Torah Community Connections

Week 87 - Wednesday - 25 July 2001

GITTIN: CHAPTER 8: MISHNAH 6

All the prohibited relatives concerning whom they ruled that their wives are permitted, if these fellow-wives went and married, and those were found to be barren women - she must leave this one and this one, and all these conditions apply to her.

Kehati

We learned at the beginning of Tractate Yevamot: "Fifteen women exempt their fellow-wives ... from halitzah and from levirate marriage, and these are they: his daughter, and his daughter's daughter, and his son's daughter, his wife's daughter, and her son's daughter.... And all of them, if they were found to be barren, their co-wives are permitted." I.e., if one of these prohibited relatives was married to a man's brother who also had another wife, called tzarot (rivals) and this brother died childless, the two wives, who would normally be liable to the law of levirate marriage are exempt from both levirate marriage and halitzah. If, however, the forbidden relative was found to be barren, then the first marriage was in error and, therefore, void, and the woman was exempt from the levirate marriage. Consequently, the co-wife - who is now not her rival - may contract levirate marriage. The mishnah teaches that if these fellow-wives, who were exempted by prohibited relatives from halitzah and from levirate marriage married, and the prohibited relatives were later found to be barren, all conditions taught in the preceding mishnah apply to them.

All the - fifteen - prohibited relatives - listed at the beginning of Tractate Yevamot, concerning whom they - the Sages, ruled that their wives - also - are permitted - to remarry when their husbands die childless, since the prohibited relatives exempt them from halitzah and from levirate marriage as explained above; - if these fellow- wives went and married - on the basis of this exemption, and - afterwards - those - prohibited relatives - were found to be barren women - and their marriages were contracted in error, and the co-wives are therefore not tzarot and require yibum, or halitzah, since they were never exempted by the rule of "prohibited relatives" as explained above, she - the fellow-wife, must leave this one - the husband who married her, and this one - the brother-in-law and all these conditions apply to her - all the laws taught in the preceding mishnah, i.e., that she requires a get from the husband and halitzah from the brother-in-law, she receives neither the ketubah nor produce, etc., and her offspring are mamzerim. The Gemara (Yevamot) explains that our mishnah follows Rabbi Akiva's view, that the fruit of any union forbidden by the Torah is a mamzer. The halakhah, however, does not follow this view.

GITTIN: CHAPTER 8: MISHNAH 7

If a man weds his sister-in-law, and her rival went and married another, and this one was found to be a barren woman - she must leave this one and this one, and all these conditions apply to her.

Kehati

We learned in Tractate Yevamot (4:11): "If a person was married to two wives, and he died - the marriage or halitzah of one of them exempts her fellow-wife," i.e., it is forbidden to contract levirate marriage or to perform halitzah with both wives, as it is written, "who does not build up his brother's house" (Deut. 25:9) - he builds one "house," - but he does not build two houses, and it is also written, "the house of him that had his shoe loosened (ibid., v. 6) - one house and not two houses. It is also forbidden to perform halitzah with one of the wives and marry the other, as it is written, "And if a man does not want to take his brother's wife and shall loose his shoe from off his foot" (ibid., v. 7-9) - but if he wants, he marries her, i.e., whoever is eligible for halitzah is eligible for yibum, and whoever is not eligible for halitzah is not eligible for yibum). Therefore, when he performs yibum or halitzah with one of them, her fellow-wife is permitted to marry any man. Our mishnah teaches that if one of the wives remarried after her fellow-wife had contracted levirate marriage and the latter is found a barren woman, all laws taught in mishnah 5, above, apply to her.

If a man weds his sister-in-law - and thereby frees her fellow-wife to remarry as explained above, and her rival went and married another, and this one - who married her brother-in-law, was afterwards found to be a barren woman - whose marriage was contracted in error, and therefore was not liable to yibum, but the rival now is, and she had remarried without performing halitzah, she - the fellow-wife, must leave this one - her present husband, and this one - the brother-in- law, and all these conditions apply to her - all the laws taught in mishnah 5, above, apply to her, i.e., that she needs a get from the husband and halitzah from the brother-in-law, she receives no ketubah or produce, etc., and that the offspring is a mamzer, etc.. This mishnah also follows Rabbi Akiva's view as mentioned in the preceding mishnah.

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