S'il y avait trois frères, deux d'entre eux mariés à deux sœurs et l'un d'eux célibataire — si l'un des maris des sœurs est mort et que le frère célibataire a fait une ma'amar (une déclaration verbale de mariage) en elle [(ma'amar - fiançailles d'une yevamah, qui "prend" seulement selon les paroles des scribes )], puis le deuxième frère est mort — Beth Shammai dit: Sa (la femme du troisième frère) reste avec lui [Pour Beth Shammai, soutenez que la femme fiancée par ma'amar est considérée comme sa femme, de sorte que lorsque sa sœur tombe devant lui (pour yibum) après, elle (la première soeur) n'est pas interdite en raison de "la sœur de son lié"], et l'autre sort [même de chalitzah, en raison de "la soeur de sa femme."] Et Beth Hillel dit: —Il doit renvoyer sa femme par get et par chalitzah, et la femme de son frère par chalitzah. [Car ma'amar ne suffit pas à lui donner (à la première) le statut de femme mariée, et l'autre (la seconde) est interdite en raison de "la sœur de sa liée". Un get est nécessaire à cause du ma'amar, qui est des fiançailles partielles (et les fiançailles ne sont pas dissoutes sans un get.) Et elle a également besoin de chalitzah, car puisque la ma'amar n'est pas de véritables fiançailles, elle est toujours liée à lui (pour yibum) et exige que la chalitzah dissolve ce lien; de sorte qu'il lui donne d'abord un get, puis la chalitzah.] et c'est l'exemple dont ils ont dit (13: 7): "Malheur à lui à cause de sa femme, [dont il doit divorcer], et malheur à lui à cause de la femme de son frère! " [à qui il doit donner la chalitzah]
Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
מופנה (this part of the Mishnah is found in Tractate Yevamot Chapter 3, Mishnah 5)– lives without a wife.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
Introduction
Our mishnah continues to list disputes between Beth Shammai and Beth Hillel with regards to the laws of levirate marriage.
In order to understand this mishnah it is important to understand one issue about how levirate marriage works. When a woman’s husband dies without children she must either marry her brother-in-law or be released from marriage by him. According to the laws of the Torah, this marriage does not require prior betrothal. Rather it is consummated in one step: sexual relations. However, the Rabbis instituted that the brother-in-law should first betroth her. This betrothal is called maamar.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
מאמר – Betrothal/Sanctification and with the widow of a brother who died without issue, does not take effect other than through the words of the Scribes.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot
[In the case of] three brothers, of whom two were married to two sisters and one was unmarried, if one of the husbands of the sisters died and the unmarried one betrothed her (, and afterwards his other brother died, Beth Shammai says: his wife remains with him, and the other [widow] is released on the grounds of [the law forbidding] the wife’s sister. But Beth Hillel says: he should put away his wife with a get and halitzah, and the wife of his brother [he should put away] with halitzah. This is the case of which they said: woe to him because of his wife, and woe to him because of his brother’s wife! If you thought the last case was complicated, it now gets even worse! In this mishnah there are three brothers, Reuven, Shimon and Levi. Reuven and Shimon were married to Leah and Rachel who are sisters and Levi is unmarried. When either Reuven and Shimon dies Levi performs maamar, betrothal in the case of levirate marriage, with one of the sisters. At this point the other brother dies. The other sister should according to the laws of levirate marriage, also marry Levi. This is a problem because the other brother has already betrothed, although not married this woman’s sister. It is also somewhat of a problem for Levi to consummate the marriage with the first widowed sister since her sister is also bound to Levi by her need for levirate marriage or halitzah. Nevertheless, Beth Shammai rules that Levi may marry the first sister. The second widowed sister does not need either halitzah or levirate marriage, since she is forbidden to Levi who is married to her sister. In other words, according to Beth Shammai although Levi only performed “maamar” with the first sister, the bond created is strong enough to exempt the second sister from halitzah or levirate marriage to Levi. Beth Hillel disagrees. According to them maamar is not as strong as full marriage. Therefore Levi must perform two ceremonies in order to release the first widow: 1) he must divorce her to untie the bond created by the maamar; 2) he must perform halitzah to untie the bond created by her being his dead brother’s wife. The second widow also requires halitzah. The mishnah ends with what must have been a popular saying, although not necessarily said strictly in this circumstance. This is truly a sorry case for both Levi, who loses both women, and for his wife (the first widow) and for his (dead) brother’s wife as well.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
אשתו עמו – for the School of Shammai holds that the wife the bespoken one is considered as entered into marriage, and when her sister fell [into widowhood] afterwards, she was not forbidden because of being the sister of her chained one.
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Questions for Further Thought: In what other circumstance might the saying at the end of the mishnah been stated?
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
והלה – and this one should be go free even from the ceremony of removing the levir’s shoe if he refuses to consummate the marriage with his dead brother’s widow, because she is the wife’s sister.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
מוציא אשתו בגט – for the levir’s betrothal by word of mouth is not so strong to compare it as if he is married, for this prohibits her because of she is the sister of the chained one, and she requires a Jewish bill of divorce because of the Ma’amar/the levir’s betrothal by word of mouth to his dead brother’s widow and shed also requires the ceremony of removing the levir’s shoe [when he refuses to consummate the marriage of with his dead brother’s widow], for since Ma’amar is not a complete betrothal and she is still as yet chained and requires the ceremony of removing the levir’s shoe because of the interdependence of the childless widow and her late husband’s brothers; and in the beginning, he gives her a Jewish bill of divorce and afterwards conducts the ceremony of removing the shoe of the levir [and spitting in his face].
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
אי לו – woe is to him on his wife that he has to divorce her with a Jewish bill of divorce.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Eduyot
ואי לו על אשת אחיו – that he has to have her [conduct the ceremony to] .remove her levir’s shoe [and spit in his face].
