Commentary for Yevamot 37:8

אבל ביבם אחד מאי הכי נמי או חולצת או מתייבמת אי הכי אדתני נשואין קודמין ללידה או חולצת או מתייבמת ליפלוג וליתני בדידה בד"א בשני יבמים אבל ביבם אחד או חולצת או מתייבמת

either perform <i>halizah</i> or contract levirate marriage? If so, instead of stating, 'If the marriage preceded the birth she may either perform <i>halizah</i> or be taken in levirate marriage' the distinction should have been drawn in this very case itself,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Where birth preceded marriage. ');">¹⁹</span> thus: 'This applies only to the case of two brothers.in.law but with one brother-in-law she may either perform <i>halizah</i> or be taken in levirate marriage'! — The entire passage dealt with two brothers-in-law.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The Tanna preferred to draw a distinction between two sets of circumstances both of which relate to the brothers-in-law rather than to draw a distinction between one brother-in-law and two brothers-in-law in the same set of circumstances. ');">²⁰</span> What, then, is meant by the general rule?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' According to which neither halizah nor levirate marriage is allowed whenever the birth preceded the marriage. Both, according to what has just been said, are permissible in the case of one levir. ');">²¹</span>

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