About this episode
Study Guide Sotah 45 Today's daf is sponsored by Geri Goldstein Guedalia in honor of her daughter, Audrey Saipe Goldstein Levant, on her birthday. "I am so proud of you and I love doing the daf with you each morning." Today's daf is sponsored by Deborah Dickson in honor of Audrey Levant. "Wishing her a very happy birthday! Keep inspiring, striving and shtaygn ad 120." Is it possible one can derive from the verses that there are more than three or five judges who need to do the measure for the egla arufa ceremony? Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov has a different opinion that the kohen gadol and the king need to measure as well. Is it possible that he agrees with Rabbi Yehuda or Rabbi Shimon about the number of judges or is it possible that he holds that the whole Sanhedrin (all 71!) need to come? Rav Yosef brings a source to try to answer this question, but Abaye raises a difficulty with this proof. Since there is no law of egla arufa if the body is hidden, the Gemara compares a debate regarding the laws of shichikha (when one forgets sheaves in the field, they need to be left for the poor) to the laws of egla arufa regarding hidden items. Would the rabbis who holds that hidden items are not exempt from shichikha also hold the same thing as regards egla arufa ? Rabbi Yirmiya asks a different question regarding laws of shichikha - does it apply to items that are not directly on the ground? Abaye was in the marketplace when someone asked him if there is a body on top of another, is the bottom one considered hidden even though it is under the same type of item (another body) and is the top one considered on the floor since it is on something of the same type which is on the floor? A braita lists more cases (different ways of having died) where the laws of egla arufa would not apply. Could there be a case where two cities bring an egla arufa ? What do we do if the head is severed from the body and isn't found in the same place? Which part is moved and for what purpose? From which part of the body do we measure - there is a three-way debate. After the measuring, the elders of the closest city take a calf, bring it to a stream and break the back of its neck with a cleaver. They then recite a declaration (the one that needs to be in Hebrew) that they are not responsible for the death of this person.