The mitzvah of the sotah has one unique feature. It is the only mitzvah in the entire Torah whose essence is miraculous. The husband suspects his wife of adultery, but has no proof. All he knows is that he told her not to be with a particular man in front of two witnesses and two witnesses confirm that she secluded herself with that man. The husband takes his wife to the Temple to prove her guilt or innocence. She goes through the ordeal of the bitter waters. The outcome of this ordeal is the realm of the miraculous. If she is guilty, she will die. If she is innocent, the bitter waters will have no effect.

Within a complicated sugiya, we encounter an argument between Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and Rabbi Shimon whether the test results are immediate or not on today’s daf TB Sotah 6. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi holds that the results of this ordeal can be delayed while Rabbi Shimon holds that the results will be immediate.

“Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: Merit delays punishment with regard to the bitter water of a sota. Even if a woman actually committed adultery, she will not die immediately due to the merit that she has. But she will not give birth, and she will not improve in terms of her physical condition after having drunk the bitter water. Rather, she will progressively deteriorate until she ultimately dies in the same manner of death as suffered by a sota who drank the bitter water without having merit.” Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: Merit delays punishment with regard to the bitter water of a sota. Even if a woman actually committed adultery, she will not die immediately due to the merit that she has. But she will not give birth, and she will not improve in terms of her physical condition after having drunk the bitter water. Rather, she will progressively deteriorate until she ultimately dies in the same manner of death as suffered by a sota who drank the bitter water without having merit. (Sefaria.org translation)

“Rabbi Shimon says: Merit does not delay punishment with regard to the bitter water of a sota, and if you say that merit delays punishment with regard to the bitter water, then you push aside the deterrent force of the bitter water before all the women who must drink it, as guilty women will rely on their merit to protect them from the immediate consequences. And furthermore, you defame the untainted women who drank and survived. People will not view this as proof of their innocence, and they will say: They are defiled, but their merit delayed the punishment for them.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Personally, I prefer Rabbi Shimon’s opinion. We should be extremely careful not to embarrass let alone defame an innocent person. We shall learn later on in this chapter: “Rav Zutra bar Tuviyya says that Rav says, and some say Rav Ḥana bar Bizna says that Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida says, and some say that Rabbi Yoḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: It is more amenable for a person to throw himself into a fiery furnace if faced with the choice of publicly embarrassing another or remaining silent even if it leads to being burned, and not humiliate another in public. From where do we derive this? From Tamar, as she was prepared to be burned if Judah did not confess, rather than humiliate him in public.” (TB Sotah 10b, Sefaria.org translation)