Sota 27: Exemptions, Implications, Rulings Made on the Same Day

Amud (a) ends Perek IV with a conversation about promiscuity, among other things.  The rabbis debate about whether it is permitted to marry a woman who is rumoured to be promiscuous or a woman whose mother was rumoured to be promiscuous.  Both have their problems, the rabbis believe, for the child of a promiscuous woman could be a mamzeret, while a promiscuous woman could create mamzerim.  Even if a mother were promiscuous, the rabbis tell us, she would likely procreate with her husband, who generally has greatest access to her; the mother's children are not considered to be mamzerim.  But what if the mother were extremely promiscuous?  What if one of these women becomes pregnant - and what if the pregnancy begins close to the time of her menstruation?  How can we know the identity of the baby's father?

Our previous Mishna also spoke of women who are exempt from drinking the bitter waters.  The rabbis remind us about these women and note that this is a law of jealousy.  The description of this law in Numbers 5:29 mentions that it applies to a wife, who is under her husband, going astray.  Why the superfluous mention of a wife, who is always under her husband, being under her husband?  The rabbis interpret this as something that affects both the wife and the husband.  This interpretation exempts wives from drinking the bitter waters if they or if their husbands suffer from a disability.  

Perek V begins with a Mishna that takes us right through amud (b).  While the bitter waters judge the wife accused, they also judge her lover.  We are told that the paramour dies if/when the wife dies because of drinking the bitter waters, regardless of where he is.  

The Mishna continues with discussions about rulings made by Rabbi Akiva on the same day.  The rabbis discuss different degrees of ritual impurity and the transfer of that impurity; the area allowed to Levite cities and why these might be different from other Shabbat eruvin; and repeating the words said my Moses in song rather than in spoken words.

Apparently Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hyrcanus ruled on the same day about other interpretations, including that of Job acting out of love.  

The end of this Mishna was somewhat confusing to me, as we moved into a completely different conversation.  When the rabbis discuss concepts or verses that are only marginally related to the topic at hand, it is sometimes challenging to maintain focus on where we are and where we are going.