הדרן עלך מסכת נזיר - מזל טוב!! שנזכה להתחיל מסכתות אחרות ולסיימם
R' Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchok began his intro shiur to sotah by saying that matchmaking is done according to one's actions, meaning a tzadik with a tzadik and a rasha with a rasha. One of the meforshim in the back (Radal) comments that the purpose of this statement is to support the diyuk that was made immediately prior to this, that it is forbidden to give kinuy to one's wife. Meaning that since a spouse is always similar to the husband, if a husband suspects his wife of infidelity it can be attributed to his lack of fidelity. Therefore, rather than using drastic measures such as kinuy to change the situation (which will bring to fighting and embarrassment), it is preferable for him to change himself and turn himself into a tzaddik. By him transforming himself into a tzaddik, it will have an effect on her as well, since Hashem does not allow a tzaddik to dwell with a rasha. Perhaps we can extend this thought by saying that the process of the sotah water is really based on this premise that a rasha cannot be with a tzaddik, therefore the sotah water will ensure that she is as much of a tzaddik as he is, and if not she will be killed. This will explain the mishna 47a that when more men began commiting adultery the sotah waters stopped working. Meaning that the whole purpose of the sotah water is to prevent a woman who is a rasha from living with a tzaddik, but if he is a rasha the sotah water doesn't take effect (the ramban has a slightly different approach, that the sotah waters only work when klal yisroel on the whole are on a high spiritual level, and therefore act as a filter to remove the bad individuals, but when the entire nation drops they are no longer zocheh to this miracle).
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