This week in the diaspora the parsha of Naso is read. One of the most intriguing sets of laws and procedures of the Sotah wayward wife is detailed in this parsha. The laws of Sotah pertain to a married woman who is suspected of adultery and under specific circumstances the Sotah procedure is undertaken. The procedure entails having the woman drink from "bitter waters" if she refuses to admit that she indeed committed adultery. In these waters the Name of Hashem is written on a piece of parchment and erased into the waters. The woman is then made to drink these waters and if she is in fact guilty of adultery she dies from the water she drank.

There are two amazing aspects to this procedure. The first aspect is that there is a Torah prohibition to erase the name of G-d and during this procedure the Torah actually commands us to erase the name of G-d. The second aspect is that never in the Torah do we undertake a procedure that is supposed to work in a miraculous way. Obviously the fact that these "bitter waters" cause the woman to die a very unnatural death is the cause of a great miracle and not a natural occurrence.

This teaches us a very important lesson. The peace and harmony between husband and wife is so sacred that the normal prohibition erasing G-d's Name and the natural course of the world are suspended in order to safeguard it. We too should try to overcome our own nature and negative thoughts and feelings to maintain the harmony within our own houses.

Shabbat Shalom,

Heath