Yevamot 2

כֵּיצַד אֵשֶׁת אָחִיו שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה בְעוֹלָמוֹ. שְׁנֵי אַחִים, וּמֵת אֶחָד מֵהֶם, וְנוֹלַד לָהֶן אָח, וְאַחַר כָּךְ יִבֵּם הַשֵּׁנִי אֶת אֵשֶׁת אָחִיו, וָמֵת, הָרִאשׁוֹנָה יוֹצֵאת מִשּׁוּם אֵשֶׁת אָחִיו שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה בְעוֹלָמוֹ, וְהַשְּׁנִיָּה מִשּׁוּם צָרָתָהּ. עָשָׂה בָהּ מַאֲמָר וָמֵת, הַשְּׁנִיָּה חוֹלֶצֶת וְלֹא מִתְיַבֶּמֶת:

How does "the wife of his brother who was not in his world" [exempt her tzarah]? If there were two brothers and one of them died, and a brother was born to them, [to whom she was yibum-linked, but to whom (the third brother) she is forbidden by reason of "the wife of his brother who was not in his world"], and afterwards the second brother [who had a wife of his own] took his brother's wife in yibum, and he died [without children] — then the first woman [the wife of the first who had already fallen before him once (for yibum)] goes out (i.e., she is not taken in yibum) by reason of "the wife of his brother who was not in his world"; and the second (goes out) by virtue of being her tzarah. If he (the second) made a ma'amar in her (the first brother's wife) and he died [i.e., if he betrothed her with money. With a yevamah, money-betrothal is not bona fide betrothal, but obtains only by ordinance of the scribes. For a yevamah is not acquired by the yavam to be considered a married woman until he lives with her; and in this instance he had not lived with her before he died.], the second wife receives chalitzah [ and she is not exempt by reason of tzarath ervah, because she is not actually her tzarah], and she is not taken in yibum [because ma'amar acquires to a certain extent, and she is tzarath ervah to a certain extent. And wherever bona fide betrothal does not obtain, she receives chalitzah and is not taken yibum.]

שְׁנֵי אַחִים וּמֵת אֶחָד מֵהֶן, וְיִבֵּם הַשֵּׁנִי אֶת אֵשֶׁת אָחִיו, וְאַחַר כָּךְ נוֹלַד לָהֶן אָח, וָמֵת, הָרִאשׁוֹנָה יוֹצֵאת מִשּׁוּם אֵשֶׁת אָחִיו שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה בְעוֹלָמוֹ, וְהַשְּׁנִיָּה מִשּׁוּם צָרָתָהּ. עָשָׂה בָהּ מַאֲמָר, וָמֵת, הַשְּׁנִיָּה חוֹלֶצֶת וְלֹא מִתְיַבֶּמֶת. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, מְיַבֵּם לְאֵיזוֹ מֵהֶן שֶׁיִּרְצֶה, אוֹ חוֹלֵץ לְאֵיזוֹ מֵהֶן שֶׁיִּרְצֶה:

If there were two brothers and one of them died, and the second took his brother's wife in yibum, and then a brother were born, and then he [the second brother] died — the first woman goes out by reason of "the wife of his brother who was not in his world," and the second by reason of being her tzarah. If he made a ma'amar in her and he died, the second receives chalitzah, and she is not taken in yibum. R. Shimon says: He can take either one in yibum or give chalitzah to either one. [And she exempts the other thereby. This does not relate to "If he made a ma'amar in her," but to the first part, viz.: "The first one goes out, etc." R. Shimon holds that since when he was born she had already been taken in yibum, and had never had a yibum linkage to him (the one who was born later) from the first brother, she is permitted to him. The halachah is not in accordance with R. Shimon.]

כְּלָל אָמְרוּ בַיְבָמָה. כָּל שֶׁהִיא אִסּוּר עֶרְוָה, לֹא חוֹלֶצֶת וְלֹא מִתְיַבֶּמֶת. אִסּוּרָהּ אִסּוּר מִצְוָה, וְאִסּוּר קְדֻשָּׁה, חוֹלֶצֶת וְלֹא מִתְיַבֶּמֶת. אֲחוֹתָהּ שֶׁהִיא יְבִמְתָּהּ, חוֹלֶצֶת אוֹ מִתְיַבֶּמֶת:

