A wife suspected of adultery (Sota)

60. "If any man's wife goes aside..." (Bemidbar 5:12). HE ASKS: What is the connection between the two, MEANING WHY IS THE PORTION OF SOTA (LIT. 'A WIFE SUSPECTED OF ADULTERY') NEXT TO THE PASSAGES ABOUT TRESPASSING? HE RESPONDS: It is written THERE: "To do a trespass against Hashem" (Ibid. 6) and it is written here BY A SOTA: "AND COMMIT A TRESPASS AGAINST HIM" (IBID. 12). THEY ARE THE SAME SUBJECT; THEREFORE, THEY ARE NEXT TO EACH OTHER. Rabbi Eleazar quoted, "Any man's (lit. 'man man')." Why say it twice, when once would have sufficed? HE RESPONDS: That was already explained, yet "man man" means a man who is a man, that is, who fulfills the words: "Drink water out of your own cistern" (Mishlei 5:15) AND DOES NOT COVET ANOTHER WOMAN. Then he is an ordinary man, a man to his wife. "And commit (trespassed) a trespass against him." HE ASKS: One trespass would have sufficed, so why say "TRESPASS" twice? HE RESPONDS: It refers to one TRESPASS above and one below, MEANING one against the Congregation of Yisrael, WHICH IS MALCHUT, and one against her husband, ZEIR ANPIN. Therefore, "then shall the man bring his wife TO THE PRIEST" (Ibid. 15).

61. HE INQUIRES: Why BRING HIS WIFE "to the priest" AND NOT TO THE JUDGE? HE RESPONDS: the secret of it is that since the priest is the attendant of the Matron, MEANING THAT HE PREPARES MALCHUT FOR UNION WITH ZEIR ANPIN, IT IS THEREFORE SUITABLE FOR HIM TO RESTORE THE BLEMISH OF THE SOTA THAT REACHES ALL THE WAY TO MALCHUT. We have to examine this verse, which says: "And he shall kill the bullock" (Vayikra 1:5), IN WHICH "he" refers to someone other than the priest. A priest is prohibited TO ACT in judgment, in order not to impair the source to which he is connected, MEANING CHESED. Yet you say that the man should bring his wife to the priest to judge her trial! It must be that only the priest is suitable for this task, because he is the attendant of the Matron, and all the women in the world are blessed from the Congregation of Yisrael. Therefore, the woman below is blessed DURING HER MARRIAGE CEREMONY with seven blessings, since she is attached to the Congregation of Yisrael, WHICH CONTAINS THE SEVEN SFIROT - CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT. The priest has to arrange the things of the Matron, WHICH IS MALCHUT, and see to all her needs. Therefore, only the priest is suitable for this and no other.

62. You might say that THE PRIEST is carrying judgment, WHICH IS CONTRADICTORY TO HIS GRADE OF CHESED. HE RESPONDS: It is not so. It is only to try to increase peace in the world and enhance Chesed that he strives to do so. If the wife is cleared of the accusation, the priest increases peace between them, THE WIFE AND HER HUSBAND, and not only that but she will also conceive a son. Through him, peace is achieved. If she is not cleared in her trial, it is not THE PRIEST who passes judgment, but rather the Holy Name, to which she was false, passes judgment on her and tests her.

63. Come and see, The priest did not get involved here, except at the time she presented herself to him, TO GIVE HER TO DRINK, SO she would be acquitted. He questions her once and again and if she wishes to clarify her innocence, only then does THE PRIEST take action to promote peace BETWEEN HER AND HER HUSBAND.

64. The priest writes the Holy Name once, the regular way, YUD HEI VAV HEI, and then backwards HEI VAV HEI YUD. The letters, WHICH WERE BLOTTED IN THE WATER, were sketched by the uppermost lights, IN FOUR MANNERS: judgment with judgment, mercy with mercy, mercy with judgment, judgment with mercy. If she is cleared, the letters of mercy remain and THE LETTERS of judgment are gone. If she is guilty, the letters of mercy are gone and the letters of judgment remain. And then her sentence is carried out.

65. Rabbi Elazar opened the discussion, saying, "And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter (Heb. marim)" (Shemot 15:23). This has been explained, but I wonder why people do not observe and study Torah. This verse requires observation, as it is written here: "There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he tested them" (Ibid. 25).

