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Week 59 - Monday - 8 January 2001

YEVAMOT: CHAPTER 15: MISHNAH 10

A "yavam was given to me overseas"; she said, "My husband died and afterwards my yavam died," "My yavam and afterwards my husband" -- she is believed. If she, her husband and her yavam went overseas, and she said, "My husband died and afterwards my yavam died," "My yavam and afterwards my husband" -- she is not believed. For a woman is not believed when she says "My yavam died," so that she might be married, and not "My sister died," so that she may enter his house. And a man is not believed when he says "My brother died," so that he might marry his wife by yibum, and not "My wife died," so that he might marry her sister.

Kehati

This mishnah continues to discuss the case of a woman who went overseas with her husband. It teaches the law in the case in which she did not have a yavam when she went overseas, and according to her testimony a son was born there to her mother-in-law.

If she and her husband went overseas, and she did not have a yavam, and she said,

A yavam was given to me overseas" -- i.e., a son was born there to her mother-in-law, and then she said, "My husband died and afterwards my yavam died," or she said, "My yavam died and afterwards my husband died, and I am permitted to marry any man" --

She is believed -- for when she went overseas she did not have a yavam, and since she does not remove herself from this status by her statement, she therefore is believed, and she may marry any man, for the mouth that prohibited is the mouth that permitted (since it is only by her statement that we learned that she had a yavam, we therefore believe her statement that he died).

If she, her husband and her yavam went overseas, and when she came from there she said, "My husband died and afterwards my yavam died," or she said, "My yavam died and afterwards my husband died" -- and I am permitted to marry any man, she is not believed -- as her brother-in-law also went with her overseas, the presumption was that she would be tied to the yavam for yibum after her husband's death, so she is not believed to remove herself from this presumptive status by her statement.

For a woman is not believed when she says "My yavam died," so that she might be married -- to another, without halitzah, for it was only regarding her husband that the Sages were lenient to believe her, because it is presumed that she will not marry until she thoroughly investigates her husband's death, because she does not want to ruin herself, that afterwards she will be prohibited to both her first husband and the second one, and will lose her ketubah rights because of this, and her children will be mamzerim, as the children of an already married woman who married another. Regarding the yavam, however, they do not believe her, for she may dislike him, and we fear that she wants to rid herself of the yibum tie to him; and she is not believed when she says "My sister died," so that she may enter his -- her sister's husband's, house -- in marriage, for since she does not ruin herself by wedding her sister's husband, she might marry him without thoroughly investigating her sister's death.

And a man is not believed when he says "My brother died," so that he might marry his wife by yibum -- for we suspect that he has cast his eyes upon her, and a man is not believed when he says, "My wife died," so that he might marry her sister -- because of the same suspicion mentioned above. Rambam gives this rationale: The Sages only accepted one witness in order to release the agunah (Hil. Yibum 3:11); and for the reason cited above, i.e., that it is presumed that a married woman will not marry another man until it is perfectly clear to her that her husband has died (Tosefot Yom Tov; Bartenura); or, as in the case taught above, because "the mouth that prohibited is the mouth that permitted."

YEVAMOT: CHAPTER 16: MISHNAH 1

If a woman's husband and her rival went overseas, and she was told "Your husband died" -- she may not marry, and she may not be married by yibum, until she knows whether her rival is pregnant. If she had a mother-in-law -- she does not fear. If she left full -- she must fear. Rabbi Yehoshua says, she does not fear.

Kehati

If a woman's husband and her rival went -- her husband had another wife, and he went with her overseas -- and he did not have children when he left, and she was told, "Your husband died" -- she may not be married -- as her husband did not have children when he went overseas, there is a presumption that she requires yibum, and she may not be married by yibum, until she knows whether her rival is pregnant -- for if she bears a viable child, she will be prohibited from marrying by yibum, and if there is no viable child, she will be prohibited from marrying another man. The Gemara explains that she may not perform halitzah either, since a halutzah is forbidden to a priest, and if she were to perform halitzah and afterwards her rival were to bear a viable child, and her halitzah would therefore have been void, it would be necessary to announce that she may marry a priest, and is not disqualified as a result of this halitzah; we fear that someone would know that she had performed halitzah, but had not heard the announcement that this halitzah was void, and when he would later see her married to a priest, he would say that a halutzah is permitted to a priest. If, however, she was, from the beginning, ineligible to marry a priest, e.g., she was a divorcee, she may perform halitzah.

If she -- the woman whose husband died childless and without leaving brothers, had a mother-in-law -- overseas she does not fear -- that her mother-in-law gave birth to a son to whom she is tied for yibum.

If she -- her mother-in-law, left -- full -- pregnant, she must fear -- that her mother-in-law gave birth to a son and she is tied to him for yibum.

Rabbi Yehoshua says, She does not fear -- because there are two doubts: perhaps her mother-in-law did not give birth, but miscarried; and presuming that she gave birth, she may have given birth to a female. The halakhah does not follow Rabbi Yehoshua.

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