A general principle was stated in respect to a yevamah: If she is an issur ervah (interdicted as an ervah), she [her tzarah, and, it goes without saying, she herself], is subject to neither chalitzah nor yibum. [The same applies to an eilonith, it being written (Deuteronomy 25:6): "And it shall be, the first-born that she bears" — to exclude an eilonith. Likewise, the wife of a seris chammah (one born without testicles), and a hermaphrodite is subject to neither chalitzah not yibum, it being written (Ibid. 5): "and he have no son" — to exclude those who are incapable of begetting children. And the wife of a proselyte and of a freed bondsman is subject to neither chalitzah not yibum, there being no "brotherhood" to proselytes nor bondsmen. But a barren woman or an old woman receive chalitzah or are taken in yibum.] If she were interdicted as issur mitzvah or issur kedushah (see next Mishnah), she is subject to chalitzah, but not to yibum. If her sister [the sister of an ervah] were her yevamah [as when two sisters from his two brothers fell before him for yibum, one of them being forbidden to him as an ervah (e.g., his mother-in-law or his daughter-in-law)], she either receives chalitzah or is taken in yibum [For in such an instance, he is not in contravention of "the sister of one linked to him (in yibum)," an ervah not being linked to him].

אִסּוּר מִצְוָה, שְׁנִיּוֹת מִדִּבְרֵי סוֹפְרִים. אִסּוּר קְדֻשָּׁה, אַלְמָנָה לְכֹהֵן גָּדוֹל, גְּרוּשָׁה וַחֲלוּצָה לְכֹהֵן הֶדְיוֹט, מַמְזֶרֶת וּנְתִינָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, וּבַת יִשְׂרָאֵל לְנָתִין וּמַמְזֵר:

Issur mitzvah — shniyoth [secondary to arayoth] interdicted by the soferim. [They are called "issur mitzvah" because it is a mitzvah to hearken to the words of the sages. The shniyoth are: the mother of his mother (all the way down the line), the mother of his father's mother alone, the mother of his father (all the way down the line), the mother of his father's father, the wife of his father's father (all the way down the line), the wife of his father's mother (alone), the wife of his father's brother from the mother, the wife of his mother's brother, whether from the mother or from the father, the daughter-in-law of his son (all the way down the line), the daughter-in-law of his daughter, the daughter of the daughter of his son, the daughter of the daughter of his daughter, the daughter of the son of his son, the daughter of the son of his daughter, the daughter of the daughter of the son of his wife, the daughter of the daughter of the daughter of his wife, the mother of the mother of the father of his wife, the mother of the mother of the mother of his wife, the mother of the father of the mother of his wife, and the mother of the father of the father of his wife.] Issur kedushah — a widow to a high-priest [in an instance where his brother, a Cohein, died, and his wife fell before him (for yibum)], a divorced woman and a chalutzah to a plain Cohein [as when his dead brother had transgressed and married a divorced woman or a chalutzah. When he dies, she requires chalitzah, for betrothal "takes" in her (betrothal) "taking" in those interdicted by negative commandment (but not subject to kareth). But he does not take her in yibum, for she is forbidden to him. And simply to exempt her is impossible, the negative commandment not sufficing to exempt her, our deriving this (exemption) from the (instance of the) sister of one's wife, where kareth obtains], a mamzereth and a Nethinah to a Yisrael, and the daughter of a Yisrael to a Nathin and to a mamzer.

מִי שֶׁיֶּשׁ לוֹ אָח מִכָּל מָקוֹם, זוֹקֵק אֶת אֵשֶׁת אָחִיו לְיִבּוּם, וְאָחִיו לְכָל דָּבָר, חוּץ מִמִּי שֶׁיֶּשׁ לוֹ מִן הַשִּׁפְחָה וּמִן הַנָּכְרִית. מִי שֶׁיֶּשׁ לוֹ בֵּן מִכָּל מָקוֹם, פּוֹטֵר אֵשֶׁת אָבִיו מִן הַיִּבּוּם, וְחַיָּב עַל מַכָּתוֹ וְעַל קִלְלָתוֹ, וּבְנוֹ הוּא לְכָל דָּבָר, חוּץ מִמִּי שֶׁיֶּשׁ לוֹ מִן הַשִּׁפְחָה וּמִן הַנָּכְרִית:

If one has a brother from any source [even a mamzer], he "binds" his brothers wife to yibum, and he is his brother for all purposes [to inherit him and to make himself unclean for him (at his death)] — except for one who has a brother from a bondswoman or from a gentile woman, [her child reverting to her, it being written in respect to a bondswoman (Exodus 21:4): "The woman and her children shall belong to her master," and, in respect to a gentile woman, (Deuteronomy 7:4): "For he will turn your son away from Me." Its not being written: "For she will turn, etc." indicates the meaning to be (Ibid. 3): "Your daughter do not give to his son," for the husband of your daughter will turn your son which your daughter will bear away from Me. But it does not refer to "His daughter you shall not take for your son," for a son born of a gentile woman is not called your son, but her son.] If one has a son from any source, he (that son) exempts his father's wife from yibum, he is liable for striking and cursing him, and he is his son for all purposes — except for one who has a son from a bondswoman or from a gentile woman.

