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Sotah Chapter 7, Mishnah 2: Sotah 7:2 - Statements Requiring Lashon HaKodesh

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We are up to Mishnah 2 in the seventh chapter of Maseches Sotah. This Mishnah stands as the counterpart to the previous one: the previous Mishnah dealt with the things that may be said in any language, and our Mishnah comes to list the things that may be said only in the holy tongue - in Hebrew alone.

"V'eilu ne'emarin bilshon hakodesh" - and these are said in the holy tongue:

  1. "Mikra bikkurim" - the declaration a person makes when he brings his first fruits to the Beis Hamikdash. This declaration must be said in the holy tongue.

  2. "V'chalitzah" - the statements made in the course of the chalitzah procedure. A woman whose husband died without leaving children is bound to the mitzvah of yibum with her husband's brother, and they have the option of performing chalitzah: she removes a special shoe from his foot, and certain statements are said by both parties - and these must be said in Hebrew.

  3. "Berachos u'kelalos" - the blessings and curses that the Leviim pronounced when the Jewish people first entered Eretz Yisrael, when part of the nation stood on Mount Gerizim and part on Mount Eival. The Leviim recited the set of blessings and the set of curses recorded in the Torah, and these too had to be said in Hebrew.

  4. "Birkas kohanim" - what we call "duchening," in which the kohanim bless the congregation. In Eretz Yisrael the practice is to do this every day, and outside of Eretz Yisrael, in exile, only on Yom Tov - and in any case it must be said in Hebrew.

  5. "U'virkas kohen gadol" - the blessings that the Kohen Gadol says on Yom Kippur. The Mishnah in Maseches Yoma lists a series of blessings that he recites after his reading from the Torah, and these too are in Hebrew.

  6. "U'parshas hamelech" - blessings similar to those of the Kohen Gadol are recited by the king at the mitzvah of Hakhel, which takes place on Succos following the Shemittah year, when the entire nation gathers in Yerushalayim. These statements too are said in Hebrew.

  7. "U'parshas eglah arufah" - the statements made in the course of the eglah arufah procedure. When a murder victim is found and it is not known who killed him, the elders of the nearest city bring a calf and break its neck, wash their hands there and recite the declaration written in the Torah - and this declaration must be made in the holy tongue.

  8. "U'mashuach milchamah b'shaah shemedaber el ha'am" - there is a special kohen who is anointed with the anointing oil in preparation for going out to war. When the nation goes out to battle, that kohen, the mashuach milchamah, encourages the army with his words, and this exhortation - when he speaks to the people, to the army - he must deliver in the holy tongue.

To summarize: in contrast to the things that may be said in any language listed in the previous Mishnah, our Mishnah lists eight statements that may be said only in the holy tongue: the declaration over the first fruits, the statements of chalitzah, the blessings and curses at Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival, Birkas Kohanim, the blessings of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur, the portion of the king at Hakhel, the portion of eglah arufah, and the words of the mashuach milchamah to the people.