For the source text click/tap here: Sotah 20
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Steinsaltz writes:
According to the Mishna on our daf, if the sota is in fact guilty of adultery, after she drinks the “bitter water” her face will begin to turn green and her eyes will bulge out. At that point the people standing nearby immediately remove her from the Temple precincts lest she me-tameh the holy place.
The Gemara attempts to clarify what the fear of ritual defilement might be.
Abaye explains that the concern is that she might bleed and become a nidda.
The Gemara offers support to the idea that a sudden fear might cause a woman to become a nidda from the passage in Megillat Esther (4:4), which is understood by Rav to mean that Esther became a nidda upon hearing that Mordekhai was in sackcloth following Haman’s decree.
At the same time, the Gemara questions whether this is true, given the Mishna in Massekhet Nidda which teaches that fear stops a woman from menstruating. The Gemara’s explanation is that although a long-term fear may keep a woman from menstruating normally, a sudden shock may cause a woman to bleed.
We explore the evidence for the influence of stress and menstruation.