Guest teacher Alicia Jo Rabins introduces two new study guides from her "Girls in Trouble" curriculum. By exploring the stories of the Sotah, and the daughters of Tzelofchad, participants consider women's agency and power in the Torah.

4. To get us started…
Think of a moment in your life where you either:
- had agency or power
- didn’t have agency or power
If you’d like, share your moment in the chat field.

5. SOTAH

6. Numbers 5:11–31
11) God spoke to Moses, saying: 12) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: If any man’s wife has gone astray and
broken faith with him 13) in that a man has had carnal relations with her unbeknown to her husband, and she keeps
secret the fact that she has defiled herself without being forced, and there is no witness against her— 14) but a fit of
jealousy comes over him and he is wrought up about the wife who has defiled herself; or if a fit of jealousy comes over
one and he is wrought up about his wife although she has not defiled herself— 15) the man shall bring his wife to the
priest. And he shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour. No oil shall be poured upon it and no
frankincense shall be laid on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of remembrance which recalls
wrongdoing. 16) The priest shall bring her forward and have her stand before God. 17) The priest shall take sacral water in
an earthen vessel and, taking some of the earth that is on the floor of the Tabernacle, the priest shall put it into the water.
18) After he has made the woman stand before God, the priest shall bare the woman’s head and place upon her hands the
meal offering of remembrance, which is a meal offering of jealousy. And in the priest’s hands shall be the water of
bitterness that induces the spell. 19) The priest shall adjure the woman, saying to her, “If no man has lain with you, if you
have not gone astray in defilement while married to your husband, be immune to harm from this water of bitterness that
induces the spell. 20) But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and have defiled yourself, if a man other
than your husband has had carnal relations with you”— 21) here the priest shall administer the curse of adjuration to the
woman, as the priest goes on to say to the woman—“may God make you a curse and an imprecation among your people,
as God causes your thigh to sag and your belly to distend; 22) may this water that induces the spell enter your body,
causing the belly to distend and the thigh to sag.” And the woman shall say, “Amen, amen!”
[cont’d]

7. 23) The priest shall put these curses down in writing and rub it off into the water of bitterness. 24) He is to make the
woman drink the water of bitterness that induces the spell, so that the spell-inducing water may enter into her to
bring on bitterness. 25) Then the priest shall take from the woman’s hand the meal offering of jealousy, elevate the
meal offering before God, and present it on the altar. 26) The priest shall scoop out of the meal offering a token part
of it and turn it into smoke on the altar. Last, he shall make the woman drink the water. 27) Once he has made her
drink the water—if she has defiled herself by breaking faith with her husband, the spell-inducing water shall enter
into her to bring on bitterness, so that her belly shall distend and her thigh shall sag; and the woman shall become a
curse among her people. 28) But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she shall be unharmed and able
to retain seed. 29) This is the ritual in cases of jealousy, when a woman goes astray while married to her husband
and defiles herself, 30) or when a fit of jealousy comes over a man and he is wrought up over his wife: the woman
shall be made to stand before God and the priest shall carry out all this ritual with her. 31) The man shall be clear of
guilt; but that woman shall suffer for her guilt.
- Translation adapted from JPS

8. 1. What is your initial response to this text?
2. What does the text tell us about the Sotah ritual and
what does it leave out? How would you imagine someone
undergoing the ritual would feel?
3. Can you think of a modern day analog or equivalent to
the Sotah ritual or a contemporary situation which
resembles it?

9. A song in the Sotah’s voice by Alicia Jo Rabins/Girls in Trouble
You’re always watching and waiting for a mistake
Then you jump, oh you tear me apart
But I have a hundred invisible doors of escape
Alleys and passages leading away from my heart
Oh, my body
the secrets that you keep
and the places we run to
late at night while he’s asleep
He took me downtown and he gave me the jar of water
The people watched as I brought it to my lips
He said if you’re guilty your body will betray you
But I know how to be silent after a kiss
Oh the water was bitter
and full of dark letters that stuck in my throat like a curse
But I drank it all
and I answered amen, amen amen,
amen, amen and goodbye
You’re always watching and waiting for a mistake
Then you jump, oh you tear me apart
But I have a hundred invisible doors of escape
Alleys and passages leading away from my heart

