Yevamot 83

Chapter 83

א לאחר ג' אין צריכה להמתין ג' חדשים
1 If [the <i>halizah</i> was performed] after the three months, she need not wait three months.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' From the date of the halizah. ');"><sup>1</sup></span> Thus it may be inferred that the three months spoken of are [to be dated] from the time of the husband's death and not from the time of the levir's <i>halizah</i>.
ב הוי הג' חדשים שאמרו משעת מיתת הבעל ולא משעת חליצת היבם
2 Why [is the law here]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Halizah. ');"><sup>2</sup></span> different from that of a letter of divorce where Rab maintains [that the waiting period is to date] from the time of the delivery<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Of the letter of divorce to the woman. ');"><sup>3</sup></span>
ג מ"ש מגט דרב אמר משעת נתינה ושמואל אמר משעת כתיבה
3 and Samuel maintains [that it is to date] from the time of writing?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Git. 18a. Why, then, should not here also a period of three months after halizah be required to pass before the widow is allowed to remarry? ');"><sup>4</sup></span> — Raba replied: A minori ad majus, if you permitted marriage<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Three months after the death of the husband. ');"><sup>5</sup></span>
ד אמר רבא ק"ו איסור כרת התרת איסור לאו לא כ"ש:
4 where a prohibition under the penalty of <i>kareth</i> is involved,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The marriage with the levir, where the widow gives birth to a viable child, is an act of incest which is punishable by kareth. ');"><sup>6</sup></span> how much more so [should marriage be permitted<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Three months after the death of the husband. ');"><sup>5</sup></span>
ה וכן שאר כל הנשים: בשלמא יבמה כדאמרן אלא שאר כל הנשים אמאי
5 where only] an ordinary prohibition<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Marriage by the widow with a stranger during pregnancy. ');"><sup>7</sup></span> [is involved]!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Hence, whenever the halizah was performed three months after the husband's death, the widow may forthwith be permitted to marry. ');"><sup>8</sup></span>
ו אמר רב נחמן אמר שמואל משום דאמר קרא (בראשית יז, ז) להיות לך לאלהים ולזרעך אחריך להבחין בין זרעו של ראשון לזרעו של שני
6 SIMILARLY ALL OTHER WOMEN. The case of a sister-in-law<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The reason why she must not marry before three months from the date of her husband's death have passed ');"><sup>9</sup></span> one can well understand, as has just been explained,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Supra 41b. ');"><sup>10</sup></span>
ז מתיב רבא לפיכך גר וגיורת צריכין להמתין ג' חדשים הכא מאי להבחין איכא
7 but why ALL OTHER WOMEN?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Why must they also wait three months? ');"><sup>11</sup></span> — R. Nahman replied in the name of Samuel: Because Scripture said, To be a God unto thee and unto thy seed after thee,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gen. XVII, 7 emphasis on 'thy'. ');"><sup>12</sup></span>
ח ה"נ איכא להבחין בין זרע שנזרע בקדושה לזרע שלא נזרע בקדושה
8 a distinction must be made between the seed of the first husband and the seed of the second. Raba raised an objection: Hence must a male proselyte and a female proselyte<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Husband and wife (Rashi). Cf. however, Tosaf. s.v. [H] a.l. ');"><sup>13</sup></span>
ט רבא אמר גזירה שמא ישא את אחותו מאביו וייבם אשת אחיו מאמו
9 wait three months.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' After their conversion, before resuming connubial relations. ');"><sup>14</sup></span> Now, what distinction is there to be made here? — Here also there is the distinction to be made between seed that was sown in holiness and seed that was not sown in holiness.
