Parshas Naso 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Jun 5
- 2 min read
יתן ה' אותך לאלה ולשבעה בתוך עמך בתת ה' את ירכך נפלת ואת בטנך צבה ... (ה-כא)
In his classic sefer, Orchos Yosher, HaGaon R’ Chaim Kanievsky zt”l brings the following story: A Kohen once came to the Chacham of his city, the legendary Chida zt”l, and put forward a complaint that his wife had secluded herself with another man. The Chida duly informed him that according to the Torah, he must divorce her at once. The other dayanim who were present (and who were, incidentally, relatives of the woman) voiced their shock at his psak: how could the Rav pass judgment without any witnesses or due process? But the Chida reiterated that the man should listen to him and divorce his wife.
Well, the woman’s family was powerful and very influential in the community, and they riled up the whole city against the Chida. When the Chida heard what was going on, he summoned the woman herself to his study. Upon her arrival, the Chida immediately took out a Sefer Torah, and proceeded to read aloud the parsha of Sotah. Haughtily, the woman turned to leave, but as she did so, the Chida called out to her in a loud voice the pasukim of the Sotah’s oath, and of the curse that befalls her from drinking the Sotah water. And as she put her foot on the first step to descend from his study, her face suddenly turned a sickening green, and her eyes began to bulge, and all that is written there about what happens to a guilty Sotah happened to this brazen woman, right there on the first step down from the Chacham’s study! Hearing her shrieks of fear and agony, the other dayanim and many passersby ran over. When they saw the terrible sight of what had happened to her, they immediately cried out, “Take this accursed woman out of the Rav’s home, lest she contaminate it with her tumah!!”
All then recognized the saintly nature of the heiligeh Chacham in their midst, and were overcome by a tremendous awe and fear of him. As a testament to his greatness, and to the miracle that he wrought, the community had the steps upon which the woman died in paved with gold. R’ Chaim adds that he heard that the steps were still in existence up until the last World War!