Homer Simpson and how long seclusion has to last TB Sotah 4

Becoming a doubtful sotah is a two-step process. First the husband has to warn his wife to stay away from a particular man. Secondly, two witnesses testify that she secluded herself with that man. Today’s daf TB Sotah 4 tries to define how long the woman needs to be secluded with the man in order to be culpable to go through the verification ordeal in the Temple. The Gemara presents nine different opinions how long this conclusion needs to be excluding the time necessary for seduction.

 “The baraita clarifies: And what is the measure of seclusion, i.e., how is the seclusion of a sota defined? The measure of seclusion is equivalent to the time needed for defilement, which is equivalent to the time needed to perform intercourse, which is equivalent to the time needed to perform the initial stage of intercourse. (There is a basic disagreement what is considered initial stage of intercourse. Some rabbis hold their it is when the man’s and the woman’s private parts just ‘kiss,’ while others hold that just the corona of the penis needs to be inserted.-gg)

“The baraita quotes several practical examples of this period of time. This is equivalent to the time needed for circling a palm tree; this is the statement of Rabbi Yishmael. Rabbi Eliezer says: This is equivalent to the time needed for mixing a cup of wine with water, with the total volume of a quarter-log. Rabbi Yehoshua says: This is equivalent to the time needed to drink that cup of wine 

“The baraita quotes several more examples. Ben Azzai says: This is equivalent to the time needed to roast an egg. Rabbi Akiva says: This is equivalent to the time needed to swallow it. Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says: This is equivalent to the time needed to swallow three eggs one after another. Rabbi Elazar ben Yirmeya says: This is equivalent to the time needed for a weaver [gardi] to tie a string [nima].

“Ḥanin ben Pineḥas says: This is equivalent to the time that a woman may need to extend her hand into her mouth to remove a wood chip from between her teeth. The Sage Peleimu says: This is equivalent to the time that she may need to extend her hand into a basket in order to take a loaf of bread. He adds: Although there is no explicit proof from a verse for the matter, there is an allusion to the matter from the verse: “For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a loaf of bread” (Proverbs 6:26).” (Sefaria.org translation)

As you can read the amount of time for seclusion gets smaller and smaller. The Gemara brings another baraita which in some cases contradicts the above one. The Gemara tries to smooth out the differences and remove as many contradictions as possible. This sugiyah reminded me of an old Simpson’s episode which parodies the movie “An Officer. and a Gentleman.”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zaa37P1a9k. Enjoy a laugh.