The older I get, the more I have come to realize how much of who we are and what we do is decided by forces beyond our control. Whether genetics, chemical imbalances, formative experiences or circumstances of birth beyond our control such as socio-economic or family status, so much of how our lives will play out is already decided for us. Ask yourself: How many of my life's decisions did I truly make on my own, without influence from sources beyond my control?
This is what Judaism refers to as mazel, commonly translated as luck, but more appropriately connoting that which is beyond our control (see Sotah 2A, or my explanation of the opening gemara). Religion in general tends to be very much against giving credence to Mazel, insisting instead on attributing to Man free will to guide his life however he sees fit. It is argued that a criteria for a system of justice is that Man be free to choose between good and bad; if Man is not responsible for his actions, how can he be justly punished for transgressions? Accepting determinism is viewed as incompatible with a world in which Man is responsible for his actions.
Judaism, I think, takes a different approach, recognizing Man's determined nature, while at the same time insisting he take responsibilty for his own destiny. It becomes one of life's ultimate ironies, that despite so much of a Man is predetermined and beyond his control, he (or she) alone must take responsibility for his actions.
The role of science is to help Man confront and subdue Nature through technology, in an effort to produce a better world. This science is objective, it makes no value judgements on the applications of the discovered techniques; the kind of world that is created by the application of technology is dependent upon the society that cultivates the science. In a society fueled by fame and fortune, we get blogs and stock markets. It is easy to imagine an alternate society in which technology is more directly applied to the alleviation of human suffering and increasing human dignity. Perhaps we are on the path, angling ever closer to a world in which Mazel no longer rules our destiny.
A random Google search for Sotah turned up an article entiteld "The Meaning of the Trial of the Sotah" by Tilia Klebenov. The article offers a good summary of the source text, as well as deeper exploration into the meaning and symbolism of the Sotah process. In particular, the article draws a connection between the Adamah (Earth) used to dirty the bitter waters and the Adamah used to create Man:
In addition to the ink, it contains holy water, meim kiddoshim, mixed with some of the earth that is on the floor of the Tabernacle.(Num 5:17) This act contains multiple layers of meaning...[The Tabernacle] was the place where heaven and earth were linked by the just and powerful presence of the Divine. Because of this, the woman's drinking the earth and water is nothing less than her completing a circuit. She is becoming physically and visibly connected to the earth--it is now in her body--the same earth which God enters at this same location.
This is especially powerful when we realize that this is a culture which believed that mankind sprang from the soil. Adam, of course, is fashioned from the earth; and the Hebrew word for soil is adamah. The two words have the same root. In this sense, then, the woman is doing nothing less than imbibing her own essential nature, she is earth, and she drinks the earth. In so doing, she is placing herself utterly in God's presence, in the hands of the one who fashioned the first humans from that same soil.
I think this may help in understanding the focus on Eglah Arufah towards the end of the tractate.
I started reviewing Sotah, the section of the Talmud dealing with the itinerant wife (My chavrusah and I are currently in the third chapter). The tractate opens with a discussion of how a jealous husband goes about appropriately warning his wife to keep away from a specific person.
The Talmud infers from the wording of the Mishneh that issuing this warning (kinui) is forbidden. It then follows with a discussion of how Reish Lakish would begin teaching Sotah:
א"ר שמואל בר רב יצחק כי הוה פתח ריש לקיש בסוטה אמר הכי אין מזווגין לו לאדם אשה אלא לפי מעשיו שנא' (תהילים קכה) כי לא ינוח שבט הרשע על גורל הצדיקים אמר רבה בר בר חנה אמר ר' יוחנן וקשין לזווגן כקריעת ים סוף שנאמר (תהילים סח) אלהים מושיב יחידים ביתה מוציא אסירים בכושרות איני והא אמר רב יהודה אמר רב ארבעים יום קודם יצירת הולד בת קול יוצאת ואומרת בת פלוני לפלוני בית פלוני לפלוני שדה פלוני לפלוני לא קשיא הא בזוג ראשון הא בזוג שני
Says R. Shmuel Bar Yitzchak, "When Reish Lakish would begin [teaching] Sotah, he would say this: A person is only matched [i.e. married] to a woman according to his deeds, as it says (Psalms 125) 'The scepter of the evil will not rest in the portion of the righteous.' Says Rabbah Bar Bar Channah in the name of R. Yochanan: And their pairing is as difficult as parting of the [Red] Sea, as it says (Psalms 68): 'God returns individuals to their homes, He frees the prisoners in distress.' Is that so? For R. Yehudah says in the name of Rav: 'Forty days before the creation of a child, a voice from Heaven cries out, 'So and so will marry so and so, the house of so and so will go to so and so, the field such and such will go to so and so'. [This is not a contradiction], rather, [the latter] refers to one's first match, while [the former] refers to one's second match. [Translation is my own]
This entire dialogue, including the statement that Sotah is a forbidden practice, is all included in one paragraph of the Talmud (Sotah 2A). When I first learned it through, I was unsure of a connection between the two statements. Rather, they appeared to be simply lumped together. Upon reexamining them this morning, however, I think I have a better understanding of how the two statements are related.
Reish Lakish is essentially advocating a view that everything that happens to us is due to our deeds, our merit. If we have a bad wife, it is because we deserved it. Reish Lakish's view is that the world is ordered, by God, and that justice will always be done.
The second view (which is quoted in the name of R. Yochanan, the traditional 'bar plugta' of Reish Lakish) presents a different view of the world. There are things that, when we are born into this world, over which we have no control. Certain facts, established well before we are born, determine for us the outcome of certain things in our life. Rashi brings the famous statement Aggadata, that before each child is conceived, the Angel in charge of conception brings each seed before God, and it is decreed if the child will be strong or weak, rich or poor, wise or stupid. It is not, however, decreed whether or not the child will be Good or Evil, for only man can decide this. This, Rashi says, is what is called Mazel (interesting corrallary to this would be the Gemara at the end of Moed Kattan. Not to mention, "Ain Mazel L'Yisrael").
With this understanding, I believe the passage makes sense as a whole. The Talmud states that ideally, it is forbidden to issue the Sotah warning to your wife. Reish Lakish is brought in support of this, since each person is only given a wife according to his merit. His situation is obviously his own doing, so he must learn to live with it. R. Yochanan's opinion is brought as a challenge. Whom one is married to is decreed by Mazel, and their is nothing one can do to control it. Why should one sit back and let Mazel make his life miserable? Let him take control of his own life.
Now the Talmud's answer makes even more sense, beyond a simply apologetic accomadation of both views. One's first wife is decided by Mazel. If all goes well, good, and if not, should he decide to take the reins and decide his own future, then his next wife is granted to him according to his merit. God even goes to the trouble of 'parting the Seas' (subverting the laws of nature) to make the match. In this case, once a person is taking control of his own life, the Sotah procedure is forbidden (since it is essentially one turning over the decision to God), as this person has shown prior to that he can make decisions and take control.
There is a lot more here to be discussed, but this is all for now. I will note that the themes and questions of God's justice are prevalent throughout Sotah (at least the first two chapters, anyway). As I continue my review, I'll try and focus on this aspect, since I think it is ultimately the main point of the tractate and represents what this commandment is really trying to teach us.