Study Sotah folio 33B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
ורבי יהודה, האי ״וענתה ואמרה״, מאי עביד ליה? מיבעי ליה לאגמורי ללוים, דבלשון הקודש.
The Talmud asks: And what does R' Yehuda do with this verse: “And she should speak and say,” from which the Rabbis derive that the recitation at the ḥalitza ritual must be in Hebrew? The Talmud answers: He requires it in order to teach with regard to the Levites that they spoke in the sacred tongue. Whereas the Rabbis derive that the ḥalitza ritual is performed in Hebrew from a verbal analogy between the verses concerning ḥalitza and the verses about the Levites, R' Yehuda derives that the Levites spoke in Hebrew due to this same verbal analogy, with ḥalitza serving as the source.
ולילף ״קול״ ממשה? ״ענייה״ ״ענייה״ גמיר, ״קול״ ״קול״ לא גמיר.
The Talmud asks: But let R' Yehuda derive that the Levites spoke in Hebrew from a verbal analogy between the word “voice” that is written with regard to the Levites (Deuteronomy 27:14) and the word “voice” in the verse about Moses (Exodus 19:19). The Talmud answers: He learned the verbal analogy between “speak” and “speak” from his teacher, and he did not learn the verbal analogy between “voice” and “voice” from his teacher.
תניא נמי הכי, רבי יהודה אומר: כל מקום שנאמר ״כה״, ״ככה״, ״ענייה״, ו״אמירה״ — אינו אלא לשון הקודש. ״כה״ — ״כה תברכו״. ״ככה״ דחליצה. ״ענייה״ ו״אמירה״ דלוים.
That is also taught in a baraita: R' Yehuda says: Every place where it is stated in the Torah: “So [ko],” or: “So [kakha],” or where the language of speaking and saying is used, it is referring only to the sacred tongue. The word ko appears in the context of the Priestly Benediction: “So [ko] you should bless the children of Israel” (Numbers 6:23). Kakha appears in the context of the ḥalitza ceremony (Deuteronomy 25:9). The language of speaking and saying appears in relation to the Levites.