66. HE RESPONDS: The hidden meaning is that here, THE MIRACLE occurred on water, since the Egyptians used to claim that they fathered the babies of Yisrael, and there were indeed many men of Yisrael who suspected their wives of that until the Holy One, blessed be He, brought them to this place, MARAH, to test them. It is written here: "And when they came to Marah... And he cried to Hashem..."

67. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, 'What do you want? There are many battalions OF PROSECUTORS wishing to denounce you here and I wish to examine the wives of Yisrael here. Write the Holy Name and throw it into the water and let all OF YISRAEL be tested, women and men, so there should not remain any slander about my children. As long as they are not all checked, I will not let my Name dwell on them.' Immediately, "Hashem showed him a tree, which when he had cast it into the waters" (Ibid.). THE TREE refers to the Holy Name that the priest used to write in order to test the wives of Yisrael. Therefore, "there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he tested them."

68. You may say that it was appropriate for the wives of Yisrael TO HAVE BEEN TESTED BECAUSE OF THE SUSPICION OF THE EGYPTIANS, but why WERE THE MEN OF YISRAEL TESTED? HE RESPONDS: It is because they too had to be tested to see if they were defiled with the wives of the Egyptians. The women of Yisrael were not defiled with the Egyptians all the years that they resided among them. Both men and women came out innocent. Therefore, the seed of Yisrael was pronounced holy and worthy. Only then did the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, dwell among them. Hence, surely it is through waters, "there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them." Here too, the priest tested the woman with water and the Holy Name.

69. "And of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle" (Bemidbar 5:17). HE ASKS: What is the role of that dust? HE RESPONDS: We learned that it is written: "All are of the dust and all return to dust" (Kohelet 3:20). Everything originates in dust, even the sphere of the sun, and certainly man that originates in it.

70. Rabbi Yosi said: If it would have merely said, "And of the dust" and nothing else, I would have agreed THAT THE EXPLANATION IS FROM THE DUST, WHICH IS MALCHUT. But since it says, "And of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle," it indicates that it is another kind OF DUST. It must refer to what is meant by: "His sword makes them as dust (also: 'He shall make his sword as dust')" (Yeshayah 41:2). These are the purveyors of weaponry and stone projectiles, the advocates of harsh judgment. That is the indication of: "on the floor of the tabernacle," MEANING THE ENDING OF MALCHUT CALLED TABERNACLE. THAT REFERS TO THE LITIGANTS attached at the bottom TO ITS ENDING PART, MALCHUT OF MALCHUT, ACCORDING TO THE HIDDEN MEANING OF: "SIN CROUCHES AT THE DOOR" (BERESHEET 4:7). Therefore "shall the priest take, and put it into the water" (Bemidbar 5:17), BECAUSE HE SHOULD THROW FROM THE DUST INTO THE WATERS.

71. "The bitter water that causes the curse" (Ibid. 18) refers to the sea water that was bitter. What is it, THE SEA WATER? It is the Holy Name, NAMELY MALCHUT THAT IS THE SEA when it is in a state of Judgment. At that time, it is called "the bitter water that causes the curse." Therefore, the water of the lower sea, THAT IS THE BRANCH TO MALCHUT, is bitter, all of it.

72. Come and see this holy sea, WHICH IS MALCHUT. How many sweet rivers, WHICH ARE THE SFIROT OF ZEIR ANPIN, enter it. Because it is the Judgment of the world, its waters are bitter, since death of the whole world is involved with it, AS IT IS WRITTEN: "HER FEET GO DOWN TO DEATH" (MISHLEI 5:5). Although they are bitter, they are sweet when they spread out. Sometimes the waters of the sea are bitter, THAT IS, ON THE SIDE OF DEATH ATTACHED TO MALCHUT. Sometimes, THE WATERS OF the sea envelop all the other waters. It is called the frozen sea and it swallows all these other WATERS and sucks them in, so that they do not leak out. Sometimes, water breaks open and from that sea everything flows to the lower beings. That sea takes many shapes. When the snake soils it with filth, THEY ARE CALLED the waters that cause the curse. Therefore, the priest acted below by intoning the vow of incantation, and Judgment was accomplished.

