Commentaire sur Sotah 4:4

אשת כהן שותה ומותרת לבעלה – if she is found innocent, for you might have thought for since she is the wife of a Koehn that was forced [to have sexual intercourse with another man], she is forbidden to her husband, let us fear lest she was forced to have sexual intercourse [with another man] and therefore, the [bitter] waters did not examine her, this comes to teach us that this is not the case.

Introduction In the previous several mishnayoth, we learned of several categories of women who do not drink the water. Our mishnah adds certain women that do, even though it might be supposed that they should not.

אשת סריס – that you should not say that apart from “your wife” (Numbers 5:19), the All-Merciful said. But this one is not son of that one. This is what it comes to tell us.

The wife of a priest drinks and [if she is found to be innocent] is permitted to her husband. The sexual prohibitions for a priest are more stringent than they are for a non-priest. For instance, if the wife of a priest is raped, the priest may not stay married to her. Therefore, the mishnah comes to teach that if she drinks the water, and the water does not cause the negative effects, she may remain married to her husband.

על ידי כל העריות מקנאים – if he was jealous of her from her father or from her brother, or from one of all of the prohibited relationships and she had retired under suspicious circumstances, it is a manifestation of warning and she is prohibited to him and she drinks [the waters of bitterness]. So that she will not state that “she was defiled,” “she was defiled,” twice – the first [time] to her husband and the [second] to the one who had engaged in intercourse with her, for where he is forbidden to her with this act of prostitution excluding that where is he is prohibited to her and we establish [stating not], this is what it comes to tell us [that this is not the case].

The wife of a eunuch drinks. Even though a eunuch cannot have chidren, he may remain married to his wife. If she becomes a sotah, she drinks the water as does a regular wife.

חוץ מן הקטן – younger than nine years of age and one day where Maimonides explained that his coition is not coition. But to me, it appears that a minor child younger than age thirteen and one day who had not brought signs of puberty, as it is written (Numbers 5:13): “in that a man has had carnal relations with her,” a man, but not a minor child.

Through [seclusion with] all persons forbidden to her in marriage wives are subjected to warning with the exception of a minor and one not a human. Chapter one began by describing the process whereby a husband warns his wife not to be secluded with a certain man. If she is secluded with that man in front of witnesses she becomes a sotah and must drink the water in order to clear her name. Our mishnah teaches that the husband may warn her not to be secluded even with men prohibited to her, such as her father or her son. This is true even though a woman may normally be secluded with either of them. The only two categories of women with regard to whom he cannot warn her are children and animals. These two categories are excluded by a midrash on the word “ish” (man) in Numbers 5:13. Ish excludes animals and minors. If the husband warns her not to be secluded with them and she is secluded with them she doesn’t drink the water and she is not prohibited to her husband.

ממי שאינו איש – excluding an animal.