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Week 57 - Monday - 25 December 2000

YEVAMOT: CHAPTER 13: MISHNAH 4

If she refuses a man: he is permitted to her relatives, and she is permitted to his relatives, and she is not disqualified from the priesthood. If he gave her a bill of divorce, he is prohibited to her relatives and she is prohibited to his relatives, and she is disqualified from the priesthood. If he gave her a bill of divorce and took her back, if she refused him and was married to another, and she was widowed or divorced -- she is permitted to return to him. If she refused him and he took her back, he gave her a bill of divorce and she married another, and she was widowed or divorced -- she is prohibited from returning to him. This is the general rule: a bill of divorce after Refusal -- she is prohibited from returning to him; Refusal after a bill of divorce -- she is permitted to return to him.

Kehati

If she refuses a man: he is permitted to her relatives, and she is permitted to his relatives -- her legal status is that of one who had never been betrothed, and she is not disqualified from the priesthood -- for Refusal is not considered a bill of divorce.

If he gave her a bill of divorce -- while she still is a minor: he is prohibited to her relatives and she is prohibited to his relatives, and she is disqualified from the priesthood -- as she did not refuse him, and she went away from him with a bill of divorce, she is considered to be his divorced wife.

If he gave her a bill of divorce and took her back -- while still a minor, if she refused him -- after he took her back, and married another -- after her Refusal, and widowed or she was divorced -- from her second husband, she is permitted to return to him -- her first husband. Though a man is prohibited from taking back his divorced wife after she married another person, as it is written, "Her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife" (Deut. 24:4), in this case, however, she is permitted to return to the one who divorced her, for since she refused him after he had taken her back, the Refusal canceled the bill of divorce, and is regarded as if she had never been divorced from him with a bill of divorce. But if she refused him -- initially, and he took her back, and after he took her back he gave her a bill of divorce and she married another, and she was widowed or divorced -- from him, she is prohibited from returning to him -- her first husband, since her going away from him with a bill of divorce was the last action, her legal status is as his divorced wife who married another, whom he is forbidden to take back.

This is the general rule: a bill of divorce after Refusal -- if he divorced her, and took her back, and she refused him, even several times, if she married another on the basis of the bill of divorce, and she was widowed from him, she is prohibited from returning to him -- as his divorced wife; Refusal after a bill of divorce -- if she married another on the basis of her Refusal, and she was widowed or was divorced from him, she is permitted to return to him -- since the Refusal which followed the bill of divorce canceled the bill of divorce, and this is not an instance of divorce, but only of Refusal.

YEVAMOT: CHAPTER 13: MISHNAH 5

If she refused a man, and married another, and he divorced her; another, and she refused him; another, and he divorced her; another, and she refused him: from whomever she went forth by a bill of divorce, she is prohibited from returning to him; by Refusal -- she is permitted to return to him.

Kehati

If she refused a man, and married another, and he -- the second one, divorced her; and then she was married another -- a third one, and she refused him; and once again, she married another -- a fourth one, and he divorced her -- with a bill of divorce and once again, she married another -- a fifth one, and she refused him:

From whomever she went forth by a bill of divorce -- the second one and the fourth one, she is prohibited from returning to him -- since she is his divorced wife who had married another. Even though she went forth from the one following him by Refusal, and it was taught in the preceding mishnah that Refusal cancels the bill of divorce, still she is prohibited from returning to the one who divorced her, for the Refusal by which she refused one husband does not cancel the bill of divorce which had been given by another husband; but from whomever she went forth by Refusal -- i.e., the first and the third, she is permitted to return to him -- for he takes her back on the basis of the Refusal, and not of a bill of divorce.

The Gemara explains the reason for "the Refusal by which she refused one husband does not cancel the bill of divorce which had been given by another husband": if we were to say that the Refusal of the second cancels the bill of divorce of the first, we fear that the husband who divorces her will entice the minor to refuse her second husband and to return to him, for since she already was his wife she is familiar with his gestures and hints. This is not so in the case in which the Refusal of this husband follows the bill of divorce that he himself gave, i.e., the case that was taught in the preceding mishnah: "if he gave her a bill of divorce and took her back, if she refused him and married another," for in such a case the Refusal cancels the bill of divorce and she is permitted to return to him, and we do not fear that he will entice her to refuse the second one and to return to him, for since he already took her back once after he divorced her, and she once again went forth from him by Refusal, she revealed her mind that she does not want him, and therefore there is no fear tat he will entice her to refuse his fellow. In the case, however, in which she married another on the basis of a bill of divorce, he may come and persuade her that he regrets the divorce, and since she went forth from him against her will, she is liable to be enticed by him and to refuse his fellow. They therefore stated that since she went forth from him by a bill of divorce, she is prohibited from returning to him, even if she went forth from the second one by Refusal, i.e., the refusal of his fellow does not cancel his bill of divorce. Rambam rules accordingly: "If a person divorces a girl who is a minor with a bill of divorce, and she married another and refused him, she is prohibited from returning to the first, because she went forth from him by a bill of divorce, even though she went forth from the last one by Refusal" (Hil. Gerushin 11:16).

The preceding mishnah, however, does not imply this, for it teaches: "if she refused him and he took her back, he gave her a bill of divorce and she married another, and she was widowed or divorced -- she is prohibited from returning to him" -- implying that she is prohibited from returning to the first husband only if she was widowed or divorced from the second one, but if she refused the second one, she is permitted to return to the first one. The Gemara raises this question, and replies as follows: "The Tanna who taught this one did not teach this one," i.e., these two mishnayot are not the opinion of one Tanna, but of two Tannaim who dispute with one another (see also Tosefot Rabbi Akiva Eiger).

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