If they said to him: Your wife died, and he married her sister from her father [not from her mother], and then [they said to him:] she [the second] died, and he married her [the second's] sister from her mother [and not from her father, so that the third is a stranger to the first], and then [they said to him:] she [the third] died, and he married her [the third's] sister from her father [and not from her mother, so that the fourth is a stranger to the second, and, it goes without saying, to the first], and then [they said to him:] she [the fourth] died, and he married her sister from her mother [so that she is a stranger to the third, and, likewise, to the first and to the second], and then they were all found to be alive [i.e., they said to him that they are all alive], he is permitted to the first, the third, and the fifth [for they are not kin to one another. And though the third is the sister of the second, she is permitted; for the betrothal of the second did not "take," she being "his wife's sister" to the first, whom he had married before, so that she (the second) is like his ravished or seduced one (concerning which it is ruled that if one ravished a woman he is permitted to marry her daughter), the Torah having forbidden the sister of a wife alone; and where betrothal does not "take," she is not "the sister of a wife." And, similarly, with the fifth. Though she is the sister of the fourth, she is permitted to him. For since betrothal "took" in the third, the cohabitation of the fourth, who is a sister of the third, is found to be one of z'nuth, and the fifth is not forbidden to him.] And they exempt their tzaroth. [If he (the husband) died, and the yavam came and took one of them in yibum, he exempts her tzarah.] And he is forbidden to the second [because of the first] and to the fourth [because of the third.] And cohabitation with either one of them (the second or the fourth) does not exempt her tzarah (i.e., the husband's wives). And if he cohabited with the second after the death of the first, [the account of her death being true, and of the death of the others, false], he is permitted to the second and the fourth, and they exempt their tzaroth; and he is forbidden to the third [because of the second] and to the fifth [because of the fourth]. And cohabitation with either one of them (the third or the fifth) does not exempt her tzarah.
Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
אמרו לו מתה אשתך ונשא אחותה מאביה – [he married his sister from her father] that was not from her mother and they retracted and said to him: “the second degree (i.e., first cousin) died,” and he married the sister of the second degree from her mother and not from her father, and it was found that this third [wife] is a stranger regarding the first wife. And they retracted and said to him, that the third-degree wife had died and he married the sister of the third wife from her father but not from her mother. It was found that the fourth is distant from the second, and all the more so, from the first. And they retracted and said to him, that this fourth wife had died,
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
Introduction
This mishnah deals with a quite complicated situation in which a man marries a series of sisters, thinking that each previous one was dead, and then finds out that they are all alive. If we sort out all of the details, this braintwister shouldn’t be so bad.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
ונשא אחותה מאמה – and he married her sister from her mother, and she is distant from the third, and similarly from the fist and second, and afterwards, they said to them that all of them are living.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
If a man was told “Your wife is dead” and he married her paternal sister; [and when he was told] “She is dead’, he married her maternal sister; [and when he was told] “She is dead”, and he married her paternal sister; [and when he was told] “She is dead, he married her maternal sister; and later it was found that they were all alive, he is permitted to the first, third and fifth, and they exempt their rivals; But he is forbidden to the second and the fourth, and intercourse with one of these does not exempt her rival. A man was married to Rachel (1), and when told that she died, he married Hana (2), Rachel’s paternal sister. When told that Hana died, he married Tova (3), Hana’s maternal sister. Rachel (1) and Tova (3) do not share any parents. When told that Tova has died, he marries Yael (4), Tova’s paternal sister. Yael (4) does not share any parents with Rachel (1) or Hana (2). When told that Yael has died, he marries Rivka (5), Yael’s maternal sister. Rivka (5) does not share any parents with Rachel (1), Hana (2) or Tova (3). At this point, the hapless husband finds out that all of these women are still alive (you can just imagine the shock on the poor guy’s face!). The mishnah rules that he may stay married to the first, the third and the fifth. This means that even though the third woman is the second woman’s sister, and he is forbidden to the second woman, he may stay with the third (the same with the fifth, who is the fourth’s sister). This is because the marriage to the second and the fourth was not valid marriage, because he had already married the first and the third, and they were still alive. Since the marriage with the second and the fourth was not valid marriage, he is permitted to marry their sisters. The mishnah also teaches that the first, third and fifth women exempt their rival wives from the need for yibbum. This means that should this husband die without children, when one of his brothers does yibbum or halitzah with one of these women, the rest of the women are exempt. He is forbidden to stay married to the second and the fourth women, since they are the sisters of the first and third respectively. Since both of these women are not validly married, and therefore are not liable for yibbum or halitzah, should someone perform yibbum or halitzah with them, it would not exempt their rivals.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
מותר בראשונה ובשלישית ובחמישית – who are not related to each other, and even though the third [wife] is the sister of the second [wife], it is permitted for the betrothal of the betrothal of the second did not take effect because she is the wife’s sister to the first [wife] whom he took [as a wife] earlier, and she is like a ravaged or seduced woman and [it is taught In a Baraitha] that if he ravaged a woman, it is permitted [for him] to marry her daughter for the Torah did not prohibit other than the wife’s sister alone, and where Kiddushin/betrothal did not take effect, she is not his wife’s sister, and similarly, the fifth [wife] even though she is the sister of the fourth [wife] she is permitted [to him] for since Kiddushin/betrothal effect with the third [wife], it is found that sexual connection with the fourth [wife] who is the sister of the third is considered a coition of prostitution, and the [fifth wife] is not forbidden to him.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
If he had intercourse with the second after the death of the first, he is permitted to the second and fourth, and they exempt their rivals; But he is forbidden to the third and the fifth, and intercourse with one of these does not exempt her rival. After the death of the first wife, he is permitted to have relations with the second wife. If he does so, then he can no longer stay with the third wife, and he can now have relations with the fourth wife (since the marriage with the third wife is now invalid). Since he can have relations with the fourth wife, he cannot stay married to the fifth wife. In this case, the second and fourth wife would be liable for yibbum and therefore they make their rival wives exempt. The third and fifth wife are not liable for yibbum, therefore they would not make their rival wives exempt.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
ופוטרות צרותיהן – if he died and the levir came and performed levirate marriage with of them, it exempts her rival wife.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
ואסור בשניה – because o the first [wife] and the fourth because of the third.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
ואם בא על השנייה לאחר מיתת הראשונה – for the words were true of the first [wife] , and the rest of the words were lies, he is prohibited to the third [wife] because of the second [wife] and on the fifth [wife] because of the fourth [wife].
