R. Yehudah ben Bava testificó en cinco casos, a saber: a los menores se les enseña a rechazar [Si dos hermanos estuvieran casados con dos hermanas (huérfanas), una adulta y la otra menor —si el esposo del adulto murió, de modo que ella fue "vinculada" por yibum al esposo del menor, su vinculación anula el matrimonio de su hermana, el menor, y se lo prohíbe, el matrimonio del menor no se tiene en cuenta. (En este caso) al menor se le enseña a "rechazarlo", y su negativa ("miun") disuelve su primer matrimonio y se le permite llevar a la hermana mayor en yibum. Y hay otra instancia similar a esta en Yevamoth, en el capítulo "Beth Shammai".] Y (testificó) que una mujer puede casarse con el testimonio de un testigo. [Si su esposo se fue al extranjero y solo un testigo vino y dijo que él había muerto, ella está casada por la fuerza de su testimonio.] Y (él testificó) que un gallo fue apedreado en Jerusalén porque había matado a alguien [(Había royó el cerebro de un bebé.) Y aunque está escrito (Éxodo 21:18): "Si un buey gore, etc.", lo mismo se aplica a todas las bestias, animales y pájaros. Porque donde se escribe "buey", derivamos "buey" - "buey" del Shabat. Al igual que allí, todas las bestias, animales y pájaros están incluidos, así que aquí.] Y (él testificó que) el vino debe tener cuarenta días para las libaciones de altar. [Antes de eso, está prohibido ser considerado "vino de su lagar".] Y [testificó sobre el holocausto diario de la mañana para que fuera sacrificado en la cuarta hora del día. [Por una vez, en los días del reino de Grecia, no tenían corderos para las ofrendas quemadas, y esperaron para sacrificar la ofrenda quemada diaria de la mañana hasta que el Santo Bendito fuera Él iluminó sus ojos y encontraron dos corderos aprobados en el cordero y sacrificó la ofrenda quemada diaria de la mañana en la cuarta hora del día.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
רבי יהודה בן בבא העיד. שממאנים את הקטנות – such as the case of two brothers who are married to two orphan sisters, one older and one younger. The husband of the older one died and she is now found in need of a levir, the husband of the younger, and we override her interdependence of a childless widow [the younger] and her late husband’s brother, the levirate relation, and prohibit her upon him for the marriage of the younger woman is seen as valueless. We teach the younger woman that she should refuse him for the her refusal uproots her first marriage, and then he is permitted to marry the older wife of the brother who died without issue, and similarly if there is another, in a similar manner, in Tractate Yevamot, Chapter “The House of Shammai” (Chapter 13, Mishnah 7).
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
Introduction
Chapter six returns to the main style of Mishnah Eduyoth, the recording of traditions transmitted by individual Sages. In the first mishnah Rabbi Judah ben Bava testifies with regards to five things.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
ומשיאין את האשה – whose husband went to abroad and only one witnesses came and said trhat he died, we allow her to [re]marry on his word.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
Rabbi Judah ben Bava testified concerning five things: That women who are minors are made to declare an annulment of their marriage; Only a father has the right to marry off his daughter while she is a minor (under 12 ½) and have the marriage considered Biblically valid. If the father is not alive, the mother or brother can marry off the daughter while she is a minor, but the marriage is only Rabbinically valid. Being so, she has a right to refuse the marriage when she reaches majority. If she does so the marriage is annulled and is considered as having never been. This refusal is called “meun”. Occasionally, if it was in the best interests of all parties, the Rabbis instructed the daughter to refuse the marriage. Such an occasion could occur in the following instance. Two brothers, Reuven and Shimon, were married to two sisters who had no father, Leah who was of majority age and therefore arranged her own marriage (her marriage is Biblically valid) and Rachel, whose marriage was arranged by her mother or brother (her marriage is only Rabbinically valid). If Leah’s husband, Reuven, dies she must have levirate marriage with Shimon, Rachel’s husband. The problem is that Rachel’s marriage to Shimon is now impossible because Leah’s tie to Shimon which is Biblical, supersedes Rachel’s marriage which is only Rabbinic. In order to allow Leah to have levirate marriage with Shimon, the Rabbis teach Rachel to refuse their marriage, thereby annulling it.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
ושנסקל תרנגול שהרג את הנפש – that perorated the brain of a baby and even though it is written (Exodus 22:28): “When an ox gores [a man or a woman...],” both an ox and cattle, beasts and birds are included, for every place where it says, “ox,” we learn (Deuteronomy 5:14): “[but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; you shall not do any work] – you, your son, or your daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or your ass, or any of your cattle…” from [the law of] Shabbat. Just as further on, the same law applies to all cattle, beasts and birds, even here the same law applies to all cattle, beasts and birds.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
That a woman is allowed to re-marry on the evidence of one witness; According to the Torah, proper testimony requires at least two witnesses. However, one exception to this rule is the case of a woman whose husband may have died. If she cannot ascertain his death, she cannot remarry, which will leave her an “agunah” a woman who cannot marry. In order to prevent this difficult situation for the widow the Rabbis were lenient and allowed testimony based on only one witness.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
ועל יין בן ארבעים יום – but prior to this, it is invalid, for it is wine from its vat.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
That a rooster was stoned in Jerusalem because it had killed a human being; According to Exodus 21:28 an ox that kills a human is to be stoned. Rabbi Judah ben Bava extends this law to include any animal that kills a human, even one as unlikely to do so as a rooster. (See Bava Kamma 5:7).
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
שקרב בארבע שעות – that one time during the days of the Grecian kingdom, they did not have lambs to sacrifice the daily whole burnt offering until the Holy One, blessed be He enlightened their eyes and they found two lambs which passed examination in the chamber of the lambs, and they offered the daily whole burnt offering of the morning at the fourth hour of the day.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
And about wine forty days old, that it was used as a libation on the altar; New wine is not as good as old, aged wine. The question that is asked is how old must wine be for it to be usable as a libation. Rabbi Judah ben Bava states that forty days is sufficient.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
And about the morning tamid offering, that it is offered at the fourth hour. There are two “tamid” offerings which are offered every day, one in the morning and one at twilight (See Exodus 29:39). According to Rabbi Judah ben Bava the morning “tamid” may be offered up until the fourth hour, but not afterwards. (The day is divided into 12 hours, the length of which is determined by the amount of sunlight during the day. During the summer hours are longer than during the winter). In other words, the first third of a day is considered to be “morning”.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
Questions for Further Thought: • Section two: Why were the Rabbis willing to suspend the laws of testimony in order to allow a woman to remarry?
