Commentary for Ketubot 6:2
הַפּוֹסֵק מָעוֹת לַחֲתָנוֹ, וּמֵת חֲתָנוֹ, אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים, יָכוֹל הוּא שֶׁיֹּאמַר, לְאָחִיךָ הָיִיתִי רוֹצֶה לִתֵּן, וּלְךָ אִי אֶפְשִׁי לִתֵּן:
If one committed money to his son-in-law, and his son-in-law died, [and she fell before the yavam], the sages said: He can say: "To your brother, I desired to give; to you, I do not desire to give." [Either give her chalitzah or take her in yibum (whereas with his brother, he either gives what he had committed or she sits (unmarried) until her hair turns grey.) And even if his brother were an am ha'aretz (unlearned) and he were a Torah scholar, he can still say: "To your brother, I desired to give; to you, I do not desire to give."]
Bartenura on Mishnah Ketubot
ומת חתנו – and she fell before the levir [for him to consummate the marriage].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Ketubot
Introduction
This mishnah deals with a father who promises to give his wife a large dowry and then her fiancee dies, leaving her liable for yibbum with the brother. The question is, is the father obligated to give the same amount of money to the yavam.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Ketubot
יכול הוא שיאמר – either remove the shoe or fulfill the role of the levir (i.e., marry your sister-in-law), or give what had been decided or let her sit until her head becomes white (i.e., she becomes old), and even though his brother was an ignoramus and he (who had died) was a Sage, he (i.e., the father-in-law) can say – “to your brother, I would want to give [her], but to you, I would not want to give [her].”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Ketubot
If a man agreed to give a fixed sum of money to his son-in-law and his son-in-law died: the Sages say that he may say “I was willing to give to your brother but I am unwilling to give to you.” If a husband promises to give his daughter’s husband a large dowry he is legally obligated to pay that money to the son. We should note that the rabbis encouraged fathers to give their daughters’ generous dowries so that they would find good matches. However, if the son-in-law dies while they are only engaged, the father-in-law is not liable to pay the same amount of money to the brother-in-law who might perform yibbum. This is true even if the daughter wants to marry the yavam. Since the father’s contract was with the other brother, he has no legal obligation to the yavam.
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