Sotah 32a

וְהָכָא בְּמַאי עָסְקִינַן — כְּגוֹן דַּאֲתַאי אִשָּׁה מֵעִיקָּרָא.

And with what are we dealing here in the mishna? A case where a woman, who is generally disqualified from bearing witness, came initially, and testified that the woman committed adultery, and two witnesses say that she did not.

וְתָרְצַהּ לִדְרַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה הָכִי, רַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אוֹמֵר: כׇּל מָקוֹם שֶׁהֶאֱמִינָה תּוֹרָה עֵד אֶחָד — הַלֵּךְ אַחַר רוֹב דֵּיעוֹת, וְעָשׂוּ שְׁתֵּי נָשִׁים בְּאִשָּׁה אַחַת כִּשְׁנֵי אֲנָשִׁים בְּאִישׁ אֶחָד. אֲבָל שְׁתֵּי נָשִׁים בְּאִישׁ אֶחָד — כִּי פַּלְגָא וּפַלְגָא דָּמֵי.

And according to this interpretation you must amend the statement of Rabbi Neḥemya so that it reads like this: Rabbi Neḥemya says: Wherever the Torah relies on one witness, follow the majority of opinions. And the Sages established that two women against one woman are like two men against one man. But two women in opposition to one man that is a valid witness, is like half of a pair of witnesses and a half of a pair of witnesses, and the mishna did not address that case.

וְתַרְתֵּי בִּפְסוּלֵי עֵדוּת לְמָה לִי? מַהוּ דְּתֵימָא: כִּי אָזְלִינַן בָּתַר רוֹב דֵּיעוֹת לְחוּמְרָא, אֲבָל לְקוּלָּא לָא אָזְלִינַן, קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן.

The Gemara poses a question on these two interpretations of the mishna: And why do I need two cases in the mishna to teach the halakha that the majority opinion of those disqualified from bearing witness is followed? The Gemara explains: It is necessary, lest you say that when we follow the majority opinion in the case of invalid witnesses, this is to be stringent to force the woman to drink the bitter water, e.g., if one witness said that she committed adultery and two said that she did not, but to be lenient and absolve her from having to drink the water we do not follow the majority opinion, and she would still drink the water even if there is one witness saying that she did not commit adultery, therefore the mishna teaches us that there is no difference in this regard, and the majority opinion is followed in any case.

הֲדַרַן עֲלָךְ מִי שֶׁקִּינֵּא

MISHNA: These are recited in any language, not specifically Hebrew: The portion of the warning and the oath administered by the priest to a woman suspected by her husband of having been unfaithful [ sota ]; and the declaration of tithes, which occurs after the third and the sixth years of the seven-year Sabbatical cycle, when one declares that he has given his tithes appropriately; Shema ; and the Amida prayer; and Grace after Meals; and an oath of testimony, where one takes an oath that he does not have any testimony to provide on a given issue; and an oath on a deposit, where one takes an oath that he does not have possession of another’s deposit.

אֵלּוּ נֶאֱמָרִין בְּכׇל לָשׁוֹן: פָּרָשַׁת סוֹטָה, וּוִידּוּי מַעֲשֵׂר, קְרִיַּת שְׁמַע, וּתְפִלָּה, וּבִרְכַּת הַמָּזוֹן, וּשְׁבוּעַת הָעֵדוּת, וּשְׁבוּעַת הַפִּיקָּדוֹן.

And these are recited only in the sacred tongue, Hebrew: The recitation of the verses that one recounts when bringing the first fruits to the Temple; and the recitations which form an element of the ritual through which a yavam frees a yevama of her levirate bonds [ ḥalitza ]; the blessings and curses that were spoken on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal; the Priestly Benediction; and the blessing on the Torah recited by the High Priest on Yom Kippur; and the portion of the Torah read by the king at the assembly on Sukkot at the conclusion of the Sabbatical Year; and the portion recited during the ritual of a heifer whose neck is broken, when a person is found killed in an area that is between two cities, and the murderer is unknown; and the speech of a priest who is anointed for war when he addresses the nation before going out to battle.

וְאֵלּוּ נֶאֱמָרִין בִּלְשׁוֹן הַקּוֹדֶשׁ: מִקְרָא בִּיכּוּרִים, וַחֲלִיצָה, בְּרָכוֹת וּקְלָלוֹת, בִּרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים, וּבִרְכַּת כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל, וּפָרָשַׁת הַמֶּלֶךְ, וּפָרָשַׁת עֶגְלָה עֲרוּפָה, וּמְשׁוּחַ מִלְחָמָה בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁמְּדַבֵּר אֶל הָעָם.

How is it derived that the recitation when bringing the first fruits is recited specifically in Hebrew? When the Torah discusses this mitzva it states: “And you shall speak and say before the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 26:5), and below, in the discussion of the blessings and curses, it states: “And the Levites shall speak and say” (Deuteronomy 27:14). Just as there, the Levites speak in the sacred tongue, so too here, the recitation is in the sacred tongue.

מִקְרָא בִּיכּוּרִים כֵּיצַד? ״וְעָנִיתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ לִפְנֵי ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ״, וּלְהַלָּן הוּא אוֹמֵר: ״וְעָנוּ הַלְוִיִּם וְאָמְרוּ״. מָה לְהַלָּן בִּלְשׁוֹן הַקּוֹדֶשׁ — אַף כָּאן בִּלְשׁוֹן הַקּוֹדֶשׁ.

How is it derived that the recitation at a ḥalitza ceremony must be in Hebrew? The verse in the Torah portion discussing ḥalitza states: “And she shall speak and say” (Deuteronomy 25:9), and below it states: “And the Levites shall speak and say” (Deuteronomy 27:14). Just as there, the Levites speak in the sacred tongue, so too here, the recitation is in the sacred tongue.

