Commentary for Yevamot 55:1

לכתחלה קתני ולימא ליה גזירה דלמא קדים וחליץ לראשונה ברישא ולא מתייבמות קתני דליכא דין יבום הכא כלל

is an instruction as to what it is the proper thing to do.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And not as to what is to be done in certain eventualities. Lit., 'for as at the beginning, it was taught'. ');">¹</span> Let him reply that it<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The provision that both widows are to perform halizah and that none may be taken in levirate marriage. ');">²</span> was a preventive measure against the possibility of the levir's participating first in the <i>halizah</i> of the first!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And then he would marry the second, in his erroneous assumption that, as he may participate in the halizah of the second and marry the first, so he may participate in the halizah of the first and marry the second. This, however, does not imply that if he already did participate in the halizah of the second he may not, after her death, marry the first. In this latter case the reason for the marriage with the first would be obvious and would leave no room for erroneous conclusions. ');">³</span>

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