י ויוציא את אמו לשוק ויפטור את יבמתו לשוק
10 Raba said: This<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That any widow or divorced woman shall not marry before three months have passed after her husband's death or divorce respectively. ');"><sup>15</sup></span> is a preventive measure against the possibility of his<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The son born from a widow or divorcee who married within the three months, and who is a nine-months child of her first husband but is assumed to be a seven-months child of the second. ');"><sup>16</sup></span>
יא מתיב רב חנניה בכולן אני קורא בהן משום תקנת ערוה וכאן משום תקנת ולד ואם איתא כולהו משום תקנת ערוה
11 marrying his paternal sister,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A daughter of the first husband from another wife, believing her to be a stranger. ');"><sup>17</sup></span> contracting levirate marriage with the wife of his maternal brother,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' He, if his mother bore a son to her second husband, and that son died childless, would be contracting levirate marriage with his widow in the belief that he is the paternal brother while in fact he is his maternal brother whose wife is, therefore, forbidden to him under the penalty of kareth. ');"><sup>18</sup></span>
יב האי משום תקנת ולד דלא לפגע בהו ערוה
12 setting his mother free to marry anybody<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'to the market'. Should his mother's second husband die without having had any other children his mother would be deemed to be free from the levirate obligations on the assumption that he was the son of the second husband. ');"><sup>19</sup></span> and releasing his sister-in-law to all the world.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'to the market'. If his brother (the son of his mother's first husband from another wife) dies childless and is survived by no other known brother his widow would be released to marry any stranger on the assumption that he had no surviving brother, while in reality the widow is bound to him by the levirate bond. ');"><sup>20</sup></span>
יג בשלמא תמתין ב' חדשים ותנשא לא דהיינו ספיקא אי בר תשעה לקמא אי בר שבעה לבתרא
13 R. Hanania raised an objection: In all these<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' prohibitions to marry or to contract levirate marriage. ');"><sup>21</sup></span> I read a provision against incest, but here<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The law of a three months' period of waiting before any widow or divorcee is permitted to marry. ');"><sup>22</sup></span>
יד אלא תמתין חדש אחד ותנשא ואי לשבעה ילדה האי בר שבעה לבתרא הוא ואי לתמניא ילדה האי בר תשעה לקמא הוא
14 it is a provision in favour of the child.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' This is assumed to mean: In order that it be known whose child he is. ');"><sup>23</sup></span> Now, if this<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Raba's explanation. ');"><sup>24</sup></span>
טו אי נמי לתמניא ילדה איכא למימר דבתרא הוא דלמא אישתהויי אישתהא חדש אחד ואיעבר
15 is tenable, all<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Prohibitions to marry or to contract levirate marriage. ');"><sup>25</sup></span> would be due to a provision against incest! — The meaning of 'a provision in favour of the child' is that the child might not infringe a prohibition of incest'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In the other cases the man and the woman themselves might encroach on the prohibition of incest. ');"><sup>26</sup></span>
טז ותמתין שני חדשים ומחצה ותנשא דאי לשבעה ילדה האי בר שבעה לבתרא הוא ואי לשיתא ופלגא ילדה האי בר תשעה לקמא הוא דאי בר בתרא הוא בר שיתא ופלגא לא חיי
16 It is easy to understand why [a divorcee or widow] shall not marry after waiting a period of just two months because that would create a doubt as to whether the child is a nine-months one of the first<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Husband. ');"><sup>27</sup></span> or a seven-months one of the second.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Husband. ');"><sup>27</sup></span>
יז א"נ לשיתא ופלגא ילדה איכא למימר דבתרא הוא דאמר מר זוטרא אפילו למאן דאמר יולדת לט' אינה יולדת למקוטעין ילדה לז' יולדת למקוטעין
17 Let her wait, however, one month only and then marry, so that, should she give birth at seven months, the child would be a seven-months one of the last husband;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Had he been an eight-months child of the first husband he would not have been viable. ');"><sup>28</sup></span> and should she give birth at eight months the child would obviously be a nine-months one of the first!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Husband. ');"><sup>27</sup></span>
יח שנאמר (שמואל א א, כ) ויהי לתקופות הימים מיעוט תקופות ב' מיעוט ימים ב'
18 — Even if she gave birth at eight months it might still be assumed to be the child of the last husband since it may be that her conception was delayed one month.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And the child is one of seven months. ');"><sup>29</sup></span> Let her, then, wait two months and a half and marry, so that, were she to give birth at seven months, the child would obviously be a seven-months one of the last,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Husband. ');"><sup>27</sup></span>
יט ותמתין משהו ותנשא וכי מלו שלשה חדשים לבדקה
19 and were she to give birth at six months and a half, the child would naturally be a nine-months one of the first;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H] (rt. [H] 'lop off') 'incomplete number of months'. ');"><sup>30</sup></span> for had he been the son of the last he would not be viable as a six-and-a-half-months child. — Even if she gave birth at six and a half months it is still possible to assume the child to be that of the last husband, for Mar Zutra stated: Even according to him who said that a woman who bears at nine months does not give birth before the full number of months had been completed,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H] (rt. [H] 'lop off') 'incomplete number of months'. ');"><sup>30</sup></span>
כ אמר רב ספרא אין בודקין את הנשואות שלא יתגנו על בעליהן ונבדקה בהלוכה
20 a woman who bears at seven months 'does give birth before the full number of months has been completed;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H] (rt. [H] 'lop off') 'incomplete number of months'. ');"><sup>30</sup></span> for it is stated in Scripture, And it came to pass, after the cycles of days,'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I Sam. I, 20. E.V., When the time was come about. ');"><sup>31</sup></span>
כא אמר רמי בר חמא אשה מחפה עצמה כדי שיירש בנה בנכסי בעלה
21 the minimum of 'cycles'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H], pl. of [H]. The year is divided in four cycles (tekufoth), each consisting of three months. The pl. [H] represents no less than two, hence six months. ');"><sup>32</sup></span> is two, and the minimum of 'days' is two.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The text, speaking of Hannah's conception and the birth of Samuel, implies that a viable child may be born after a pregnancy of six months and two days. ');"><sup>33</sup></span>
כב היכא דקים לן דמעוברת היא תנשא אלמה תניא לא ישא אדם מעוברת חברו ומינקת חברו ואם נשא יוציא ולא יחזיר עולמית
22 Let her, then, wait a little<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A week or two. ');"><sup>34</sup></span> and marry, and when the three months<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Dating from the time of her first husband's death or divorce. ');"><sup>35</sup></span>
כג גזרה שמא תעשה עוברה סנדל אי הכי דידיה נמי
23 will have been fulfilled she might be examined!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If she is found to be pregnant it will be obvious that the child's father was the first husband; if not, the father of the child born subsequently will be the second husband. After three months of conception the marks of pregnancy may be distinguished. ');"><sup>36</sup></span> — R. Safra replied: Married women are not examined, in order that they may not become repulsive to their husbands. Then let her be examined by her walk!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A pregnant woman, walking on soft soil or loose earth, leaves a deeper impression than a non-pregnant woman (Responsa of the Geonim, Cf. Rashi a.l.). ');"><sup>37</sup></span>
כד אי למ"ד במוך במוך ואי למ"ד מן השמים ירחמו מן השמים ירחמו
24 — Rami b. Mama replied: A woman conceals the fact<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'covers herself'. She makes every effort to conceal all signs of pregnancy which might lead to the discovery that the child's father was her first husband. ');"><sup>38</sup></span> in order that her child may inherit his share in her [second] husband's estate. Where, however, it has been ascertained that she<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A divorced woman or a widow. ');"><sup>39</sup></span>
כה הכא נמי אי למאן דאמר במוך במוך אי למאן דאמר מן השמים ירחמו מן השמים ירחמו
25 was pregnant, let her be permitted to marry! Why then was it taught: A man shall not marry the pregnant, or nursing wife of another;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Though she had been divorced or widowed. ');"><sup>40</sup></span> and if he married, he must divorce her and never again remarry her! — This<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The reason why no expectant mother may be married. ');"><sup>41</sup></span>
כו אלא משום דחסה אי הכי דידיה נמי דידיה חייס עילויה הכא נמי חייס עילויה
26 is a preventive measure against the possibility of turning the foetus into a sandal.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H] 'a flat fish', hence an abortion that has the shape of a flat fish, assumed to be caused by intercourse during pregnancy. ');"><sup>42</sup></span> If so, [this should apply in the case] of one's own wife also!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' During pregnancy. V. supra n. 7. ');"><sup>43</sup></span>
כז אלא סתם מעוברת למניקה קיימא
27 — If according to him who said, 'With an absorbent',<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That a woman during pregnancy may use an absorbent to prevent a second conception. V. supra 12b. ');"><sup>44</sup></span> she uses<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'with'. ');"><sup>45</sup></span> an absorbent; and if according to him who said, 'Mercy will be shewn from heaven',<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' No artificial means of contraception may be used. The woman must have implicit confidence in divine protection. ');"><sup>46</sup></span> mercy will be shewn from heaven. Here also<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A divorced woman or a widow. ');"><sup>47</sup></span> [it could be argued]: If according to him who said, 'With an absorbent', she uses an absorbent; if according to him who said, 'Mercy will be shewn from heaven', mercy will be shewn from heaven! — [The prohibition]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' To marry an expectant mother. ');"><sup>48</sup></span> is due, rather, to [the danger of abdominal] pressure.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which may cause the death of the foetus. ');"><sup>49</sup></span> If so, [this<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The reason why no expectant mother may be married. ');"><sup>50</sup></span> applies in the case] of one's own wife also!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' During pregnancy. V. supra note 7. ');"><sup>51</sup></span> — A man has consideration for his own.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And takes every possible precaution to-avert danger. ');"><sup>52</sup></span> Here also<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' With a divorced woman or a widow. ');"><sup>53</sup></span> one would have consideration for the child!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A man would surely take care not to destroy any life. ');"><sup>54</sup></span> — [The reason is]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The reason why no expectant mother may be married. ');"><sup>55</sup></span> rather because a pregnant woman is usually expected to breast-feed her child [and were she to marry during pregnancy] she
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