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Week 55 - Sunday-10 December 2000

YEVAMOT: CHAPTER 9: MISHNAH 2

And these are permitted to their yevamim and prohibited to their husbands: a High Priest who betrothed a widow, and he has a brother a common priest; a fit who married a halalah, and he has a halal brother; an Israelite who married a mamzeret, and he has a mamzer brother; a mamzer who married the daughter of an Israelite, and he has an Israelite brother -- are permitted to their yevamim and prohibited to their husbands. Prohibited to these and to these: a High Priest who married a widow, and he has a brother a High Priest, or a common priest; a fit who married a halalah, and he has a fit brother; an Israelite who married a mamzeret and he has an Israelite brother; a mamzer who married the daughter of an Israelite, and he has a mamzer brother -- are prohibited to these and to these. And all the other women are permitted to their husbands and to their yevamim.

Kehati

And these are permitted to their yevamim and prohibited to their husbands: a High Priest who betrothed a widow, and he has a brother, a common priest -- she was prohibited to her husband, but his brother is permitted to marry her as his yevamah. Only if the High Priest did not marry her, but only betrothed her, as stated in the mishnah, is she permitted after his death to be married by yibum by his brother who is a common priest. If, however, he had wed her, she was profaned by his intercourse with her, and she is prohibited even to a common priest;

A fit priest who married a halalah -- who is prohibited to him, and he has a halal brother -- to whom she is permitted to be married as his yevamah; an Israelite who married a mamzeret -- who is prohibited to him, and he has a mamzer brother -- who is permitted to marry a mamzeret as his yevamah;

A mamzer who unlawfully married the daughter of an Israelite and he has an Israelite brother -- to whom she is permitted to be married as his yevamah; all these are permitted to their yevamim and prohibited to their husbands -- as we have explained.

These are the women who are prohibited to these -- their husbands, and to these -- their yevamim:

A High Priest who married a widow, and he has a brother a High Priest, or a common priest -- she is prohibited to a common priest as well, because she was profaned, as explained in the beginning of this mishnah, above;

A fit priest who married a halalah -- a marriage which is prohibited, and he has a fit brother -- who is prohibited from marrying a halalah as his yevamah;

An Israelite who married a mamzeret -- a marriage which is prohibited, and he has an Israelite brother -- who is prohibited from marrying a mamzeret as his yevamah;

A mamzer who married a daughter of an Israelite -- a marriage which is prohibited, and he has a mamzer brother -- to whom she is prohibited to be married as his yevamah; all these are prohibited both to these -- their husbands, and to these -- their yevamim, as we have explained.

And all the other women are permitted to their husbands and to their yevamim -- the Gemara explains that the clause used by the mishnah, "and all the other women," is not to be taken literally, for there are other cases of women who are permitted to their husbands and prohibited to their yevamim, e.g., if the yavam is a petzu'a daka, or one of the fifteen arayot listed at the beginning of this Tractate (Jer. Talmud); and if the husband is a petzu'a daka, she is prohibited to her husband and permitted to be married by yibum, etc. (see Yev. 84b).

YEVAMOT: CHAPTER 9: MISHNAH 3

Secondaries by the decree of the Scribes: secondary to the husband but not secondary to the yavam -- is prohibited to the husband and permitted to the yavam. Secondary to the yavam but not secondary to the husband -- is prohibited to the yavam and permitted to the husband. Secondary to this one and to this one -- is prohibited to this one and to this one. She does not have her ketubah, or fruits, or maintenance, or depreciation, and the child is fit, and they compel him to divorce her. A widow to a High Priest, a divorced woman or a halutzah to a common priest, a mamzeret or a netinah to an Israelite, the daughter of an Israelite to a netin or to a mamzer -- they have their ketubah.