10. A song in the Sotah’s voice by Alicia Jo Rabins/Girls in Trouble
You’re always watching and waiting for a mistake
Then you jump, oh you tear me apart
But I have a hundred invisible doors of escape
Alleys and passages leading away from my heart
Oh, my body
the secrets that you keep
and the places we run to
late at night while he’s asleep
He took me downtown and he gave me the jar of water
The people watched as I brought it to my lips
He said if you’re guilty your body will betray you
But I know how to be silent after a kiss
Oh the water was bitter
and full of dark letters that stuck in my throat like a curse
But I drank it all
and I answered amen, amen amen,
amen, amen and goodbye
You’re always watching and waiting for a mistake
Then you jump, oh you tear me apart
But I have a hundred invisible doors of escape
Alleys and passages leading away from my heart
1.How would you describe this song? What
feelings does it evoke?
2. What parts of the text can you find in the
song? What has the artist added?
3. This song is one artist’s interpretation of how
a woman undergoing the Sotah ritual might feel.
How would you describe the emotions of the
character singing this song? How is this depiction
similar or different to your imagination of the
Biblical Sotah?

11. The Trial of Jealousy
(Details unknown. Photo from Lebrecht
Music and Arts Photo Library, Alamy Stock
Photo)

12. Illustration Of The Ritual Of Sotah
For Women Suspected Of Adultery
(Details unknown, photo from Art
Directors & TRIP, Alamy Stock Photo)

13. 1. How would you describe the character
of the Sotah as depicted in this image?
2. How is this depiction similar to or
different from the other works? (If you
wish, you can also compare the artwork to
the Biblical text and/or the song.)
3. What do you like about this image and
depiction of the Sotah? What do you
dislike or disagree with?

14. The Brick Testament is the largest, most
comprehensive illustrated Bible in the world with
over 4,500 illustrations that retell more than 400
stories from The Bible.
Started on the web in 2001, and now having
spawned the popular The Brick Bible book series,
The Brick Testament project remains a one-man
labor of love, constructed and photographed
entirely by Brendan Powell Smith.
The goal of The Brick Testament is to give people
an increased knowledge of the contents of The
Bible in a way that is fun and compelling while
remaining true to the text of the scriptures. The
Brick Testament uses the author's own wording
of Bible passages, based on a number of different
public domain Bible translations and occasionally
a translation from the original Hebrew or Greek
suggested by colleagues.
- Adapted from thebricktestament.com.

15. 1. How would you describe the character
of the Sotah as depicted in this image?
2. How is this depiction similar to or
different from the other works? (If you
wish, you can also compare the artwork to
the Biblical text and/or the song.)
3. What do you like about this image and
depiction of the Sotah? What do you
dislike or disagree with?

16. “[A midrash from Tanchuma] recounts the tale of two sisters, Sota and Bekhorah, who are bound together
in symbiotic loyalty when Sota’s husband accuses her of infidelity…Video projections on all four walls of
the exhibition space allow multiple narratives to develop concurrently, thus calling into question the notion
of a single, coherent truth. The Sota Project uses the most current new media technologies while
employing storytelling techniques inspired by ancient Greco-Roman murals and Renaissance tapestries.”
- Text from website of artist Ofri Cnaani
The Sota Project – Ofri Cnaani

17. - from Divinity School (American Poetry Review, 2015) by Alicia Jo Rabins
THE MAGIC
My students visit me in the basement.
I hand each one a small well
of ground-up letters
the color of crushed pearl,
a cream base for lids.
We study the magic of powder,
shadow, wand, brush
till beauty beats their faces
with its little tendrils
and red butterflies
settle on their cheeks.
Let my thighs sag, girls,
let my belly distend.
Let me teach you about beauty:
a slanted shipwreck
draped in its own torn sails.
HOW TO SAIL
Scrape the curse off the parchment. Stir the broken letters into a jar of water.
Make a woman drink it: thus said Elohim. But why: thus said Molly, twelve
years old. Now I was the teacher. We sat there, two black flames in a room of
white fire. We were sailing on a wind that passed through the open window of
a room next to the marketplace, two thousand years ago.

