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Week 59 - Sunday - 7 January 2001

YEVAMOT: CHAPTER 15: MISHNAH 8

If a woman went with her husband overseas, and her son with them, and she came and said, "My husband died, and afterwards my son died" -- she is believed. "My son died and afterwards my husband died" -- she is not believed. But her words are taken into consideration, and she performs halitzah but does not marry by yibum.

Kehati

If a woman went with her husband overseas, and her son with them, and she came -- from overseas by herself, and she said, "My husband died, and afterwards my son died" -- and I am permitted to marry any man, she is believed -- since she had a son when she went overseas, and was presumed to be permitted to marry any man after the death of her husband, when she comes now and says, "My husband died, and afterwards my son died," she thus remains in her original presumed status (that she is not tied to a yavam for yibum), and is believed.

But if she said, "My son died and afterwards my husband died" -- and I require yibum, she is not believed -- since she has removed herself from her original status, she is not believed when she says that she requires yibum, for we fear that she has set her eyes on the yavam.

But her words are taken into consideration -- insofar as she may not marry another until she performs halitzah, since with her statement she prohibited herself from every man because of her tie to the yavam for yibum, and she performs halitzah but does not marry by yibum -- for the reason explained above.

YEVAMOT: CHAPTER 15: MISHNAH 9

"A son was given to me overseas," and she said, "My son died and afterwards my husband died" -- she is believed. "My husband died, and afterwards my son died" -- she is not believed. But they take her words into consideration, and she performs halitzah and does not marry by yibum.

Kehati

This mishnah is a continuation of the preceding mishnah, and discusses the case of a woman who went overseas with her husband, at which time they did not have a son.

If she and her husband went overseas, and she came and said, "A son was given -- was born, to me overseas," and afterwards she continued and said, "My son died and afterwards my husband died" -- and I require yibum, she is believed -- and allowed to marry by yibum; since she did not have a son when went overseas, she was presumed to require yibum if her husband were to die, she cannot remove herself now from her former presumed status by her statement, and therefore she is believed and permitted to marry by yibum, for the mouth that prohibited is the mouth that permitted (since it is only by her statement that we learned that a son was born to her, we believe her statement that he died before her husband).

But if she said, "My husband died, and afterwards my son died -- and I am permitted to marry any man," she is not believed -- to release herself from her yibum tie, for initially there was a presumption of a yibum tie. But they take her words into consideration -- that she prohibited herself to the yavam, and she performs halitzah and does not marry by yibum -- since she is not believed, she performs halitzah in order to cut her yibum tie, but she does not marry by yibum, because they take her words into consideration.

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