Responsa for Yevamot 75:1
דרכי חד גבך הוא אבל הכא מי איכא למימר הכי
my only path lies in your fields', but could such a plea be advanced here! And R. Jeremiah can tell you: I may uphold even the view of the Rabbis, for the Rabbis made their ruling there only because he can tell him, 'If you keep silence, well and good, and if not I will return the deeds to their original owners and you will have no chance to call them to law', but could such a plea be advanced here! Where a 'doubtful son'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. supra p. 236, n. 2. ');"><sup>1</sup></span> and a levir came to claim their shares<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. loc. cit. n. 3. ');"><sup>2</sup></span>
Teshuvot Maharam
Q. Before his death, A bequeathed sixty pounds Heller (denarii of Halle) to his brothers and sisters. His childless widow, however, retains all of A's property and refuses either to marry, or to take halitzah from her levir.
After protracted litigation, the widow (of Speyer) and her levirs finally came to court and chose their judges. These judges asked the opinion of R. Meir who put them off and advised them to ask the great (Jewish) leaders of the Kingdom (Germany) regarding the ordinances passed by the communities affecting the relations of a widow and her levirs. The leaders all agreed that after the rite of halitzah is performed, one half of the husband's estate belongs to the widow and one half to the levirs. R. Meir states that he knows no further details regarding these laws of the communities, and renders the following decision in accordance with talmudic law:
A. If A's widow, three months after his death refuses to undergo the rite of halitzah or marry her levir, she is to be considered as a rebellious wife and all of A's property is to be taken away from her, except that which she has brought in as a dowry, upon her marriage to A. If, however, she consents to undergo the rite of halitzah, she receives half of A's property, as is the Takkanah of the communities. From this amount is deducted the sum she admits, under oath, to have wasted, lost, and given away as presents, while A was alive and after his death.
SOURCES: Pr. 563; Mord. Yeb. 23. Cf. Terumat Hadeshen 220; Isserlein, Pesakim 262; ibid. 263; ibid. 264.
After protracted litigation, the widow (of Speyer) and her levirs finally came to court and chose their judges. These judges asked the opinion of R. Meir who put them off and advised them to ask the great (Jewish) leaders of the Kingdom (Germany) regarding the ordinances passed by the communities affecting the relations of a widow and her levirs. The leaders all agreed that after the rite of halitzah is performed, one half of the husband's estate belongs to the widow and one half to the levirs. R. Meir states that he knows no further details regarding these laws of the communities, and renders the following decision in accordance with talmudic law:
A. If A's widow, three months after his death refuses to undergo the rite of halitzah or marry her levir, she is to be considered as a rebellious wife and all of A's property is to be taken away from her, except that which she has brought in as a dowry, upon her marriage to A. If, however, she consents to undergo the rite of halitzah, she receives half of A's property, as is the Takkanah of the communities. From this amount is deducted the sum she admits, under oath, to have wasted, lost, and given away as presents, while A was alive and after his death.
SOURCES: Pr. 563; Mord. Yeb. 23. Cf. Terumat Hadeshen 220; Isserlein, Pesakim 262; ibid. 263; ibid. 264.
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