When a man suspects that his wife has been cheating on him and due to jealousy asks her not to meet with the man yet she does, this is the “sotah” situation of which the Torah speaks. If there are witnesses that the two were alone together in an isolated place and the woman denies that she committed adultery, she must validate her version in the Holy Temple by the magic ceremony of drinking holy waters. The early sages ruled the length of time that the suspected couple must be alone together. According to one sage, R’ Ishmael, the amount of time they must be alone together is the amount of time it would take for partial sexual relations; there is no need for full penetration. How long does this partial penetration take? Answer: The length of time it take a person to encircle a palm tree. Another sage said that it is the length of time it takes a person to dilute a cup of wine with water. Another sage said that it is the length of time it takes to drink a cup of wine. Another sage said it is the length of time it takes to roast an egg. Another sage said it is the length of time it takes to swallow an egg. Another sage said it is the length of time it takes to swallow three eggs, one after the other. Another sage said it is the length of time it takes to tie a knot in a string. Another sage said it is the length of time it takes for a woman to reach her hand into her mouth to remove a chip of wood. Another sage said it is the length of time it takes to reach a hand into a basket to remove a loaf of bread. Another sage said it is the length of time it takes the wind to shake a palm frond. One of the scholars, Rav Ashi, tried to clarify the amount which the wind shakes the palm frond — is this the length of time it takes to shake the frond back and forth or the length of time it takes to shake the frond until it returns to its original spot? This question was not resolved; in the language of the sages this is called taiku. The scholar also tried to clarify the length of time it takes to tie a knot — should this be measured using a long string which has ends far from each other or a short string whose ends are close together? This question was not answered. The abovementioned scholar continued to clarify how long it takes to reach a hand into a basket to remove a loaf of bread — is this a narrow basket or one that is wide, a new basket or old, warm bread which has been crushed or cold bread, wheat flour bread or barley flour, soft bread or hard. His doubts were never resolved. A different scholar, Rabbi Yochanan, said that each of the rabbis estimated the time based on his own personal experience, and naturally each one took a different amount of time to achieve even partial penetration of his wife. The scholars asked: If so, if the sages’ ruling is based on their own personal experience, then how is it that the unmarried Ben Azzai, the sage who ruled that the length of time required is that sufficient for roast an egg, knew? Answer: He had been married and left his wife. Another answer: His rabbi told him. Another answer: He was a great sage who knew things beyond his personal experience, “The secret of the Lord is with they that fear Him.”
(Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sotah 4a-b)