73. Come and see, If the wife was acquitted, these waters entered her and turned out to be sweet. They cleansed her and stayed there until she conceived. As soon as she became pregnant, the waters would beautify the embryo within her, which would result in a handsome and clean child, thoroughly unblemished. If she was not CLEARED, then these waters entered her and she got the offensive odor OF THE SNAKE, and these waters would turn into a snake within her. The impairment that she caused affected her. THAT IS: "HER BELLY SHALL SWELL, AND HER THIGH SHALL FALL AWAY" (BEMIDBAR 5:21). And her shame is apparent to all, as our friends have explained.

74. Come and see, All the wives in the world are then judged wherever they are, FROM THESE WATERS THAT THE SOTA DRANK. Therefore, from that exact spot from where they stem, MALCHUT OF WHICH THE WOMEN ARE BRANCHES, they are judged BECAUSE MALCHUT JUDGES THEM. Praised is the lot of Yisrael whom the Holy One, blessed be He, favored and wished to purify.

75. Rabbi Chizkiyah opened the discussion with the verse: "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine..." (Tehilim 128:3). Just as a grapevine does not crossbreed with other kinds but just of its own sort, a wife in Yisrael stands in the same ranks in that she will not accept anyone except her mate, like the dove that accepts only her mate. Therefore, "like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your house." What meaning is indicated by "fruitful (Heb. poriyah)?" It refers to that which is said: "that bears (Heb. poreh) gall" (Devarim 29:17). Fruitful means that it blooms and sprouts branches in every direction. And where does it take place? "In the recesses of your house" and not out in the marketplace, because she will not be false to the supernal covenant.

76. And Solomon said: "Who forsakes the friend of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her Elohim" (Mishlei 2:17). What is "the covenant of her Elohim?" It refers to the place of the covenant, THAT IS YESOD, where she was attached. Therefore, it is written: "In the recesses (thighs) of your house."

77. Rabbi Chizkiyah said a shudder shall envelop any man that allows his wife to let the hair of her head be seen, which is one of the household modesties. A wife who exposes her hair outside to show her beauty causes destitution to visit upon the house. She causes her sons to be undistinguished in that generation and she incurs sickness upon the house, THAT IS LEPROSY. What is the root of all these? It is the hairs of her head that were seen outside. This is impudence if this happens within the house, and certainly even more so if it is in a public place. Therefore, it is written: "YOUR WIFE SHALL BE like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your house."

78. Rabbi Yehuda said: The hairs on the head of a woman that were exposed cause another kind of hair to be exposed, MEANING THE POWERS OF THE OTHER SIDE THAT PERMEATE THE HAIR and impair her. Therefore, a woman should be careful that none of her hair is visible even to the beams of her house, and all the more so outside.

79. Come and see: Just like by a man, the hair causes the harshest things, BECAUSE THEY ARE JUDGMENTS, so it is by a woman. Look how many misfortunes the hair of a woman causes, they incur above and they incur below. They cause her husband to be cursed and they incur poverty. They cause another thing in the house, MEANING LEPROSY. They prevent her sons from achieving positions of importance. Let the Merciful One save us from their impudence.

80. Therefore, a woman should be covered even in the inside corners of her home. If she adheres to this, it is written: "Your children like olive plants" (Tehilim 128:3). What does it mean "like olive plants?" Just as an olive tree does not lose its leaf cover in winter or summer and always has more value than the rest of the trees, so should her sons elevate in respect over the rest of the people. Her husband will also be blessed in everything, with the blessings above and with the blessings below, with wealth, children and grandchildren. This is what is meant by: "Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears Hashem. Hashem shall bless you out of Zion: and you shall see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. And you shall see your children's children, and peace upon Yisrael" (Ibid. 4-5).

81. Ra'aya Meheimna (the Faithful Shepherd). Elijah, stand up and start talking with me about the precepts, since you are my help in everything. About you, it was first mentioned, "Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aaron the priest" (Bemidbar 25:11), AND PINCHAS IS ELIJAH. "The son of Aaron" assuredly is his brother, as "a brother is born for adversity" (Mishlei 17:17).