18. the DAUGHTERS
of TZELOFCHAD

19. Numbers Chapter 27
1) The daughters of Zelophehad, of Manassite family—son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir
son of Manasseh son of Joseph—came forward. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah,
Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2) They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the chieftains, and the
whole assembly, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and they said, 3) “Our father died in the
wilderness. He was not one of the faction, Korah’s faction, which banded together against God, but
died for his own sin; and he has left no sons. 4) Let not our father’s name be lost to his clan just
because he had no son! Give us a holding among our father’s kinsmen!” 5) Moses brought their case
before God. 6) And God said to Moses, 7) “The plea of Zelophehad’s daughters is just: you should
give them a hereditary holding among their father’s kinsmen; transfer their father’s share to them.
8) “Further, speak to the Israelite people as follows: ‘If a man dies without leaving a son, you shall
transfer his property to his daughter. 9) If he has no daughter, you shall assign his property to his
brothers. 10) If he has no brothers, you shall assign his property to his father’s brothers. 11) If his
father had no brothers, you shall assign his property to his nearest relative in his own clan, and he
shall inherit it.’ This shall be the law of procedure for the Israelites, in accordance with God’s
command to Moses.”
- Translation adapted from JPS

20. 1. What is your initial response to this text?
2. What questions does the text raise for you? What does the text tell
us about the daughters’ situation and what does it leave out?
3. How do you imagine the five sisters decided to bring their case
before Moses? How much discussion do you think occurred? Do you
think they all agreed?
4. Can you think of a modern day analog or equivalent to this story, or
a contemporary situation which resembles it?

21. I’ve been trying to explain
The parts are different but the sum is the same
Trying to get you to you realize
That half the winners [are] taking all of the prize
1 2 3 4 5
Still breathing still alive
But when I disappear
Will anybody know that I was here
Two sides of a river, two sides of a coin
And a place in the middle where both sides join
The light of the moon and the light of the sun
And a place in the dark where the two become one
5 4 3 2 1
You tell us how it’s done
But your daughters and your sons
Know a new arithmetic will come
A song in the Daughters of Tzelofchad’s voices by Alicia Jo Rabins/Girls in Trouble
I’ve been trying to explain
what you call a theory I call a game
Trying to make you understand
that everybody’s made of stars and sand
1 2 3 4 5
Still breathing still alive
But when we disappear
Will anybody anybody anybody know that we were here

22. I’ve been trying to explain
The parts are different but the sum is the same
Trying to get you to you realize
That half the winners [are] taking all of the prize
1 2 3 4 5
Still breathing still alive
But when I disappear
Will anybody know that I was here
Two sides of a river, two sides of a coin
And a place in the middle where both sides join
The light of the moon and the light of the sun
And a place in the dark where the two become one
5 4 3 2 1
You tell us how it’s done
But your daughters and your sons
Know a new arithmetic will come
A song in the Daughters of Tzelofchad’s voices by Alicia Jo Rabins/Girls in Trouble
I’ve been trying to explain
what you call a theory I call a game
Trying to make you understand
that everybody’s made of stars and sand
1 2 3 4 5
Still breathing still alive
But when we disappear
Will anybody anybody anybody know that we were here
1. How would you describe this song? What feelings does it evoke?
2. What parts of the text can you find in the song? What has the artist added?
3. What questions or observations come to mind when you listen to this song?

23. The Daughters of Zelophehad
(Illustration from the 1897 Bible Pictures and
What They Teach Us by Charles Foster.)
The Daughters of Zelophehad
(Illustration from The Bible and Its Story Taught by
One Thousand Picture Lessons. Edited by Charles F.
Horne and Julius A. Bewer. 1908.)

24. The Daughters of Zelophehad
(Daniel Botkin. Oil on canvas.)
The Daughters Of Zelophehad
(Janet Shafner. 3 panels, oil on Canvas, 2006.)

25. Daughters of Tzelafchad
(Michal Baratz Koren. C-
Print, 2014. Zemack
Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv.)

26. www.girlsintroublemusic.com | www.aliciajo.com

27. Can We Talk? Live: Celebrating 20 Years of the Red Tent
Join JWA on May 9, 2018 for an exciting evening with
author Anita Diamant, discussing her best-seller The
Red Tent! This year is the 20th anniversary of the
novel's publication, and Diamant will be in dialogue
with local leaders about how the book has impacted
them and their communities. The event will be
recorded for a future episode of JWA's podcast, Can
We Talk? Register now!

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