Kehati

Secondaries -- women who are prohibited by the law of "secondary arayot," e.g., his mother's mother, his father's mother, his son's daughter-in-law, his daughter's daughter-in-law, his son's daughter's daughter, his son's son's daughter, his daughter's daughter's daughter, etc. (see Rambam, Hil. Ishut 1:6), who are prohibited by the decree of the Scribes: if she is secondary to the husband but not secondary to the yavam -- e.g., she is the mother of the mother of the husband, but not of the yavam, for they are brothers by the father and not by the mother, is prohibited to the husband and permitted to the yavam -- i.e., even though she was prohibited to the husband, nevertheless, if the husband died childless, and she came for yibum before the yavam, to whom she is not a secondary, she is permitted to be married to him as his yevamah.

Secondary to the yavam but not secondary to the husband -- prohibited to the yavam and permitted to the husband -- it has already been taught that if the yevamah is prohibited to the yavam by the law of secondary arayot," she performs halitzah and does not marry by yibum (2:3-4, above).

Secondary to this one -- the husband, and to this one -- the yavam, she is prohibited to this one -- the husband, and she is prohibited to this one -- the yavam.

And if a man transgressed Rabbinic law and married a woman who is a secondary, she -- this woman, does not have her ketubah -- we have already mentioned that, at the time of the wedding, the husband writes to his wife a ketubah, whose essence is a monetary commitment of two hundred dinars for a virgin or of one hundred dinars for a widow, which she will receive if he divorces her or if he dies. The woman who is prohibited to her husband by the prohibition of "secondary arayot" was punished by the Sages in that she does not receive the financial settlement of her ketubah, of fruits -- the husband does not pay her for the fruits that he consumed from her usufruct property. Even though the husband's right to the fruits of his wife's melog property is a recompense for his obligation to ransom her if she is taken captive by non-Jews, and she is not required to ransom this wife who is prohibited to him, and it therefore would be proper that he pay her for what he consumed of the fruits of her melog property, nonetheless the Sages punished her and she cannot collect from him the fruits he consumed, just as she does not collect her ketubah (Rashi; Bartenura). According to another interpretation, the law of fruits does not apply to her, i.e., he is not obligated to ransom her if she is taken captive, even though he consumes the fruits of her melog property (Rashi, Git. 79b; Tosafot on this topic in the Gemara); or maintenance -- he is not obligated to pay her maintenance, neither during his lifetime, nor after his death (see Bartenura and Tosefot Yom Tov); or depreciation -- if the husband made use of her melog property until it was worn-out, he is not required to pay her its monetary value, and we do not say that since he does not pay her her ketubah, he is required to pay her the depreciation, for the Sages punished her in that he does not pay her for depreciation, for the Sages punished her in that he does not pay her for depreciation; she has to take what remained of this property; and the child is fit -- even for the priesthood, and they compel him to divorce her.

But if a widow is married to a High Priest -- a marriage which is prohibited, or a divorced woman or a halutzah to a common priest, or a mamzeret or a netinah to an Israelite, or the daughter of an Israelite to a natin or to a mamzer -- they have their ketubah -- and the other rights listed above, i.e., fruits, maintenance, and depreciation. The Gemara explains the reason for this: these latter cases involve Torah prohibitions, and Torah law does not require reinforcement, whereas the law of "secondary arayot," being a Rabbinic prohibition, requires reinforcement (i.e., the imposition of a punishment). Although the marriage of a halutzah to a common priest is prohibited only by Rabbinic law, nevertheless she has the same legal status as a divorcee, for the purposes of this law. According to another opinion, the halutzah has the legal status of a "secondary," but the Tanna routinely mentions the halutzah together with the divorcee (see Tosafot Yom Tov).

The law which was taught in the cases of the widow to the High Priest, the divorcee or halutzah to the common priest, etc., that she has maintenance, applies only after her husband has died; during his lifetime, however, he is not compelled to give her maintenance, for he is obligated to divorce her (Gemara). Besides the essence of the ketubah, which is two hundred dinars for a virgin and one hundred for a widow, a husband usually pays an additional sum, which is called the "supplementary ketubah"; this supplementary ketubah is, for most matters, governed by the same rules as the essence of the ketubah. However, regarding the law that the "secondary" has no ketubah, the commentators explain (following the Gemara, Ket. 101a), that it is only the essence of the ketubah which she does not receive, but she does receive the supplementary ketubah, which is merely a gift, given out of affection.

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