Study Sotah folio 4A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
וכמה שיעור סתירה? כדי טומאה, כדי ביאה, כדי העראה.
The baraita clarifies: And what is the measure of seclusion, i.e., how is the seclusion of a sota defined? The measure of seclusion is equivalent to the time needed for defilement, which is equivalent to the time needed to perform sex, which is equivalent to the time needed to perform the initial stage of sex.
כדי הקפת דקל, דברי רבי ישמעאל. רבי אליעזר אומר: כדי מזיגת הכוס. רבי יהושע אומר: כדי לשתותו.
The baraita quotes several practical examples of this period of time. This is equivalent to the time needed for circling a palm tree; this is the statement of R' Yishmael. R' Eliezer says: This is equivalent to the time needed for mixing a cup of wine with water, with the total volume of 1/4th-log. R' Yehoshua says: This is equivalent to the time needed to drink that cup of wine.
בן עזאי אומר: כדי לצלות ביצה. רבי עקיבא אומר: כדי לגומעה. רבי יהודה בן בתירא אומר: כדי לגמוע שלש ביצים זו אחר זו. רבי אלעזר בן ירמיה אומר: כדי לקשור גרדי נימא.
The baraita quotes several more examples. Ben Azzai says: This is equivalent to the time needed to roast an egg. R' Akiva says: This is equivalent to the time needed to swallow it. R' Yehuda ben Beteira says: This is equivalent to the time needed to swallow 3 eggs one after another. R' Elazar ben Yirmeya says: This is equivalent to the time needed for a weaver [gardi] to tie a string [nima].
חנין בן פנחס אומר: כדי שתושיט ידה לתוך פיה ליטול קיסם. פלימו אומר: כדי שתושיט ידה לסל ליטול ככר. אף על פי שאין ראיה לדבר, זכר לדבר: ״כי בעד אשה זונה עד ככר לחם״.
Ḥanin ben Pineḥas says: This is equivalent to the time that a woman may need to extend her hand into her mouth to remove a wood chip from between her teeth. The Sage Peleimu says: This is equivalent to the time that she may need to extend her hand into a basket in order to take a loaf of bread. He adds: Although there is no explicit proof from a verse for the matter, there is an allusion to the matter from the verse: “For on account of a prostitute a man is brought to a loaf of bread” (Proverbs 6:26).
Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.