מִי שֶׁקִּדֵּשׁ אַחַת מִשְּׁתֵּי אֲחָיוֹת וְאֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ אֵיזוֹ מֵהֶן קִדֵּשׁ, נוֹתֵן גֵּט לָזוֹ וְגֵט לָזוֹ. מֵת, וְלוֹ אָח אֶחָד, חוֹלֵץ לִשְׁתֵּיהֶן. הָיוּ לוֹ שְׁנַיִם, אֶחָד חוֹלֵץ וְאֶחָד מְיַבֵּם. קָדְמוּ וְכָנְסוּ, אֵין מוֹצִיאִין מִיָּדָם:

If a man betrothed one of two sisters and did not know which one, [so that both are forbidden to him, each one possibly being the sister of the woman he married], he gives a get to each. If he died and had another brother, he gives chalitzah to both [for he does not know which is his yevamah. And he cannot give chalitzah to one and take the other in yibum, by reason of "the sister of his chalutzah." (And she is forbidden to him in her sister's lifetime by rabbinical ordinance.) Nor can he take one in yibum first, for she might not be his yevamah, in which instance he would be violating the sister of one "linked" to him, who is like his wife. If he had two brothers, one gives chalitzah [to one first], and the second, [if he wishes,] takes [the other] in yibum. [For if she (the other) is his yevamah, all well and good; and if she is the yevamah's sister, he does not violate "the sister of his linked one," for the chalitzah of the other brother had dissolved the linkage.] If the brothers were beforehand and married them [before taking counsel with beth-din], they are not taken from them [for each one can say: "I married correctly." And even if it were otherwise — that the first who wed for yibum really took the sister of his linked one — it was at that time that he transgressed, and when his brother came and took the other, the true yevamah, in yibum, the linkage to the other was retroactively dissolved.]

שְׁנַיִם שֶׁקִּדְּשׁוּ שְׁתֵּי אֲחָיוֹת, זֶה אֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ אֵיזוֹ קִדֵּשׁ, וְזֶה אֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ אֵיזוֹ קִדֵּשׁ, זֶה נוֹתֵן שְׁנֵי גִטִּין, וְזֶה נוֹתֵן שְׁנֵי גִטִּין. מֵתוּ, לָזֶה אָח, וְלָזֶה אָח, זֶה חוֹלֵץ לִשְׁתֵּיהֶן, וְזֶה חוֹלֵץ לִשְׁתֵּיהֶן. לָזֶה אֶחָד וְלָזֶה שְׁנַיִם, הַיָּחִיד חוֹלֵץ לִשְׁתֵּיהֶן, וְהַשְּׁנַיִם, אֶחָד חוֹלֵץ וְאֶחָד מְיַבֵּם, קָדְמוּ וְכָנְסוּ, אֵין מוֹצִיאִין מִיָּדָם. לָזֶה שְׁנַיִם וְלָזֶה שְׁנַיִם, אָחִיו שֶׁל זֶה חוֹלֵץ לְאַחַת, וְאָחִיו שֶׁל זֶה חוֹלֵץ לְאַחַת, אָחִיו שֶׁל זֶה מְיַבֵּם חֲלוּצָתוֹ שֶׁל זֶה, וְאָחִיו שֶׁל זֶה מְיַבֵּם חֲלוּצָתוֹ שֶׁל זֶה. קָדְמוּ שְׁנַיִם וְחָלְצוּ, לֹא יְיַבְּמוּ הַשְּׁנַיִם, אֶלָּא אֶחָד חוֹלֵץ וְאֶחָד מְיַבֵּם. קָדְמוּ וְכָנְסוּ, אֵין מוֹצִיאִין מִיָּדָם:

If two [who were not brothers] betrothed two sisters, each not knowing which he betrothed, each gives two gittin. If they died, and each had a brother, each gives chalitzah to both, [each being forbidden to perform yibum because of the possibility of "the sister of his linked one"]. If one had one brother and the other two, the one brother gives chalitzah to both, [yibum being impossible both before the chalitzah of the second woman, by reason of "the sister of his linked one," and after, by reason of "the sister of his chalutzah." Therefore, since yibum is forbidden, he first gives chalitzah to both, to free the one who is his yevamah to others]; and the two brothers — one gives chalitzah [to dissolve the linkage from his brother, if this is his yevamah], and the second takes (the other) in yibum. [The sister is permitted to the second in any case. If she is his yevamah, all well and good; and if she is the sister of his yevamah, the linkage of the latter was dissolved by his brother's chalitzah.] If they were beforehand and married them, they are not taken from them. If each had two brothers, the brother of one gives chalitzah to one, and the brother of the other gives chalitzah to the other. The latter brother takes the chalutzah of the former in yibum, and the former brother takes the chalutzah of the latter in yibum. [For, in any case, if the one he takes is his yevamah, he has taken her correctly, his brother having given chalitzah not to her, but to her sister, who was not his yevamah, so that the chalitzah is of no import. And if the one he takes is not his yevamah, he has properly wed an unattached woman. For "the sister of his linked one" does not obtain here, his brother having given chalitzah to her sister, his yevamah, so that the linkage is dissolved.] If two [brothers of (one of the deceased)] were beforehand, and gave chalitzah [to both of them, (each) not knowing which was his yevamah], the two [other brothers] may not take them [respectively] in yibum [for it may be that the first would be taking the sister of his linked one], but one gives chalitzah [first to one of them], and the other takes [the second] in yibum. [For, in either case, if she is his yevamah, all well and good; and if not, he will not have violated "the sister of his linked one," his brother having given chalitzah to his yevamah. And she (the latter) will not be considered "a yevamah to the marketplace," having received chalitzah from her husband's brother.] And if they [the two other brothers] were beforehand, and married them [after the chalitzah of the first two, not having consulted beth-din], they are not taken from them [as explained before. For there obtains only the possibility of "the sister of his linked one" in the marriage of the first. And it may be that he had actually, and properly, married his yevamah, so that the other brother, too, would properly have married an unattached woman. And even if the opposite were the case, and the first had violated "the sister of his linked one," when the second came and took the other in yibum, her linkage would have been (retroactively) dissolved and his (the first brother's) wife would be permitted to him, though he had transgressed in taking her.]

מִצְוָה בַגָּדוֹל לְיַבֵּם. וְאִם קָדַם הַקָּטָן, זָכָה. הַנִּטְעָן עַל הַשִּׁפְחָה וְנִשְׁתַּחְרְרָה, אוֹ עַל הַנָּכְרִית וְנִתְגַּיְּרָה, הֲרֵי זֶה לֹא יִכְנוֹס. וְאִם כָּנַס אֵין מוֹצִיאִין מִיָּדוֹ. הַנִּטְעָן עַל אֵשֶׁת אִישׁ, וְהוֹצִיאוּהָ מִתַּחַת יָדוֹ, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁכָּנַס, יוֹצִיא:

It is a mitzvah for the elder brother to perform the yibum. [For we expound the verse (Deuteronomy 25:5): "And he shall take her as a wife in yibum (6): and it shall be the first-born" (He who performs the yibum shall be the first-born) "that she bears" (That yevamah must be capable of bearing — to exclude an eilonith) "shall be invested" (The first-born, the yavam, shall be invested) "in the name of his dead brother" (to inherit him, his other brothers not sharing with him)]. And if the younger were beforehand (to take her in yibum), he acquires her. If one were suspected of (relations with) a bondswoman, and she were freed, or with a gentile woman, and she became a proselyte, he may not marry her. If he did, she is not taken from him. If one were suspected of (relations with) a married woman, and they (beth-din) took her from him [her husband, because of this one, who caused her to be forbidden to him, and this one went and married her], even though he married her, he must send her away. [For the Torah forbids her also to him, just as she is forbidden to her husband, it being expounded (Numbers 5:13 and 14): "she be unclean," twice — once, vis-à-vis the husband; once, vis-à-vis the adulterer. And this applies only to one who is suspected of adultery; but if one is suspected of relations with an unmarried woman, it would seem that it is a mitzvah for him to marry her, as we find in respect to one who forces a virgin (Deuteronomy 22:29): "And to him shall she be as a wife."]

