Sotah 21 - April 19, 28 Nissan

Study Guide Sotah 21 Which merits help push off the death of the sotah? First, they suggest Torah learning, but that is rejected as women are not commanded to learn Torah. However, if it is mitzvot, we learn from a verse that mitzvot are like a candle, which last temporarily, and learning Torah is like light, which is constant. From here one can imply that mitzvot don't protect. Two explanations are brought to explain how mitzvot can protect from punishment, even if they are not as permanent as the reward for learning Torah. A third answer is that women receive a reward for Torah - not for their own learning but for enabling their husbands and sons to learn. A different interpretation is brought to explain the verse about Torah and mitzvot - transgressions override the merits of mitzvot but not the Torah. When Rabbi Eliezer says that a man should not teach his daughter Torah because it is teaching her tiflut, the Gemara understands that is it as if he is teaching her tiflut as obviously, the Torah itself is not tiflut. What verse can serve as the source for Rabbi Eliezer's approach and how does Ben Azai understand the verse if he disagrees with Rabbi Eliezer? In the Mishna, Rabbi Yehoshua makes a statement about a woman's preference - how does the Gemara explain this? He also said that there are four people that cause the world to be destroyed - among them, a chasid shoteh and a rasha arom. A chasid shoteh is defined as one who will not save a drowning woman as it will cause him to look at her. Seven different explanations are brought to define what is a rasha arom.