Talmud - Sotah 43a סוטה מ״ג א׳

were resting in the Ark. And similarly, it says in the verse with regard to the war against Midian: “And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Pinehas the son of Elazar the priest, to the war, with the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand” (Numbers 31:6). The verse is interpreted as follows: “Them”; these are the Sanhedrin. “Pinehas”; he was the priest anointed for war. “And the holy vessels”; this is the Ark and the tablets that were within it. “And the trumpets for the alarm”; these are the shofarot.

A tanna taught: It was not for nothing that specifically Pinehas went to war with Midian; rather, it was to exact the rightful judgment of his mother’s father, Joseph, as it is stated: “And the Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s” (Genesis 37:36). The Gemara asks: Is this to say that Pinehas came, on his mother’s side, from the family of Joseph? But it is written: “And Elazar, Aaron’s son, took himself a wife from the daughters of Putiel; and she bore him Pinehas” (Exodus 6:25). What, is it not that Pinehas came from the family of Yitro, who was also called Putiel because he fattened [pittem] calves for idol worship? They answer: No; he was descended from Joseph, who mocked [pitpet] his desire by resisting the advances of Potiphar’s wife.

The Gemara asks: But is it not the case that, according to an oral tradition, the tribes were denigrating Pinehas after he killed Zimri, saying: Did you see this son of Puti, the son whose mother’s father fattened cows for idol worship? Should this man kill a prince of Israel? Evidently, his grandfather Puti was Yitro, not Joseph. The Gemara answers: Rather, Pinehas was descended from both Joseph and Yitro. If his mother’s father descended from Joseph, his mother’s mother descended from Yitro. And if his mother’s mother descended from Joseph, his mother’s father descended from Yitro. The Gemara confirms this resolution: The language is also precise, as it is written: Elazar took a wife “from the daughters of Putiel,” which implies that she came from two daughters of men named Putiel. The Gemara concludes: You may learn from the verse that this is so.

MISHNA: The mishna continues its discussion of the speech given before battle. “And the officers shall speak to the people, saying: What man is there that has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it” (Deuteronomy 20:5). He is sent home if he is one who builds a storehouse for straw, a barn for cattle, a shed for wood, or a warehouse. Similarly, it applies if he is one who builds, or if he is one who purchases, or if he is one who inherits, or if he is one to whom it is given as a gift. In all these instances, the man returns from the war encampment.

The next verse states: “And what man is there that has planted a vineyard, and has not used the fruit thereof? Let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle and another man use the fruit thereof” (Deuteronomy 20:6). He is sent home if he is one who plants a whole vineyard of many vines, or if he is one who plants as few as five fruit trees of another variety, and even if these five are from the five species. The produce need not be all of one species. The same applies if he is one who plants, or if he is one who layers the vine, bending a branch into the ground so that it may take root and grow as a new vine, or if he is one who grafts different trees onto one another. And it applies if he is one who purchases a vineyard, or if he is one who inherits a vineyard, or if he is one to whom the vineyard is given as a gift.

The next verse states: “And what man is there that has betrothed a wife, and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her” (Deuteronomy 20:7). He is sent home if he is one who betroths a virgin, or if he is one who betroths a widow. This applies even if his yevama, his late brother’s wife, is a widow waiting for him as her yavam to perform levirate marriage; and even if he heard that his brother died in the war and the widow begins to wait for him only then, he returns and goes home. Each of these men, although they are exempt, still hear the address of the priest and the regulations of war at the local camp, and thereafter they return to their respective homes. However, they still support the war effort, and they provide water and food for the soldiers and repair the roads.

And these are the men who do not return to their homes: One who builds a gateway, or an enclosed veranda [akhsadra], or a balcony; or one who plants no more than four fruit trees or even five or more non-fruit bearing trees; or one who remarries his divorced wife. Nor is there an exemption for one who has betrothed a woman whom he is not permitted to marry: With regard to a widow betrothed to a High Priest (see Leviticus 21:7); a divorcée or a yevama who performed ḥalitza [ḥalutza], in lieu of entering into a levirate marriage, betrothed to a common priest (see Leviticus 21:13–15); a mamzeret or a Gibeonite woman betrothed to an Israelite; or an Israelite woman betrothed to a mamzer or a Gibeonite (see Deuteronomy 23:3); such a man does not return to his home. Rabbi Yehuda says: Even one who rebuilds a house as it stood originally would not return. Rabbi Eliezer says: Even one who builds a new brick house in the Sharon would not return because these houses are not stable and are expected to collapse periodically.

