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Week 57 - Shabbat - 30 December 2000

YEVAMOT: CHAPTER 14: MISHNAH 1

A deaf-mute who married a woman of sound senses and a man of sound senses who married a deaf-mute woman: if he wants, he sends her away, and if he wants -- he keeps; just as he weds by signs, so does he send her away by signs. If a man of sound senses married a woman of sound senses, and she became a deaf-mute: if he wants, he sends her away, and if he wants -- he keeps. If she became imbecile -- he may not send her away. If he became a deaf-mute, or he became imbecile -- he may not send her away forever. Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri said, Why does a woman who became a deaf-mute go out, and the man who became a deaf-mute does not send away? They said to him, The man who divorces is not like the woman who is divorced, for the woman goes out with her consent or without her consent, but the man sends away only with his consent.

Kehati

This chapter discusses the marriage of a male deaf-mute or of a female deaf-mute, regarding the bill of divorce and yibum. As mentioned in the preceding chapter, the marriage of a male or female deaf-mute is binding only by Rabbinic law, for since they are not mentally competent, their marriage is not valid by Torah law; the Sages, however, instituted marriage for them.

A deaf-mute -- who neither hears nor speaks, who married a woman of sound senses -- i.e., who is not a deaf-mute, and -- or -- a man of sound senses -- who is not a deaf-mute, who married a deaf-mute woman: if he wants, he sends her away -- he divorces his wife with a bill of divorce, and if he wants -- he keeps her; the reason why a male deaf-mute may divorce is because divorce is like marriage and just as he weds by signs, so does he send her away by signs -- and if a man of sound senses married a deaf-mute he may certainly divorce her, because there is no need for the wife's consent for divorce (Hameiri).

If a man of sound senses married a woman of sound senses, and she became a deaf-mute: if he wants, he sends her away -- even though the marriage was a binding marriage by Torah law, since she was of sound senses when he married her, he may nevertheless divorce her after she became a deaf-mute, because the woman's consent is not required in divorce, and therefore the divorce also is valid by Torah law; and certainly, if he wanted -- to keep her, he keeps her.

If she became imbecile -- he may not send her away -- even though she knows how to guard her bill of divorce, and she may be divorced by Torah law, nevertheless, the Sages enacted that he may not divorce her, lest people treat her in a wanton manner.

If he married a woman when he was of sound senses, and afterwards he became a deaf-mute, or he became imbecile -- since his marriage was fully valid, now he may not send her away -- divorce his wife, forever -- since he is not mentally competent, and his defective divorce, cannot cancel his fully valid marriage.

Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri said, Why does a woman who became a deaf-mute go out, and the man who became a deaf-mute does not send away? -- the Gemara explains that Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri disagrees with the Sages, and he holds that just as the man who became a deaf-mute not be divorced, but he asks the Sages, Why do you distinguish between the man and the woman?

They -- the Sages, said to him -- Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri, The man who divorces is not like the woman who is divorced, for the woman goes out with her consent or without her consent -- a man may divorce his wife even without her consent (by Torah law), and therefore even a woman who became a deaf-mute may be divorced, but the man sends away only with his consent -- and since he became a deaf-mute and is not mentally competent, he may not send away his wife, the marriage to whom was fully valid, and which took place when he was of sound senses.

YEVAMOT: CHAPTER 14: MISHNAH 2

Rabbi Yohanan ben Gudgada testified about a female deaf-mute whose father gave her in marriage, that she goes out with a bill of divorce. They said to him, This one, too, is like her.

Kehati

Rabbi Yohanan ben Gudgada testified about a female deaf-mute whose father -- received the money of the marriage for her when she was a minor and gave her in marriage -- so she is a fully married woman, that she goes out with a bill of divorce -- she herself receives her bill of divorce, even though she is a deaf-mute and is not considered to be mentally competent, since a woman may be divorced even without her consent, her knowledge is not required.

They -- the Sages, said to him -- Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri, who had disagreed with them in the preceding mishnah, This one, too, -- the woman of sound senses who had become a deaf-mute, whose marriage was fully valid, is like her -- she has the same legal status as the deaf-mute who was given in marriage by her father, for even though her marriage is fully valid, she may be divorced, because her knowledge is not required. The intent of this mishnah is that the Sages adduced the testimony of Rabbi Yohanan ben Gudgada to refute the opinion of

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