Gilgul shevu’a TB Sotah 18

Although today’s daf TB Sotah 18 doesn’t use the terminology of gigul shevu’a (גִילגוּל שְׁבוּעה), it is the major source for this concept. Imagine a prosecuting attorney says to a witness, as long as you have taken oath about the matter before this court, you now have to swear more oaths on your other activities. That is exactly what Jewish law allows. Nevertheless, there are two limitations concerning these new oaths. The new oaths must be additive and related to the first oath.

The sotah is the source of gigul shevu’a. After the Kohen administers the curse of the adjuration, the woman answers “Amen, amen!” (Numbers 5:22) The purpose of this seemingly redundant answer of amen is to teach us that one may pile on oath upon oath. “MISHNA: With regard to what does she say: “Amen, amen” (Number 5:22), twice, as recorded in the verse? The mishna explains that it includes of the following: Amen on the curse, as she accepts the curse upon herself if she is guilty, and amen on the oath, as she declares that she is not defiled. She states: Amen if I committed adultery with this man about whom I was warned, amen if I committed adultery with another man. Amen that I did not stray when I was betrothed nor after I was married, nor as a widow waiting for my yavam to perform levirate marriage, since a woman at that stage is prohibited from engaging in sexual intercourse with any men, nor when married through levirate marriage to the yavam; amen that I did not become defiled, and if I did become defiled, may all these curses come upon me.” (Sefaria.org translation)

 The additional oaths, gigul shevu’a, in our case of the sotah must be about other acts of infidelity that impact the husband-wife relationship. If a husband divorces his wife and before he remarries her (a la Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor) and she hooks up with other men, he cannot make her swear about her relationships with other men during that in between time period, now that he suspects her and makes a drink the bitter waters of a sotah. The Mishnah concludes with this rule. “This is the principle: In every case where if she would engage in sexual intercourse with someone else she would not become forbidden to her husband due to this act, he may not stipulate with her that her oath include that act. The oath can include only cases in which she would be rendered forbidden to him.” (Sefaria.org translation)