82. He opened the discussion saying, It is a commandment to discuss the laws of a Sota, as it is written: "And the spirit of jealousy came upon him, and he be jealous..." (Bemidbar 5:14). Surely, a spirit of uncleanness exists on both sides, one false and one true. Therefore, in the spirit of falseness, "And he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled" (Ibid.) and the second: "And the spirit of jealousy came upon him...and she be defiled" (Ibid.).

83. HE ASKS: Could there possibly be any truth in a spirit of uncleanness? HE RESPONDS: It is because in a man, who stems from the tree of good and evil, there exists the Evil Inclination, the snake. When a man has a beautiful wife, WHICH IS THE SOUL, in all her good deeds, it is said, "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband" (Mishlei 12:4). The Evil Inclination is jealous, as we have found that THE SNAKE was jealous of Adam because of his wife, so it seduced her and caused her to die. Sometimes it dominates her through sins and defiles her, and she becomes a carcass.

84. The Evil Inclination on its right side, that is the rank of Ishmael, is called the snake. From the left side, which is the rank of Esau, who is Samael, it is called a dog that is appointed over Gehenom - that barks - hav hav (arf arf), as it is written: "The leech has two daughters, crying, Give, give (Heb. hav, hav)" (Mishlei 30:15). It wishes to burn the soul that was made unclean with its fire in Gehenom. That is what is meant by: "And the spirit of jealousy came upon him, and he be jealous of his wife" truthfully, "and she be defiled." SOMETIMES, HE FALSELY ACCUSES HER BECAUSE SHE WAS NOT DEFILED.

85. And for her, it was said, "And the daughter of any priest," who is Michael, WHICH DENOTES CHESED, AND THE SOUL IS HIS DAUGHTER. When she "profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father: she shall be burnt with fire" (Vayikra 21:9). There the filth is destroyed and she purifies herself of it, just as silver that purifies in fire - and lead, which is the refuse, is burnt, becomes dust and is lost.

86. It is the same with Yisrael. When they desecrate the Torah, the Holy One, blessed be He, sends them into exile among the children of Esau and the children of Ishmael under their servitude, whose rank is of the dog and the snake, and they are punished there. Through them, they become cleared and purified and refined like the refinement of silver and the trying of gold. This is what is said: "And will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried" (Zecharyah 13:9) until this would hold true about them: "Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Yeshayah 1:18).

87. It is written of the Tree of Good and Evil: "And Hashem showed him a tree, which when he had cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet..." (Shemot 15:25). Since Yisrael were INTERMINGLED with the mixed multitudes, they were all of the Tree of Good and Evil. Therefore, it is half sweet from the right side and half bitter from the left side. When the mixed multitude caused Yisrael to sin, it was as if all were on the Evil Side. CONSEQUENTLY, the waters returned to their bitter state like the tree that was THROWN into the water. This is what is meant by: "And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter" (Shemot 15:23).

88. The bitter tree THAT HE THREW INTO THE WATER was similar to the test of a wife suspected of adultery. If she indeed deviated from her husband, the waters which she had to drink turned bitter, and because of them, "her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away" (Bemidbar 5:27). If she did not deviate, it is written: "Then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed" (Ibid. 28) and give birth to a son. Here too, "the waters were made sweet."

89. In the same manner, Yisrael will be tested in the last redemption. This is what is meant by: "Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white" (Daniel 12:10), who are from the good side and who pass the test. "But the wicked shall do wickedly" (Ibid.), because they are from the Evil Side and by them, it will be fulfilled: "Neither shall they enter into the land of Yisrael" (Yechezkel 13:9). And he kills them.

90. "But the wise shall understand" (Daniel 12:10), since they are from the side of Binah, which is the Tree of Life. For them, it was said, "And they who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament" (Ibid. 3) with your composition, OF RABBI SHIMON BAR YOCHAI, which is the book of the Zohar, from the light of the supernal Ima CALLED repentance. They do not require a test and, because Yisrael in the future will taste from the Tree of Life, which is this book of the Zohar, they will leave the exile with mercy. It will hold true about them that "so Hashem did lead him, and there was no strange El with him" (Devarim 32:12).