RAV KOOK ON Naso Part 1: Tithes and the Sotah

The Suspected Adulteress The first ten chapters of the book of Numbers discuss the organization of the Israelites in the desert. The census, the placement of camps according to tribe, the duties of the Levites, the dedication of the Tabernacle, the inauguration of the Levites - all of these topics pertain to the preparatory arrangements needed to organize the journey of millions in the wilderness. Yet, in the middle of all of these rather technical subjects, the Torah discusses the Sotah, the suspected adulteress. What does this unfortunate story of distrust and jealousy have to do with organizing the Israelites in the desert? This topic would more naturally belong in the section on forbidden relations in Acharei Mot (Lev. chapter 18). This anomaly did not escape the Talmudic sages. Rabbi Yochanan noted that the verses immediately preceding the section on Sotah discuss the tithes given to the kohanim. “Why does the subject of the suspected adulteress immediately follow the laws of offerings and tithes for the kohanim? To teach that whoever does not hand over his tithes to the kohen, will in the end require the kohen’s services to deal with his wife.” (Berachot 63a) What is the connection between withholding tithes and a wife’s suspected infidelity?