Blog Yomi – Sotah #15/Daf 16

We begin on דף ט״ו עמוּד ב:

נִכְנַס לַהֵיכָל וּפָנָה לִימִינוֹ וְכוּ׳. מַאי טַעְמָא? דְּאָמַר מָר: כל פִּינּוֹת שֶׁאַתָּה פּוֹנֶה לֹא יְהוּ אֶלָּא דֶּרֶךְ יָמִין.

The Mishnah states: The כֹּהֵן would enter the Sanctuary and turn to his right. The Gemara asks: What is the reason that he should do so? As the Master said: All turns that you turn should be only to the right.

Rabbi Stern pointed out that anytime in Judaism there are turns as part of a process, it is to the right. Here is a nice Chabad piece on the pre-eminence of the right (the one exception being when mourning is involved and one is being מְנַחֵם אָבֵל).

The mishna continues:

מָקוֹם הָיָה שָׁם אַמָּה כּוּ׳. תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: ״וּמִן הֶעָפָר אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה״, יָכוֹל יְתַקֵּן מִבַּחוּץ וְיַכְנִיס.

There was a place there, on the Sanctuary floor, with an area of a cubit by a cubit, and a marble tablet was there and a ring was fastened to the tablet so that it could be raised. When the כֹּהֵן would raise the tablet, he would take loose dust from underneath it and place the dust into the vessel with the water, so that the dust would be visible upon the water, as it is stated: “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” (וְלָקַ֧ח הַכֹּהֵ֛ן מַ֥יִם קְדֹשִׁ֖ים בִּכְלִי־חָ֑רֶשׂ וּמִן־הֶֽעָפָ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִהְיֶה֙ בְּקַרְקַ֣ע הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ן יִקַּ֥ח הַכֹּהֵ֖ן וְנָתַ֥ן אֶל־הַמָּֽיִם – Bamidbar 5:17). The Sages taught in a baraisa: If the verse had stated only: “And of the dust that is on the floor,” one might have thought that the כֹּהֵן could prepare the concoction from dust from outside the Sanctuary and bring it in afterward.

שִׁילֹה נוֹב וְגִבְעוֹן וּבֵית עוֹלָמִים – The dust for the סוֹטָה is still brought from the ground of the Sanctuary wherever it is located, even after the Jewish people are no longer in the wilderness.

There is a convoluted stretch of Gemara that ensues now, or at least it is admittedly convoluted to me. Part of it relates to the order of things here, the layering of the dust versus the water in the קָרְבַּן. So you’ll excuse me if instead of going over the Daf per se, leaving that to Rabbi Stern, I’ll capture its flavor through Dust in the Wind:

I close my eyes
Only for a moment and the moment’s gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity

Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind

Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see

Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind

Now, don’t hang on
Nothin’ last forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won’t another minute buy

Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind.