Kommentar zu Yevamot 5:11

רבן גמליאל. אין גט אחר גט – two widows without children from a deceased husband awaiting a levirate connection of one levir from one brother, and he gave a Jewish bill of divorce to the first, and then returned and gave a Jewish bill of divorce to the second [woman], the female relatives of the second are not prohibited to him , for that would be like his divorced wife. For when he gives a Jewish bill of divorce to the first [woman], the levirate relationship has no legal effect on both of them from him for the Jewish bill of divorce is beneficial for the widow without children from a deceased husband to maintain her [with the Biblical verse] (Deuteronomy 25:9): “who will not build up [his brother’s house],” and furthermore, he will not perform levirate marriage, neither him nor his other brothers not for the Yevamah/widow whose husband died without issue nor her co-wife. Therefore, when he returns and gives a second Jewish bill of divorce to the second [widow], there is nothing in his actions, and it is like he is giving a Jewish bill of divorce to a mere stranger. And similarly, two levirs to one widow without children whose husband is deceased and this one [levir] gave a Jewish bill of divorce and that [levir] gave a Jewish bill of divorce, the latter is not anything and he is permitted to her female relatives.

Introduction In order to understand this chapter we should review a few general issues of yibbum. 1) According to the Torah the shomeret yavam becomes the yavam’s wife only through sexual intercourse. However, the Sages decreed that the yavam should first perform “ma’amar”, an act whereby he betroths her, either by money or by a document, the same way betrothal is enacted with other women. After ma’amar then the couple would have yibbum, enacted by sexual intercourse. 2) A shomeret yavam’s ties to her yavam are biblically severed only through halitzah. However, the Sages decreed that if the yavam gives her a get, while it does not exempt her from halitzah, it makes the performance of yibbum forbidden. In other words it does in some sense sever the tie, thereby making her forbidden due to the prohibition of marrying a brother’s wife. Furthermore, after giving her a get he is forbidden to marry her rival wives, as are the rest of the brothers. He is also forbidden to marry any of her relatives. She is forbidden to marry a priest, as are all divorcees. 3) If the yavam performed ma’amar and then changes his mind and doesn’t want to have yibbum with her, he must give her a get and perform halitzah. The get severs the ties created by ma’amar and the halitzah performs its usual function of exempting her from yibbum.

ולא מאמר אחר מאמר -.between two levirs and one widow whose husband died without children, or with one levir and two widows. The latter is nothing and she doesn’t require from him a Jewish bill of divorce and he is permitted to her female relatives.

This mishnah is formulated in classic mishnaic style. It is terse, somewhat cryptic, easy to remember, and most importantly, it packs a lot of information into only a few words. Our job in explaining the mishnah will be to “unpack” it and decipher each clause. There is no [validity] to a get given after a get: If two women are widowed from one brother and both become liable for yibbum with one yavam and he gives the first one a get and then the second one a get, the get that was given to the second woman is meaningless and she is not considered to be a divorcee. As we stated in the above introduction, according to biblical law, a shomeret yavam does not receive a get. However the Sages decreed that a get is sufficient to make the other rival wives forbidden to the yavam and to make yibbum forbidden with the one who received the get. Since the second woman to receive the get is not a divorcee, the yavam may subsequently marry her relatives, and she may subsequently marry a priest. Nor to a ma’amar after a ma’amar: If one yavam does ma’amar to both of the women who become liable to him for yibbum, or two yavamim do ma’amar with one women who became liable for yibbum with either of them, the second ma’amar is meaningless. Although ma’amar is only of rabbinic origin, its strength is sufficient to render the acquisition of the yevamah as final. The second wife then received a meaningless ma’amar, for she was no longer liable for yibbum. Similarly, the second yavam performed a meaningless ma’amar for the woman was no longer available. Nor to an act of sexual intercourse after another act of sexual intercourse: If one yavam had intercourse, that is, an act of yibbum, with two yevamoth, the second act does not make that yevamah his wife. It is merely licentious sexual relations, for the woman is no longer liable for yibbum after her rival wife has had yibbum. She would not need a get in order to remarry. Nor to a halitzah after another halitzah: Whether one yavam performed halitzah for two yevamoth, or two yevamim performed halitzah for one yevamah, the second act of halitzah is meaningless, for the first act already severed all ties. The result is that the second woman to receive halitzah is not considered to be a halutzah.

יש גט אחר גט – the first [Jewish bill of divorce] did not supersede her levirate relationship completely for she requires Halitzah; therefore, there is still one-half of her levirate relationship and the second Jewish bill of divorce to the second [widow] is beneficial for his divorced wife and he is prohibited to her relatives, and such is the Halakha.

However, the Sages say: There is [validity] to a get given after a get, and to a ma’amar after a ma’amar but not to an act of sexual intercourse after another act of sexual intercourse, or to a halitzah after another halitzah. The Sages disagree with the first two parts of Rabban Gamaliel’s statement. They hold that a yevamah who receives a get is not like one who has had halitzah. Since the one who receives a get still needs halitzah, the second get also has some validity. The fact that the second woman to receive a get is in some sense his divorcee, means that he cannot marry her relatives. She also could not subsequently marry a kohen. Similarly, the Sages hold that ma’amar does not acquire like yibbum. Since one who has been given ma’amar still needs yibbum to complete her becoming his wife, the second ma’amar does have some validity. The second woman to receive ma’amar would need a get to remarry, and the one who gave her ma’amar is subsequently forbidden to marry her relatives. In brief, we can see in this mishnah a debate concerning the power of rabbinic decrees. According to Rabban Gamaliel, the rabbinically decreed ma’amar and get for the yevamah are almost as strong as the biblically ordained yibbum and halitzah. According to the Sages, they are substantially weaker.

כיצד – this does not refer to the dispute, but rather, it is a matter of its own, referring to one levir and one widow whose husband died without children, and this is what he said: In what case is the law of one levir and one Yevamah/widow whose husband died without children?

Introduction The remainder of the chapter gives various scenarios of a yavam’s releasing his yevamah from the necessity for yibbum. In order to understand these mishnayoth, it is important to keep in mind that a get (a divorce document) severs the ties created by ma’amar (an act of betrothal) and halitzah severs the ties created by the need for yibbum.

צריכה הימנו חליצה – if he wanted to consummate a marriage by conducting a woman to his house/to wed, he should not do so for since he had begun the Jewish divorce, it is fulfilled for him through [the Biblical verse] (Deuteronomy 25:9) “who will not build up [his brother’s house].”

How [is the release from yibbum effected]?
If he performed ma'amar for his yevamah and gave her a get, she requires halitzah. When the yavam performed ma’amar he made the yevamah into his betrothed wife. When he subsequently gives her the get, he has ended the ties created by ma’amar. Since he never did yibbum or halitzah, she still requires halitzah to sever the ties created by the need for yibbum. He could not have yibbum with her because she is already his divorcee.

צריכה ממנו גט – for Halitzah causes a release from her levirate relationship and the Jewish bill of divorce need to cancel his Kiddushin/betrothal for Halitzah has no legal effect on Kiddushin/betrothal.

If he performed ma'amar and and did halizah, she requires a get. If he did ma’amar and then halitzah, she still needs a get to sever the ties created by the ma’amar. The halitzah is not sufficient to break the betrothal created by ma’amar. He cannot marry her because she is his halutzah.

If he performed ma’amar and then had intercourse with her, behold this is in accordance with the commandment. The normal, prescribed means of fulfilling the mitzvah of yibbum is for the yavam first to perform ma’amar and then, assumedly some time later, for them to have sexual relations. This is the same way that normal marriage is enacted: first the betrothal is done and then the couple begins to live together, today symbolized by the huppah (the wedding canopy). Since some time in the middle ages, Jews have combined the betrothal ceremony and the marriage proper into one event.

נתן גט ועשה בה מאמר צריכה גט וחליצה – that the Jewish bill of divorce supersedes part [of the marriage] and retains part, and the statement [of intention of marriage by a levir] acquires the remnant of the Jewish bill of divorce, therefore, she requires a Jewish bill of divorce for his (i.e., the levir’s) statement [of intention] and Halitzah for the levirate connection.

If the yavam gave her a get and then ma’amar, she needs [another] get and halitzah. As we learned above, only halitzah exempts the yevamah from her requirement for yibbum. When the yavam gave her a get, her ties to him were not completely severed. The only effect was that it was subsequently forbidden for him to have yibbum with her. When he then does ma’amar with her, she now requires another get in order to sever the ties created by this ma’amar. Finally, she still requires halitzah to sever the ties created by the need for yibbum.

נתן גט ובעל – it is prohibited to sustain her [in marriage] since from the time that he gave a Jewish bill of divorce , he fulfills, regarding her (Deuteronomy 25:9): “who will not build up [his brother’s house],” and she requires a Jeiwsh bill of divorce for his coition and Halitzah for the levirate connection.

If he gave her a get and then had intercourse with her, she needs [another] get and halitzah. In this case, after giving her the get, he has intercourse with her. This intercourse was forbidden, since she had already received a get. Therefore, since this was forbidden, it does not count as an act of yibbum. However, the mishnah teaches that it still has enough power to obligate him to give her another get, to sever the ties created by the intercourse [intercourse is one of the three means by which betrothals are contracted]. Finally, she still requires halitzah to sever the ties created by the need for yibbum.

אין לאחר חליצה כלום – This Mishnah is according to Rabbi Akiva, who stated, that Kiddushin/betrothal does not take effect with those who a liable for negative commandments, but it is not the Halakha. Rather, the Halakha is according to the Sages who state that there is nothing after Halitzah, and if he betrothed her after Halitzah, she requires from him a Jewish bill of divorce.

If he gave her a get and then did halitzah, there is nothing after halitzah. Here the mishnah teaches that once he has performed halitzah, she is totally free and there is no longer anything preventing her from marrying anyone else.

אחד יבמה אחת ליבם אחד ואחד שתי יבמות ליבם אחד – they are both equivalent for there is after the first Jewish bill of divorce or after the first statement [of intention of the Levir] nothing, but after the coition at the beginning, there is nothing, and there is nothing after Halitzah.

If the yavam did halitzah and then he did ma’amar or gave her a get, or had intercourse with her; Or if he had intercourse with her and then did ma’amar, or gave her a get, or did halitzah, there is nothing after halitzah. The first part of this section teaches that once he does halitzah, whatever he does afterwards, be it give her ma’amar, a get or have intercourse, does not count for anything. The halitzah severs all ties and anything done afterwards is inconsequential. The second part of this section teaches that just as there is no validity to anything after halitzah, so too there is no validity to anything after yibbum. For instance, were he to do halitzah after having already performed yibbum, the halitzah would be inconsequential. Of course, if he gives her a get after having done yibbum she is a divorcee, as is any wife who receives a divorce. The mishnah intends only to teach that yibbum turns a yevamah into a full wife and halitzah totally exempts her from any subsequent need for yibbum.

[And the law is the same] whether there is one yevamah to one yavam or two yevamoth to one yavam. With regard to all the combinations that we have been learning in the previous mishnayoth, it matters not whether they were done by one yavam with one yevamah or with two different yevamoth. The general rule is always true: there is “something” after a get and after ma’amar, and after halitzah and yibbum there is nothing. The following mishnayoth will continue to explain these complex possibilities.

צריכות שני גיטין – for both Yevamot/widows whose husbands died without children according to the Rabbis for there is a statement [of intention of the levir] after a statement [of intention of the levir].

Introduction This mishnah demonstrates the different possibilities and combinations of halitzah, yibbum, ma’amar and a get and their consequences on a case where there is one yavam and two yevamoth (i.e. the brother who died without children left two wives).

וחליצה – to one of them and this exempts her rival/co-wife.

How is this so?
If the yavam did ma'amar with this one and ma'amar with the other one, they need two letters of divorce and [one of them must have] halizah. The ma’amar performed with both yevamoth means that both require a get if they wish to marry someone else. In addition, one of them requires halitzah to end the ties created by their need for yibbum. As we recall, they don’t both need halitzah, since the halitzah of one wife exempts all of her rival wives. He could not have yibbum with either, since he gave ma’amar to both.

מאמר לזו וגט ולזו – the Jewish bill of divorce to the latter [wife] invalidates that of the first [wife] he has been declared as one “who will not build up [his brother’s house]” (Deuteronomy 25:9 – see Talmud Yevamot 32a), and she requires a Jewish bill of divorce for his declaration [of intention for levirate marriage] and Halitzah for his levirate connection.

If he did ma'amar with one and gave a get to the other, the [first one] needs a get and [one of them must have] halitzah. In this case he must give the get to the first one, the one with whom he had ma’amar, and he can have halitzah with either. Again, the halitzah of either releases them both. He cannot have yibbum even with the one with whom he had ma’amar since he gave a get to her rival wife.

מאמר לזו ובעל לזו צריכות שני גיטין – for this one, a Jewish bill of divorce for his declaration [of intention for levirate marriage] and for the other [woman] a Jewish bill of divorce for his act of coition.

If he did ma'amar with one and had intercourse with the other, they need two gets and [one of them must have] halitzah. Once he had ma’amar with one wife, he should not have gone and had intercourse with the other wife. The intercourse was in an essence an ineffective act of yibbum. Therefore, they both need gets, one to end the ties created by the ma’amar and the other to end the ties created by the intercourse (which can be an act of betrothal) and one requires halitzah in order to release them both from the ties of yibbum.

וחליצה – to one of them and this exempts her rival/co-wife.

If he had ma'amar with one and gave halitzah to the other, the first needs a get. Although in this case he did have halitzah with the second wife, the ma’amar that was previously done with the first wife means that she still needs a get. In other words, the ties created by the necessity of yibbum have already been severed, but there are still the ties created by the ma’amar. He could not have yibbum with her, since he has already done halitzah with the other wife, and it is forbidden to marry the wife of one’s halutzah.

גט לזו ובעל לזו צריכות גט וחליצה – and it is prohibited to sustain her for he has been declared as one “who will not build up [his brother’s house]” (Deuteronomy 25:9), because of the first Jewish bill of divorce. But with a Jewish bill of divorce by itself, does not free woman who had a sexual act because it was a disqualifying act of coition.

If he gave a get to one and a get to the other, [one of them] requires halitzah. After having given a get to both women, he still needs to perform halitzah to totally release them. The get is not sufficient to sever those ties. However, he may not have yibbum with either woman since they both already received gets.

אין לאחר חליצה כלום – and if afterwards he betrothed her or her rival/co-wife, Kiddushin/betrothal does not take effect with her, as per Rabbi Akiva, who said that Kiddushin does not take effect in those who are liable for violation of negative commandments, but it is not the Halakha.

If he gave a get to one and had intercourse with the other, [the second one] requires a get and [one of them must have] halitzah. In this case, once he has given a get to the first wife, the yibbum done by intercourse with the second wife, was invalid. Therefore, he must give a get to the second wife, with whom he has already had intercourse, to sever the ties created by the intercourse. One of them still needs halitzah.

[If he gave] a get to one and had ma'amar with the other, [the second] requires a get and [one of them must have] halitzah. Similar to the previous case, if he gave a get to the first one, the ma’amar with second one is not valid. He could not subsequently have yibbum with her. However, he must still give her a get to sever the ties created by the ma’amar. As always, one of them still needs halitzah.

[If he gave] a get to one and halizah to the other, there is nothing after halitzah. As we learned in mishnah three, once he has performed an act of halitzah, there are no more steps which must be taken. Both women may now go marry other men.

חלץ וחלץ – he is permitted [to be married to] the relatives of the second [woman] for there is nothing after the first Halitzah any levirate connections, and Halitzah with both is nothing, for even to the priesthood, she is not invalidated. And similarly, if he performed Halitzah with the first [widow of the deceased childless brother] and made a statement [of intention of levirate marriage] with the second [widow], and similarly, if he had given a Jewish bill of divorce to this [second] one after performing Halitzah with that one, or performed an act of coition with this one after the Halitzah of that one, the act with the latter person is not worthless. [Or] if he performed an act of coition with this one first and then returned and performed an act of coition with the second, or performed an act of coition first and then made a statement [of intention of levirate marriage] with the second , or gave a Jewish bill of divorce to the second, or performed Halitzah with the second, there is nothing after an act of coition at all, and the final act is not considered, and he is permitted with the second’s [female] relatives.

If he performed halitzah [for one] and then performed halitzah [for the other],
Or performed halitzah [for one] and did ma'amar [with the other], or gave her get, or had intercourse with her;
Or if he had intercourse [with one] and then with the other,
Or had intercourse [with one] and then ma'amar with the other, or gave her a get, or performed halitzah there is nothing after halitzah.
[There is no difference in the law] whether there was one yavam to two yevamoth or two yavamim to yevamah.
This mishnah continues to teach that once one of the yavamim has performed halitzah or yibbum with one of the yevamoth, any subsequent action done with the other yevamah, be it halitzah, a get, ma’amar or intercourse, is meaningless.
Section one: In this case the yavam has halitzah with one of the yevamoth and then halitzah with the other. As we will learn in section four, since the second halitzah was unnecessary, it has no effect. He can marry that halutzah’s relatives and she can marry his.
Section two: Similarly, if he has halitzah with one and then ma’amar, a get or intercourse with the other, the subsequent actions are invalid. The woman who received ma’amar does not need a get, nor does the woman with whom he had intercourse. The woman who received the get is not a divorcee but a widow, who may subsequently marry a kohen. In all of these cases, he can marry her relatives and she may marry his.
Sections three and four: These sections teach the same ruling, but with regard to yibbum, performed through intercourse. Once the yavam has yibbum with one of the yevamoth, all subsequent actions are invalid. Although the mishnah states only that “there is nothing after halitzah”, the meaning is that there is nothing after halitzah or yibbum, as was taught in mishnah one of our chapter.
Section five: The rule that there is nothing after halitzah (or yibbum) is true whether or not there was one yavam who had halitzah with one of two yevamoth (and then did something else with the other yevamah), or two yevamim, one of whom had halitzah or yibbum first with one yevamah (and then the other brother did something else with the same yevamah). In all cases, once one brother has had halitzah or yibbum with one yevamah, all subsequent actions are meaningless.

אין אחר חליצה כלום – It is referring to the first clause [of the Mishnah], but regarding the concluding clause, it is necessary to state that there is nothing after an act of coition.

חלץ ועשה מאמר נתן גט ובעל – it refers to one levir and one widow whose husband died childless (i.e., Yevamah). And even though that this is taught above, [the Mishnah] teaches it again because of the concluding segment that is necessary to separate between an act of coition and Halitzah, for Halitzah, whether at the beginning, whether in the middle or whether at the end – there is nothing after it, and the act of intercourse especially at the time when it is at the beginning, and to teach us also the dispute of Rabbi Nehemiah and the Rabbis.

Introduction Our mishnah, the last in this chapter, continues to define the principle that there can be no valid act after halitzah or yibbum.

בין בתחלה בין באמצע – as, for example, [the delivery of] a Jewish bill of divorce to this one and performing Halitzah with that one, and then he went back and made a declaration of intention [to perform a levirate marriage] or with the woman who had the Jewish bill of divorce. The declaration of intention has no effect and we don’t require a Jewish bill of divorce to his declaration of intention [of desiring a levirate marriage].

[If the yavam] performed halitzah and then did ma’amar, gave her a get, or had intercourse with her; Or if he had intercourse with her and then did ma'amar, gave her a get, or performed halitzah, there is no valid act after halitzah,
Whether [it was performed] in the beginning, in the middle, or at the end. The beginning of this section (until the words “there is nothing after halitzah) was taught word for word above, in mishnah three. The reason that it is repeated here is as in introduction for issue of “beginning, the middle and the end”. The mishnah adds that with regard to halitzah, it doesn’t matter when the halitzah was performed, no subsequent acts (intercourse, a get or ma’amar) can have any validity. Since the halitzah totally severs the connection between the yavam and the yevamah, anything done afterwards can have no validity.

בסוף – After a declaration of intention [to perform a levirate marriage] and a Jewish bill of divorce, he performed Halitzah, there is nothing after it, for it is a complete Halitzah but if he retracted made a declaration of intention [of levirate marriage] , it doesn’t require a Jewish bill of divorce because Halitzah is a complete Jewish divorce, and even though it is was a disqualified Halitzah.

Concerning intercourse, if it took place first there is no valid act after it; If it occurred in the middle or at the end there can be a valid act after it. Rabbi Nehemiah says: with both intercourse and halizah, whether it took place in the beginning, in the middle, or at the end, there is no validity in any act that follows it. According to the first opinion in this section, intercourse works differently from halitzah. If done at the beginning, the yevamah becomes his full wife and any act done afterwards is meaningless with regard to the laws of yibbum. In other words, after yibbum she becomes his normal wife. However, if the intercourse is done after another act, such as giving her a get or doing ma’amar with a rival wife, there is potential validity to subsequent acts. For instance, if he gives her a get it is now forbidden for him to have yibbum with her but she still needs halitzah, since the get does not sever the ties created by the necessity for yibbum. If he now goes ahead and has intercourse with her, she still needs halitzah, for the intercourse was an invalid act of yibbum. Even though the get was only of a “derabbanan” status, since only halitzah can biblically exempt the woman, the subsequent act of yibbum is still invalid. The halitzah required after this failed act of yibbum means that “there is validity to an act after intercourse” if it is not the first act performed. According to Rabbi Nehemiah, it does not matter when the act of yibbum was performed, there is never validity to any subsequent act. Even if the yavam gave her a get before he did yibbum, the yibbum is still valid and she does not need halitzah. Rabbi Nehemiah holds that since the get makes it forbidden only “derabbanan” to have yibbum, the yibbum is biblically valid and therefore exempts the woman from a need for yibbum. The deeper argument between Rabbi Nehemiah and the sages is over the validity of rabbinicly decreed laws. According to the sages the rabbinic prohibition of having yibbum after having given a get, makes the yibbum invalid. According to Rabbi Nehemiah, since the get is only derabbanan, it does not have the power to invalidate the yibbum, which is of biblical status.

הביאה באמצע – as in the case of a Jewish bill of divorce to this one and he performed an act of coition to the other woman and then he returned and made a declaration of intention with the third, he prohibited [to marry] her relatives.

בסוף – a Jewish bill of divorce to this one and a declaration of intention [to perform a levirate marriage] to that one, and then he retracted and came [upon her] on [the first, there is after this act of coition the levirate connection and when he releases her, he requires Halitzah and [the reception of] a Jewish bill of divorce is not enough for her.

אין אחריה כלום – and she leaves with a Jewish bill of divorce, without Halitzah, for if he retracted and betrothed to the other one after the act of coition, his deeds are not worth anything.