Sotah: Secrets

Sexuality and jealousy; secrets and shame. The Sotah is not a character, but a category: a woman whose husband is convinced that she’s been unfaithful, but cannot prove it. What follows is a ritual which will either harm her – or set her free.

The Sotah is made to undergo this humiliating ritual at the hands of the High Priest – drinking a bitter, magical potion which will have terrible effects on her body if she is, indeed, guilty. Is this ritual a manifestation of the power men have over their wives in this society? Or is it a way to help rescue a woman from the torture of living with a chronically jealous husband? And what does it tell us about how we treat each other, the power of communal ritual, and how to heal our most intimate relationships?