Numbers-Chap-5-17-31
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Remember
the following truth from our beloved Torah!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which
I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM
IT, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloleichem,
which I command you”. Davarim - Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).
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Part Two..
With
Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Foreword:
Having previously explored the laws of purity and restitution (verses 1-16), we now move into one of the most enigmatic and challenging sections of the Torah: the Ordeal of the ‘Bitter Water’ (the Sotah ritual).
Introduction:
In these verses, the Torah addresses a situation that threatens the very foundation of the Israelite community: a breakdown of trust within a marriage. Unlike other crimes that require two witnesses for conviction, the case of the Sotah (the suspected adulteress) deals with “hidden” sin and the “spirit of jealousy”. The ritual is unique because it is the only law in the 613 commandments that relies entirely on a public, supernatural intervention by אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God) to determine guilt or innocence. While it may seem harsh to modern ears, many scholars see it as a “harmless” alternative to the violent pagan ordeals of the time, designed to protect an innocent woman from her husband’s unchecked rage by placing her fate directly in אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s hands.
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Let us now read Numbers Chapter 5:17-31: (JPS-1917 version of the Torah).
17. And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water. 18. And the priest shall set the woman before יְהוָה - the LORD, and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and put the meal-offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal-offering of jealousy; and the priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that causeth the curse. 19. And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say unto the woman: ‘If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness, being under thy husband, be thou free from this water of bitterness that causeth the curse; 20. but if thou hast gone aside, being under thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee besides thy husband 21. then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman יְהוָה - the LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when יְהוָה - the LORD doth make thy thigh to fall away, and thy belly to swell; 22. and this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, and make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to fall away’; and the woman shall say: ‘Amen, Amen’. 23. And the priest shall write these curses in a scroll, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness. 24. And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causeth the curse; and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her and become bitter. 25. And the priest shall take the meal-offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the meal-offering before יְהוָה - the LORD, and bring it unto the altar. 26. And the priest shall take a handful of the meal-offering, as the memorial-part thereof, and make it smoke upon the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. 27. And when he hath made her drink the water, then it shall come to pass, if she be defiled, and have acted unfaithfully against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away; and the woman shall be a curse among her people. And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be cleared, and shall conceive seed. This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goeth aside, and is defiled; 30. or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon a man, and he be jealous over his wife; then shall he set the woman before יְהוָה - the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law. 31. And the man shall be clear from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity”.
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Next is the commentary for Chapter 5, verses 17 to 31:
The Elements of the Potion (v. 17): The
priest takes “holy water” (likely from the Tabernacle laver) and mixes it with
dust from the Tabernacle floor. The dust is a humbling reminder of human
origins (Genesis 2:7) and symbolizes the gravity of standing before the Divine
Presence.
The Unbinding of Hair (v. 18): The woman’s hair is “unbound” or “uncovered”.
The Writing and Erasing (v. 23): The priest writes the curses of the oath on a scroll and then washes the ink into the water. This is a profound legal moment: for the sake of restoring peace (shalom) between a husband and wife, the Torah allows the very Name of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim written on the scroll to be “erased” into the water.
The Physical Test (vv. 21-27): If the woman is guilty, the “bitter water" causes her abdomen to swell and her “thigh to waste away”. The Blessing of the Innocent (v. 28): If she is innocent, the water has no ill effect. Instead, she is “cleared” and blessed with the ability to “retain seed” meaning she will conceive and bear children, often interpreted as a divine compensation for her public humiliation.
The Husband’s Standing (v. 31): The husband is declared “free from guilt” for bringing the charge, provided he followed the legal process rather than taking matters into his own hands.
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My Closing Message:
The ritual of the Sotah is
ultimately a lesson in the sanctity of the home. It teaches us that אֱלֹהִים - Elohim “dwells” not just in the Tabernacle, but within the domestic life
of His people. The fact that אֱלֹהִים - Elohim allows His holy Name to be erased to resolve a husband's suspicion
underscores how much He values reconciliation and truth. In our own lives, it
serves as a reminder that transparency and trust are the “holy water” of our
relationships. When we walk in integrity, we have nothing to fear from the “bitter
waters” of life; instead, like the innocent woman in the text, we find
ourselves blessed with new life and a renewed future.
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