“He shall give the woman to drink the water of bitterness that causes curse, and the water that causes curse will enter her for bitterness” (Numbers 5:24). “He shall give the woman to drink…” – Rabbi Shimon would say: Drinking is stated before the meal offering and drinking is stated after the meal offering, to say that if drinking was prior, it is valid, and if the meal offering was prior, it is valid.
“The priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, and he shall wave the meal offering before the Lord and bring it near to the altar” (Numbers 5:25). “The priest shall take…from the woman’s hand” – does he wave in his hand? Is it not in the hand of the woman that he waves? Rather, from here it is derived that he takes it from a non-sacred vessel and places it into a sacred vessel, and the priest places his hands beneath hers and has her wave it. From here, they said: He would take her meal offering from the wicker basket and place it in a service vessel and place it in her hands. And the priest places his hands beneath hers and has her wave it. He shall wave, bring it near, take a handful, and burn it upon the altar, and the rest is eaten by the priests. “From the woman’s hand” – but not from her attendant, as if she began to menstruate she would not drink.160Since she becomes impure and cannot touch the meal offering. “He shall wave the meal offering” – to and fro, raises and lowers. From where is it derived? The verse states: “That was waved and that was raised” (Exodus 29:27). Raising is juxtaposed to waving, to say that everywhere that there is waving, there is raising. From here they said: The mitzva of waving is to and fro, raising and lowering.