הַמֵּבִיא גֵט מִמְּדִינַת הַיָּם, וְאָמַר בְּפָנַי נִכְתַּב וּבְפָנַי נֶחְתַּם, לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ. מֵת, הֲרַגְתִּיו, הֲרַגְנוּהוּ, לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, הֲרַגְתִּיו, לֹא תִנָּשֵׂא אִשְׁתּוֹ. הֲרַגְנוּהוּ, תִּנָּשֵׂא אִשְׁתּוֹ:

If one brings a get from abroad, and he says: "Before me it was written, and before me it was signed" [He must say this, as explained in Gittin — according to one view because (abroad) they are not versed in (the knowledge that a get must be written ) lishmah — to its particular end — and, according to another view, because certifying witnesses are not generally available there], he may not marry his (the divorcer's) wife. [For we have only his testimony to rely upon (and he may be lying in order to marry her)]. If he says: "He died" or "I killed him" or "We killed him," he may not marry his wife. [For since she weds on the basis of his testimony, there may be talk that he "cast his eyes upon her" and testified falsely to be able to wed her. But she may marry another; for a woman may be married on the basis of the testimony of one witness.] R. Yehudah says: If he says: "I killed him," his wife may not marry [on the basis of his testimony, even to another. For he is an evil-doer (by his own admission); and the Torah forbids the testimony of an evil-doer. But the halachah is not in accordance with R. Yehudah, it being ruled that a man does not render himself an evil-doer, being "solicitous" of himself. We believe him, then, as to the other's having been killed; but not as to his having killed him. So that even if he says: "I killed him," his wife may marry.] [The gemara explains this ("We killed him") to mean: "I was with his killers, but I did not kill him."]

הֶחָכָם שֶׁאָסַר אֶת הָאִשָּׁה בְּנֶדֶר עַל בַּעְלָהּ, הֲרֵי זֶה לֹא יִשָּׂאֶנָּה. מֵאֲנָה, אוֹ שֶׁחָלְצָה בְפָנָיו, יִשָּׂאֶנָּה, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא בֵית דִּין. וְכֻלָּן שֶׁהָיוּ לָהֶם נָשִׁים, וָמֵתוּ, מֻתָּרוֹת לִנָּשֵׂא לָהֶם. וְכֻלָּן שֶׁנִּשְּׂאוּ לַאֲחֵרִים וְנִתְגָּרְשׁוּ אוֹ שֶׁנִּתְאַלְמְנוּ, מֻתָּרוֹת לִנָּשֵׂא לָהֶן. וְכֻלָּן מֻתָּרוֹת לִבְנֵיהֶם אוֹ לַאֲחֵיהֶן:

If a sage forbade a woman to her husband because of a vow [If she vowed to derive no enjoyment from her husband, and he did not absolve her of her vow, and she came to a sage to absolve her of it, and he did not find "an opening for regret" (i.e., for absolution of her vow)], he (the sage) may not marry her [because he is suspect (of contriving to marry her)]. If she performed miun or chalitzah before him, he may marry her because he is a beth-din. [That is, this sage did not preside over miun or chalitzah by himself, two or three being required for this, so that he is not suspect. But one expert suffices for the absolution of vows.] And all of them [the sage, and one who brought a get, and one who testified to enable a woman to marry, concerning whom we learned that they may not marry her], if they had wives [at the time] and they died, they are [thereafter] permitted to marry them, [there being no "suspicion" in such an instance]. And all [these women] who were married to others [when the sage forbade her, or when the witness testified that her husband had died], and they were divorced or widowed [ from their second husbands], they are permitted to marry them [the sage or the one who brought the get]. And they are all permitted to the sons or the brothers [of those who permitted them, being forbidden only to the permitters themselves; for one does not sin on behalf of his son or his brother. And all of these concerning whom it is stated "He may not marry her" — if he did marry her, he need not send her away — with the exception of one who is suspected of adultery, in which instance, if beth-din took her from her husband on the basis of testimony and clear evidence, even if he did marry her, he must send her away. And if there were witnesses only to something suggestive, such as the man leaving and the woman girt in a sinar (a kind of breech-cloth) or the man leaving and the woman rising from her bed, and the like — if he married her, he need not send her away. And if after such witnesses came, the report were broadcast and did not cease after a day and a half — if he married her, he must send her away (unless he had children from her, in which instance he does not send her away, so that suspicion not be cast upon his children).]