These are the men who do not even move from their places because they do not even report to the camp: One who built a house and dedicated it within the year; one who planted a vineyard and used its fruit for less than a year; one who marries his betrothed and one who marries his yevama, his brother’s widow who must enter into a levirate marriage or perform ḥalitza, as it is stated: “When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army…he shall be free for his house one year, and shall cheer his wife whom he has taken” (Deuteronomy 24:5). The mishna interprets the verse as follows: “For his house”; this means his house that he built. “He shall be”; this term includes his vineyard. “And shall cheer his wife”; this is his wife. “Whom he has taken”; this phrase comes to include his yevama, who is considered his wife with respect to this halakha although he has not yet married her. Those who are exempt for these reasons do not even provide water and food to the soldiers, and they do not repair the roads.

GEMARA: The Sages taught: “And the officers shall speak…What man is there that has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it” (Deuteronomy 20:5). One might have thought that they say their own words and that the priest does not issue these proclamations. However, when it says: “And the officers shall speak further” (Deuteronomy 20:8), their own words are mentioned only in this latter verse. Evidently, then, the priest is the speaker in the earlier verse. How then do I realize the meaning of: “And the officers shall speak” in the first verse? The verse is speaking of the words of the priest anointed for war. How so? The priest speaks in an undertone, and an officer calls out the priest’s words so that they are audible to the assembled.

It is taught in one baraita: A priest speaks, and an officer calls out his words; and it is taught in another baraita: A priest speaks and a priest calls out. And it is taught in yet another baraita: An officer speaks and an officer calls out. Abaye said: How can these texts be reconciled? From the words: “That the priest shall approach” (Deuteronomy 20:2), until the words: “And the officers shall speak” (Deuteronomy 20:5), which consist of words of encouragement and inspiration, a priest speaks and another priest calls out. From the words “and the officers shall speak” until the words: “And the officers shall speak further” (Deuteronomy 20:8), which list various people who are to return home from the battle front because of happy occasions, a priest speaks and an officer calls out. From the words “and the officers shall speak further” and on, which address those who are fearful and fainthearted, an officer speaks and another officer calls out.

§ The mishna teaches that the officers announce: “What man is there that has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it” (Deuteronomy 20:5). The Sages taught: From the phrase “That has built,” I have derived only that this applies to one who has literally built a house. From where do I derive that it includes one who purchased, or inherited, or has been given a house as a gift? The verse states broadly: “What man is there that has built.” By not merely stating: One that has built, but using the expanded “what man is there that has built,” the verse includes any of these circumstances.

From the term “a house” I have derived only a house in which people live. From where is it derived that the exemption is understood to also include one who builds a storehouse for straw, a barn for cattle, a shed for wood, or a warehouse? The verse states: “That has built,” which includes whatever one built, in any case. One might have thought that I should include even one who builds a gateway, or an enclosed veranda, or a balcony; however, the verse states: “A house,” which teaches that just as a house is, by definition, a structure that is fit for living, so too, this halakha applies to every structure that is potentially fit for living, although in practice it may be used for another purpose.

Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov says: The word “house” is to be understood to mean, as it indicates, a building meant for human residence. With regard to the house for which a man may be sent back from the camp, since the verse does not state merely: “And has not dedicated,” but rather: “And has not dedicated it,” specifying the particular house to which the man is connected, the verse therefore excludes a robber who does not own his house. The Gemara asks: Shall we say that this opinion is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili? As, if it were in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, didn’t he say: When the verse singles out the “fearful and fainthearted” (Deuteronomy 20:8), this is referring to one who is afraid

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Sotah 43a explores the war against Midian, the sacred vessels carried into battle, and Pinehas’s mixed lineage from Joseph and Yitro.