Il apportait un nouveau bol d'argile et y mettait une demi- bûche d'eau du bassin. R. Yehuda a dit: un quart [d'un journal ]. Car tout comme il minimise l'écriture, il minimise également l'eau. Il entra dans le sanctuaire et fit face à sa droite, et il y avait un endroit une coudée par une coudée et une tablette de marbre avec un anneau qui y était apposé. Et quand il l'a soulevé, il a pris de la poussière en dessous et a mis [dans le bol] assez pour être vu sur l'eau, comme il est dit, "et de la poussière qui sera sur le sol du Tabernacle, le prêtre prendra et donnez à l'eau »(Nombres 5:17).
Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
היה מביא – the Kohen.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sotah
Introduction
The mishnah continues to describe the Sotah process. This mishnah is an expansion of that described in Numbers 5:17.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
פיילי – a cup in the Greek language (see Talmud Sotah 15b).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sotah
[The priest] takes an earthenware bowl and pours half a log of water into it from the laver. Rabbi Judah says: a quarter [of a log]. Just as [Rabbi Judah] reduces the amount of writing, so he reduces the quantity of water. We should note that the mishnah is now beginning to follow the order of the verses which describe the Sotah ritual in Numbers 5. Verse 15 describes the minhah sacrifice (yesterday’s mishnah) and verse 17 describes the water in the earthenware bowl, into which the name of God will be rubbed out. The verse only says that the priest takes some water, but it does not say where he takes it from. The mishnah adds that it is taken from the laver (the sink, for those of you who speak normal English). There is a debate about how much water is to be put into the bowl, but in either case the amount of water is just sufficient to absolve the ink from God’s name. Rabbi Judah gives a smaller measurement for the water since he prescribes the least amount of writing (see tomorrow’s mishnah).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
מן הכיור – as it is written (Numbers 5:17): “[The priest shall take] sacral water [in an earthenware vessel],” but there is nothing sacred other than that which was sanctified in a utensil.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sotah
[Then the priest] enters the temple and turns to his right and there was a place there [on the floor] that was a cubit by a cubit, and a marble tablet, to which a ring was attached. When he would lift this up, he would take some dust from beneath it which he puts [into the bowl] so that it would be seen on top of the water; as it is said, “And of the dust that is on the floor of the Tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water” (Numbers 5:17). The Torah states that the priest should take some dust from the floor of the Tabernacle and put it into the bowl. In the Temple floor was a special tile with a ring attached to it so that the priest would have dirt available. The priest would pull on the ring, lift up the tile and take from the dust underneath. In other words, the Temple was built so that this ceremony could take place with relative ease. As far as the function of the earth, it seems likely that it was considered to be imbued with a certain holy power that would aid in testing the guilt/innocence of the Sotah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
כשם שממעט – Rabbi Yehuda, in the writing of the scroll (see Tractate Sotah, Chapter 2, Mishnah 3), further on in our Mishnah, so he lessens here [the amount of] the water, but the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
מקום היה שם – amidst the rest of the floor of the Temple.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
וטבעת קבועה בה – to grab hold of the its ring and to lift it from the rest of the floor which was all of marble flagstone.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
כדי שיראה – he has to place in it a measure that will be seen and recognized on the face of the water.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sotah
ונתן אל המים – since it is not written: “and place it in the water,” but rather (Numbers 5:17): “[the priest shall put it] into the water,” implying that it should not be absorbed into it.
