happen if she committed adultery is included.