חֲלִיצָה כֵּיצַד? ״וְעָנְתָה וְאָמְרָה״, וּלְהַלָּן הוּא אוֹמֵר: ״וְעָנוּ הַלְוִיִּם וְאָמְרוּ״. מָה לְהַלָּן בִּלְשׁוֹן הַקּוֹדֶשׁ — אַף כָּאן בִּלְשׁוֹן הַקּוֹדֶשׁ.

Rabbi Yehuda says: This can be derived from a different word in the verse: “And she shall speak and say: So shall it be done to the man that does not build up his brother’s house” (Deuteronomy 25:9). The word “so” indicates that her statement is ineffective unless she says it in these exact words.

רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: ״וְעָנְתָה וְאָמְרָה כָּכָה״ — עַד שֶׁתֹּאמַר בַּלָּשׁוֹן הַזֶּה.

How did the ceremony of the blessings and curses take place? When the Jewish people crossed the Jordan River they came to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, which are in Samaria alongside the city of Shechem, which is near the oaks of Moreh, as it is stated: “Are they not beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites that dwell in the Arabah, over against Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?” (Deuteronomy 11:30), and there it states: “And Abram passed through the land until the place of Shechem, until the oaks of Moreh” (Genesis 12:6). Just as the oaks of Moreh mentioned there with regard to Abraham are close to Shechem, so too, the oaks of Moreh mentioned here are close to Shechem.

בְּרָכוֹת וּקְלָלוֹת כֵּיצַד? כֵּיוָן שֶׁעָבְרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן וּבָאוּ אֶל הַר גְּרִיזִים וְאֶל הַר עֵיבָל שֶׁבְּשׁוֹמְרוֹן, שֶׁבְּצַד שְׁכֶם, שֶׁבְּאֵצֶל אֵלוֹנֵי מוֹרֶה. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הֲלֹא הֵמָּה בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן וְגוֹ׳״, וּלְהַלָּן הוּא אוֹמֵר: ״וַיַּעֲבֹר אַבְרָם בָּאָרֶץ עַד מְקוֹם שְׁכֶם עַד אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה״. מָה אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה הָאָמוּר לְהַלָּן — שְׁכֶם, אַף אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה הָאָמוּר כָּאן — שְׁכֶם.

Six tribes ascended to the top of Mount Gerizim and six tribes ascended to the top of Mount Ebal, and the priests and the Levites and the Ark were standing at the bottom in the middle, between the two mountains. The priests were surrounding the Ark and the Levites were surrounding the priests, and all the rest of the Jewish people were standing on the mountains on this side and on that side, as it is stated: “And all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the Ark and on that side before the priests the Levites that bore the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord” (Joshua 8:33).

שִׁשָּׁה שְׁבָטִים עָלוּ לְרֹאשׁ הַר גְּרִיזִים וְשִׁשָּׁה שְׁבָטִים עָלוּ לְרֹאשׁ הַר עֵיבָל, וְהַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם וְהָאָרוֹן עוֹמְדִים לְמַטָּה בָּאֶמְצַע. הַכֹּהֲנִים מַקִּיפִין אֶת הָאָרוֹן, וְהַלְוִיִּם אֶת הַכֹּהֲנִים, וְכׇל יִשְׂרָאֵל מִכָּאן וּמִכָּאן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְכׇל יִשְׂרָאֵל וּזְקֵנָיו וְשֹׁטְרִים וְשֹׁפְטָיו עוֹמְדִים מִזֶּה וּמִזֶּה לָאָרוֹן וְגוֹ׳״.

The Levites then turned to face Mount Gerizim and opened with the blessing: Blessed be the man who does not make a graven or molten image (see Deuteronomy 27:15), and these people and those people, i.e., the two groups standing on either mountain, answered: Amen. Then they turned to face Mount Ebal and opened with the curse: “Cursed be the man who makes a graven or molten image” (Deuteronomy 27:15), and these people and those people answered: Amen. They continued in this manner until they completed reciting all of the blessings and curses.

הָפְכוּ פְּנֵיהֶם כְּלַפֵּי הַר גְּרִיזִים וּפָתְחוּ בִּבְרָכָה: ״בָּרוּךְ הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה פֶסֶל וּמַסֵּכָה״, וְאֵלּוּ וָאֵלּוּ עוֹנִין ״אָמֵן״. הָפְכוּ פְּנֵיהֶם כְּלַפֵּי הַר עֵיבָל וּפָתְחוּ בִּקְלָלָה: ״אָרוּר הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה פֶסֶל וּמַסֵּכָה״, וְאֵלּוּ וָאֵלּוּ עוֹנִין ״אָמֵן״, עַד שֶׁגּוֹמְרִין בְּרָכוֹת וּקְלָלוֹת.

And afterward they brought the stones as commanded in the Torah, and they built the altar and plastered it with plaster, and they wrote on it all of the words of the Torah in seventy languages, as it is stated: “And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law clearly elucidated” (Deuteronomy 27:8), indicating that it was to be written in every language. And they then took the stones from there and came

וְאַחַר כָּךְ הֵבִיאוּ אֶת הָאֲבָנִים, וּבָנוּ אֶת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, וְסָדוּהוּ בְּסִיד, וְכָתְבוּ עָלָיו אֶת כׇּל דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה בְּשִׁבְעִים לָשׁוֹן. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״בַּאֵר הֵיטֵב״. וְנָטְלוּ אֶת הָאֲבָנִים, וּבָאוּ