The ancient Rabbis grappled with this very human impulse, especially when it came to matters of infidelity and divine justice. Let's dive into a fascinating passage from Bamidbar Rabbah 9 that explores this idea.
The text begins by quoting Jeremiah 23:24: "Can a man hide in concealed places and I will not see him, the utterance of the Lord?" The Rabbis interpret this verse as referring specifically to an adulterer hiding to commit his transgression. Job 24:15 echoes this sentiment: "The eye of the adulterer awaits the night, saying: No eye will behold me; and he masks his face."
But can anyone truly hide from God? The Midrash answers with a powerful parable. Imagine a thief trying to steal from a house with two sets of guards, one inside and one outside. He manages to evade the inner guard, but the outer guard catches him. The outer guard scolds him, "You made a mockery of the inside one, but you are unable to make a mockery of me."
This, the Midrash suggests, is how God views the adulterer. You may deceive the woman’s husband, but you cannot deceive God. As Psalms 2:4 reminds us, "He who resides in heaven will laugh; the Lord will ridicule them." God sees everything. Zechariah 4:10 tells us "The eyes of the Lord rove throughout the earth," and Proverbs 15:3 adds, "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good.”
And what happens then? God becomes a "swift witness," publicizing the adulterer’s sin. Malachi 3:5 lists those against whom God will be a swift witness, including "adulterers." The text then cleverly connects this to the ritual of the sotah, the suspected adulteress.
The sotah ritual, described in Numbers 5, involves a woman suspected of adultery being brought before the priests. She drinks a special mixture of water and dust, and if she is guilty, she will suffer physical consequences. The Midrash interprets Jeremiah 23:24 ("And I will not see him [erenu], the utterance of the Lord?") as "I will not display him [arenu]" – God will reveal the adulterer's actions through the ordeal of the sotah. In essence, God orchestrates events to expose the hidden sin. As the text states, "With your husband you commit a trespass and are deceitful; with Me, you are not able to be deceitful, as I will publicize your actions."
The passage concludes with a chilling story. Two sisters, identical in appearance, lived in different cities. One sister committed adultery, and when her husband became suspicious and planned to subject her to the sotah ritual, she traveled to her sister's city. The adulterous sister confessed her sin, and the innocent sister, in an act of misguided loyalty, offered to take her place. She drank the bitter water and was found innocent. However, when the two sisters embraced, the adulterous sister smelled the bitter water on her sister's breath and immediately died. This illustrates the verse from Ecclesiastes 8:8: "There is no man who rules the spirit, to retain the spirit; and there is no rule over the day of death. There is no sending a proxy in war, and wickedness will not save the one who practices it."
Ultimately, this Midrash teaches us that no sin is truly hidden from God. While we may deceive others, we cannot deceive the Divine. The story of the sisters serves as a stark reminder that our actions have consequences, and that justice, in its own way, will always prevail. The sotah ritual, though seemingly archaic, becomes a powerful symbol of God's all-seeing eye and the inevitable exposure of hidden transgressions. So, what does this say to us? Perhaps that true freedom comes not from hiding our actions, but from living a life of integrity, knowing that we are always seen, always known.