Yevamot 19

Chapter 19

א וסימניך מת נולד ויבם מת נולד ויבם

1 And your mnemonic is, 'Died, born, and performed the levirate marriage; died, born, and performed the levirate marriage'!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Now, since in the case of 'the wife of a brother who was not his contemporary' the application of Rab's statement is only possible according to the view of R. Simeon but not according to that of the Rabbis, and since the statement is based on our Mishnah, it is obvious that our Mishnah deals also with a case which is in dispute. ');">1 — Rabbi2 does not accept these rules.3

ב אלא לרבי הני כללי לית ליה רב אדא קרחינא קמיה דרב כהנא אמר משמיה דרבא לעולם אית ליה לרבי הני כללי והכי קא"ל אמו אנוסת אביו בחדא משכחת לה בתרתי לא קמשכחת לה

2 R. Adda Karhina stated before R. Kahana in the name of Raba: Rabbi, in fact, does accept these rules,4 but it was this that he meant to say to [Levi]:5 [The application of the statement4

ג אי יעקב ב' אחיות אנס אחותה שהיא יבמתה משכחת לה האסורה לזה מותרת לזה לא משכחת

3 to] a woman outraged by one's father is possible only in one [of its parts]; it is impossible, however, to apply it in [both its parts], for if Jacob outraged his two sisters,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And after one of them had given birth to a child, C, and the other to one, D, the first was married by A and the second by B, two of Jacob's sons from another wife. ');">6 it is possible [to apply that part of the statement relating to] 'her sister who is her sister-in-law',<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For should A and B die childless their wives who are sisters as well as sisters-in-law come under the law of the levirate marriage in relation to C and D the brothers of A and B. ');">7 but not that of 'she who is forbidden to one brother may be permitted to the other';<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Both being forbidden to C as well as to D. The mother of C is forbidden to C as mother and to D as mother's sister, and the mother of D is similarly forbidden to D and C. ');">8

ד ואי ב' נכריות אנס האסורה לזה מותרת לזה משכחת לה אחותה שהיא יבמתה לא משכחת לה

4 and if be outraged two strangers,9 it is possible [to apply the statement], 'she who is forbidden to one brother may be permitted to the other'10 but not that of 'her sister who is her sister-in-law'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The women being sisters-in-law only but not sisters. Thus it has been shewn that the statement could not be applied in its entirety to the case of an outraged woman. Hence it was excluded from the enumeration in our Mishnah. ');">11

ה רב אשי אמר לעולם לית ליה לרבי הני כללי ובפלוגתא קמיירי ומאי כמדומה אני שאין לו מוח בקדקדו דקאמר ליה

5 R. Ashi said: Rabbi, in fact, does not accept these rules12 and [our Mishnah] does deal with matters in dispute, and as to the meaning13 of 'It seems to me that this man has no brains in his head' which he14

ו ה"ק ליה מ"ט לא דייקת מתני' דמתני' ר' יהודה היא [דאסר באנוסת אביו]

6 addressed to him,15 what he meant was this: 'Why did you not carefully consider our Mishnah? For our Mishnah represents the view of R. Judah who forbids the marriage of a woman that was outraged by one's father,16 as it was taught: Six forbidden relatives come under greater restrictions,17

ז דקתני שש עריות חמורות מאלו מפני שהן נשואות לאחרים צרותיהן מותרות אמו ואשת אביו ואחות אביו מאי אמו אילימא נשואת אביו היינו אשת אביו

7 since they are to be married to strangers only,18 and their rivals are permitted.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' To marry the brother of their deceased husband who had been married to their rival (one of the six relatives) illegally (Maimonides). If the marriage was with a stranger the permissibility of marriage is obvious since the laws of rivals apply only to a brother's widow. ');">19 [These are:] his mother, his father's wife and his father's sister [etc.].20

ח אלא לאו אנוסת אביו וקתני מפני שהן נשואות לאחרים לאחרים אין לאחין לא מאן שמעת ליה דאית ליה האי סברא ר' יהודה דאסר באנוסת אביו משום הכי לא תני ליה

8 Now, what is meant by "his mother"? If it be assumed to mean one who was legally married to his father, such a woman surely is "his father's wife".21 Must it not consequently mean one who was outraged by his father? And yet it was stated, "since they are to be married to strangers only", implying "to strangers only but not to the brothers". Now, who has been heard to hold such an opinion? Surely it was R. Judah who forbids marriage with a woman who was outraged by one's father.22 Hence23

ט א"ל רבינא לרב אשי לר' יהודה נמי משכחת לה דאי עבר ונסיב דאי לא קתני

9 it was not included in our Mishnah.'24 Said Rabina to R. Ashi: [Such a levirate relationship]25 is possible even according to R. Judah if and when one had married26

י א"ל רב אשי לרב כהנא בלא דאי נמי משכחת לה יעקב אנס כלתו והוליד ממנה בן ומת [ראובן] בלא בנים ונפלה לה קמי ברה ומיגו דאיהי אסירה צרתה נמי אסירה

10 illegally!27 — The author of the Mishnah is not concerned with an 'if'.28 Said R. Ashi to R. Kahana: This29

יא א"ל באחותה דהתירא קמיירי באחותה דאיסורא לא קמיירי ואף על פי כן בדקה לוי במתני'

11 is also possible without the 'if',30 where Jacob31 outraged his daughter-in-law, begat from her a son, and then Reuben32

יב דתני לוי אמו פעמים פוטרת צרתה ופעמים אינה פוטרת צרתה כיצד היתה אמו נשואת אביו ונשאת לאחיו מאביו ומת זו היא אמו שאין פוטרת צרתה

12 died without issue, and she thus came into levirate relationship with her son;33 and since she is forbidden to him,34 her rival also is likewise forbidden!35 — The other replied: [The author of our Mishnah] deals only with lawful brotherhood but not with brotherhood which is due to a forbidden act. Levi nevertheless36 inserted it<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H] lit., 'examined it', i.e., revised our Mishnah and added the case under discussion. [Levi drew up a collection of teachings like those of R. Hiyya and R. Oshaia, v. B.B., Sonc. ed. p. 216]. ');">37 in his Mishnah. For Levi taught: One's mother sometimes exempts her rival38 and sometimes she does not exempt her. If his mother, for instance,39 was lawfully married to his father, and then she was married40 to his paternal brother41 who subsequently died, such a mother does not exempt her rival.42

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