Why does the Torah mention two Shevu'os by Sotah - and in Pasuk 19 and one here?
Sotah, 18a: The Shevu'ah in Pasuk 19 is without a curse - she is merely swearing that she did not commit adultery, whereas the current Shevu'ah is the Shevu'as ha'Alah - which spells out what will happen to her if she did.
Why does the Torah write "Ve'amar ha'Kohen la'Ishah" and not simply 'Vayomer Eilehah'?
Yerushalmi Sotah, 16:1: To teach us that the Kohen must speak directly to the woman and not via an interpreter.
What is the definition of "Shevu'as ha'Alah"?
Rashi, Rashbam and Targum Onkelos: It means 'the Shevu'ah of the curse'.
Targum Yonasan: It means a Shevu'ah of wickedness that involves death.
What is the conclusion of the Shevu'ah?
Ramban: The conclusion of the Shevu'ah is "Yiten Hashem osach ... " in Pasuk 21 & 22. 1
Refer also to 5:19:1:2**.
What does the Torah mean when it writes "Yiten Hashem osach le'Alah"?
Rashi anv d Rashbam: The Torah means that everybody will cite you as an example and say to their disputants 'May Hashem curse you in the manner that so-and-so Sotah was cursed (when her stomach swelled and her thighs dropped - Rashbam)!'
Why does the Torah add the word "le'Alah ve'li'Shevu'ah"?
Rashi: To add that everybody will swear by you, saying 'May it not happen to me like happened to so-and-so Sotah!' 1
Rashi: As the Pasuk states in Yeshayah, 65:16, and as Hashem said to Avraham in connection with B'rachos, in Lech-L'cha, Bereishis 12:3 and Ya'akov to Yosef, in Vay'chi, Bereishis 48:20.
Why, here by the curse, does the Torah mention the thigh before the stomach, whereas later, in Pasuk 27, when the curse takes effect, it inverts the order?
Rashi: Because that is the order in which the Sotah sinned, first with her thighs and then with her stomach, whereas later it mention them in the order in which they take effect - as the water passes through her body. 1
See Torah Temimah, citing Sotah, 9b, and note 120.
Why did Mei Sotah cease even before the Churban Beis-Hamikdash?
Ramban: Sotah is unique, 1 inasmuch as it the only case in the Torah which is entirely supernatural. Consequently, it only occurs when Yisrael perform the will of Hashem - in order to prevent Yisrael from copying the immoral lifestyle of the Nochri nations, and to purify them from Mamzerus, so that they are worthy for the Shechinah to dwell among them. Consequently, with the proliferation of immorality, Mei Sotah ceased to operate. 2
Refer to Vayikra 14:34:2:2, where the Ramban describes Tzara'as too, as a supernatural phenomenon.
As the Gemara explains in Sotah, 47a, and as the Pasuk in Hoshe'a, 4:14, already indicates. And it is for the same reason, that the Mei Sotah is only effective if the man is not guilty of similar misconduct (Refer to 5:31:1:2). See Ramban DH 've'Hinei', who elaborates further.
