Sotah Chapter 5, Mishnah 1: Sota 5:1 - The Waters Affect the Adulterer and the Prohibition to Both

Sotah and Eglah Arufah Forbidden Relations

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Sotah, Chapter 5, Mishnah 1:

Our mishnah deals with two matters: the effect of the bitter waters on the adulterer, and the woman becoming forbidden to both of them - to her husband and to the man with whom she sinned.

The effect of the waters on the adulterer:

"Keshem shemayim bodkin osah" - just as those bitter waters of the sotah examine her and clarify her judgment, and have the power to bring about her death, "kach hamayim bodkin oso" - so too the waters have their effect on the adulterer as well. In other words, he does not emerge unscathed; he too will die from the waters.

"Shene'emar: uva'u" - from the extra vav in the word "uva'u" ("and these waters shall enter into her") we learn that the effect applies to the adulterer as well - not to the husband, but to the adulterer, in addition to the adulteress.

The prohibition upon the adulterer:

"Keshem she'asurah laba'al kach asurah labo'el" - just as the adulteress becomes forbidden to her husband, so too she becomes forbidden to the man with whom she sinned. That is, if she was divorced or her husband died, she may not marry him. "Shene'emar: nitma'ah venitma'ah" - the extra vav teaches that the law applies to the adulterer as well. "Divrei Rabbi Akiva" - this is the opinion of Rabbi Akiva.

The source for this law - two approaches to the derivation:

"Amar Rabbi Yehoshua: kach hayah doresh Zechariah ben HaKatzav" - Zechariah ben HaKatzav agreed with Rabbi Akiva's approach, that it is the extra vav that teaches us to include both of them: both regarding the effect of the waters on the adulterer, and regarding her becoming forbidden to him.
"Rabbi omer" - in Rabbi's opinion, the source for her becoming forbidden both to her husband and to the adulterer is not the extra vav, but rather the repetition in the wording of the passage: "Shnei pe'amim amurim baparashah" - "im nitma'ah" is stated twice, "echad laba'al" - one teaches that she is forbidden to her husband, "ve'echad labo'el" - and the second teaches that she is forbidden to the adulterer.

In summary: In this mishnah we learned that the examination by the bitter waters and the woman's becoming forbidden are not limited to the adulteress and her husband alone, but apply to the adulterer as well. According to Rabbi Akiva, and as Zechariah ben HaKatzav also expounded, this is derived from the extra vav in the words "uva'u" and "venitma'ah"; according to Rabbi, it is derived from the repetition of the phrase "im nitma'ah" in the passage - one for the husband and one for the adulterer.

Original maamar

אות סוטה ה:א

כְּשֵׁם שֶׁהַמַּיִם בּוֹדְקִין אוֹתָהּ, כָּךְ הַמַּיִם בּוֹדְקִין אוֹתוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר ה) וּבָאוּ, וּבָאוּ. כְּשֵׁם שֶׁאֲסוּרָה לַבַּעַל, כָּךְ אֲסוּרָה לַבּוֹעֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שם) נִטְמְאָה, וְנִטְמָאָה, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, כָּךְ הָיָה דוֹרֵשׁ זְכַרְיָה בֶן הַקַּצָּב. רַבִּי אוֹמֵר, שְׁנֵי פְעָמִים הָאֲמוּרִים בַּפָּרָשָׁה אִם נִטְמְאָה נִטְמָאָה, אֶחָד לַבַּעַל וְאֶחָד לַבּוֹעֵל: Just as the water evaluates her fidelity, so too, the water evaluates his, i.e., her alleged paramour’s, involvement in the sin, as it is stated: “And the water that causes the curse shall enter into her” (Numbers 5:24), and it is stated again: “And the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter” (Numbers 5:27). It is derived from the double mention of the phrase “and…shall enter” that both the woman and her paramour are evaluated by the water. Furthermore, prior to her drinking the water, just as she is forbidden to her husband, so too is she forbidden to her paramour, because in contrast to the verse stating: “Is defiled [nitma’a]” (Numbers 5:14), a superfluous conjoining prefix vav is added to a later verse, rendering the phrase: “And is defiled [venitma’a]” (Numbers 5:29). The addition indicates another prohibition, that of the woman to her paramour. This is the statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Yehoshua said: That was how Zekharya ben HaKatzav would interpret it, i.e., he also derived from the superfluous vav that the woman is forbidden to her paramour. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says an alternate source: The two times that the defilement of the wife is stated in the passage, namely: “And he warns his wife, and she is defiled” (Numbers 5:14), and the later verse: “When a wife, being under her husband, goes astray and is defiled” (Numbers 5:29), indicate that her defilement results in two prohibitions. One is that she is forbidden to her husband and one is that she is forbidden to her paramour.