The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Nasso

The Rebbe says:

1. In this week’s Torah portion the Sotah (a woman suspected of adultery) is discussed. A Sotah is a woman who was alone with another man other than her husband after her husband zealously warned her saying, “Do not be alone with so-and-so”.

2. Our Sages tell us that, “A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of foolishness enters him”. They bring a proof to this adage from a verse in this week’s Torah portion regarding the Sotah which reads, “Any man whose wife shall go astray (Sisteh)”. Our Sages explain that the word “Sisteh”, literally meaning “shall go astray”, can also be read “Sishteh”, meaning “acted foolishly”, therefore they learn that, “A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of foolishness enters him”.

3. The Rebbe questions this, as an opportunity to begin explaining a deeper dimension of the Sotah:

There are many times when our Sages do not bring a proof to their sayings and teachings. Therefore, if our Sages chose to bring a proof to their teaching that, “A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of foolishness enters him”, there must be a special connection between the teaching and the proof and a lesson to be learned from this.

What’s more, this proof of, “Any man whose wife shall go astray (Sisteh)”, doesn’t seem to be a fitting confirmation for the rule that, “A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of foolishness enters him”! If our Sages are trying to teach us that whenever a person sins, even performing the “smallest of smallest” sins, he doesn’t do it unless he is overcome with a spirit of foolishness, they shouldn’t have brought a proof from such a grave sin as the adulterous Sotah; they should have brought a proof from a “small” sin. Now that they brought the proof instead from the Sotah, we could think that only horrible sins are performed when a spirit of foolishness enters a person, not necessarily the “small” ones. Therefore, we must understand why the Sages brought a proof specifically from the Sotah.

4. The Rebbe now explains the special connection between the teaching, “A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of foolishness enters him”, and the verse, “Any man whose wife shall go astray (Sisteh)”:

There are two lessons that this verse is teaching us in connection with the Sotah.

Lesson one: The abovementioned verse concerning a wayward woman (“Any man whose wife shall go astray”) is specifically and only regarding a married woman; only a married woman who has relations with another man is considered a “harlot”, however a single woman who has relations with a man out of wedlock is not. In other words, the reason why this sin is so bad is because she is married and a married woman’s actions are extremely significant in her relationship with her husband.

The same is true with regards to the relationship of the Jewish people (the woman) and Hashem (the man): Being that we are the wife of Hashem and a wife’s actions are extremely significant in her relationship with her husband, when we sin, even a “small little” sin, this has devastating effects on our relationship with Hashem (the husband).

This point is emphasized in a story quoted by the Zohar. The Zohar tells us that a certain philosopher once asked Rabbi Eliezer, “If the Jewish people are the chosen people, why are they weaker than all the other nations?” Rabbi Eliezer replied, “This itself is the answer! Only because we are the chosen people are we very sensitive to any spiritual or physical refuse and cannot handle it, and therefore we become weakened when it gets into our system”.

This is like our Sages tell us, “The Jewish people can be compared to a heart. Just like a heart cannot handle any junk in its system because it is a most refined organ in the body, so too is it with the Jewish people”.

In the same vein, the Halachah (Jewish law) is that a Jewish person who calls Hashem “The
G-d of G-d’s” is called a “rebel”, however there is no problem for a non-Jewish person to refer to Hashem this way. Again we see how the Jewish people’s relationship with Hashem is so close and intimate that their actions are so significant, whereas another nation’s actions do not matter as much.

Now we can understand the first reason as to why our Sages felt the need to quote the verse, “Any man whose wife shall go astray”, to prove the idea that, “A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of foolishness enters him”:

The Jewish people are Hashem’s wife and Hashem is our husband at all times, even during exile. Therefore, being that our Sages say, “Who is a kosher (acceptable) wife? A woman who honors and fulfills her husband’s requests”, we understand that every time a Jew sins and goes against the will of his “husband” he is not a kosher “wife”.

This is why our Sages quoted the verse, “Any man whose wife shall go astray”: Our Sages were not only trying to prove the idea that, “A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of foolishness enters him”, they were also explaining why when a Jew goes against Hashem’s will, even transgressing “the smallest of the smallest” sins, he becomes distanced from Hashem.

Lesson two: A woman is considered a Sotah simply because she was alone with that certain man whom her husband told her not to be alone with; not because they actually had relations. Even if they did not have relations she is considered a Sotah. Consequently, when the Torah says, “Any man whose wife shall go astray (Sisteh)”, and “Sisteh – shall go astray” also means “Sishteh – acted foolishly”, it is describing a woman who was merely alone with another man. In other words, even though the woman did not actually have relations with the other man she is still considered to have “gone astray” and “acted foolishly” and she must bring an offering from the food of animals because she is compared to an animal.

Seemingly this is not understood. If we do not know for sure that she had relations with the other man, and “every daughter in Israel is assumed to be a good woman”, why does she have to bring an offering from the food of animals “because she is compared to an animal”? Maybe she didn’t do anything wrong!

We must therefore say that just the mere fact that she is under doubt as to whether she had relations or not is enough to consider her actions that of an animal. Being that she is a daughter of Israel it is unbecoming for her to be in a situation where her modesty is under question.

However, even though just being alone with that man is enough to make her prohibited to her husband, this is only for the time being. Since she did not actually have relations with that man she can become permitted to her husband again (after she drinks the special “Sotah waters”), as it says, “Then she will be innocent and she shall bear seed”.

The same is true with regards to the relationship of the Jewish people (the woman) and Hashem (the man): When a Jew sins because a spirit of foolishness entered him, it is not comparable to the woman who had relations with the other man and therefore this Jew does not become prohibited to Hashem (the husband), as the Torah says, “I shall not give My glory (the G-dly spirit in every Jew) to another”. This Jew is compared to the woman who was alone with the man but did not actually have relations with him. Granted this Jew performed an “action of an animal”, but this is only for the time being, just like the woman who is subsequently cleared of all charges (through drinking the “Sotah waters”). Hashem will always accept us back, as it says, “No one will be banished from Him”.

This is the second reason why our Sages quoted the verse, “Any man whose wife shall go astray”:

Our Sages were not only trying to prove the idea that, “A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of foolishness enters him”, they were also explaining to us that when a spirit of foolishness enters a Jew and he sins it is comparable to the woman who is alone with the man but does not actually become defiled, and therefore this “action of an animal” is only for the time being.

5. The Rebbe now finishes off with the lesson for us:

A Jew may think to himself, “I myself know that if a person thinks there is any other existence at all other then Hashem he is a Koifer (lit. “Denier”/a heretic). Therefore if I have sinned by transgressing on Hashem’s Will, which means that a spirit of foolishness has entered me and convinced me that Hashem is not watching me, ‘Hashem must have now forsaken me and forgotten me’”.

The answer to this, says our Sages, is that when we sin (Heaven have mercy on us) we are not like the woman who has become defiled and therefore prohibited to her husband; we are like the woman who was merely alone with the other man and therefore even though it is an action of an animal it is only for the time of the sin and we can once again attain fear and love of Hashem and He will surely accept us.

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos volume two.