A marble slab one amah by one amah, in the floor of the Heikhal, on the right as one enters, with a ring to lift it. It serves the rite of the sota, the woman whose husband suspects her of adultery: the Torah has the Kohen put into the water she will drink some dust “from the floor of the Mishkan”. The floor of the Heikhal is covered; this slab keeps a square of earth in it. The Kohen draws half a log of water from the Kiyor in a new earthenware cup, enters the Heikhal, turns to his right, lifts the slab by its ring, takes earth from beneath it and puts in enough for it to be seen on the surface of the water. The parasha of the sota itself is written on Queen Helena's golden tablet, in the Ulam.
Dimensions
- marble slab of 1 × 1 amah
- fixed iron ring
- on the right as one enters, north of the door
Sources
- Sotah 2:2“הָיָה מֵבִיא פְיָלִי שֶׁל חֶרֶס חֲדָשָׁה, וְנוֹתֵן לְתוֹכָהּ חֲצִי לֹג מַיִם מִן הַכִּיּוֹר”
- Sotah 2:2“נִכְנַס לַהֵיכָל וּפָנָה לִימִינוֹ, וּמָקוֹם הָיָה שָׁם אַמָּה עַל אַמָּה, וְטַבְלָא שֶׁל שַׁיִשׁ, וְטַבַּעַת הָיְתָה קְבוּעָה בָהּ”
- Sotah 2:2“וּכְשֶׁהוּא מַגְבִּיהָהּ, נוֹטֵל עָפָר מִתַּחְתֶּיהָ וְנוֹתֵן כְּדֵי שֶׁיֵּרָאֶה עַל הַמַּיִם”
- Numbers 5:17“וּמִן הֶעָפָר אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בְּקַרְקַע הַמִּשְׁכָּן יִקַּח הַכֹּהֵן וְנָתַן אֶל הַמָּיִם”
- Rambam, Hilchot Sotah 3:10“וּמָקוֹם הָיָה שָׁם אַמָּה עַל אַמָּה לִימִין הַנִּכְנָס וּבוֹ טַבְלָא שֶׁל שַׁיִשׁ וְטַבַּעַת קְבוּעָה בָּהּ”
- Bartenura Sota 2:2“לְאוֹחֲזָהּ בְּטַבַּעְתָּהּ וּלְהַגְבִּיהָהּ מִשְּׁאָר הָרִצְפָּה שֶׁהִיא כֻּלָּהּ בְּאַבְנֵי שַׁיִשׁ”
Project decisionAdopted: on the right as one enters, hence on the north, since the Heikhal opens to the east. Set aside: Bartenura, for whom the whole floor of the Heikhal is of marble slabs, this one differing only by its ring; the tour keeps the gold-plated floor of the First Temple (I Kings 6:30), against which the marble stands out. Tour's choice: the exact place of the slab, two amot from the east wall, and the iron of the ring, as on the slab of the keys in the Beit HaMoked (Middot 1:9). Not modelled: the earth beneath the slab.