Un shomereth yavam (une femme en attente de yibum), soit à un yavam, soit à deux yavmin, R. Eliezer dit: Il (le yavam) peut annuler. [Le cas est celui dans lequel le yavam fait un ma'amar en elle, R. Eliezer soutenant qu'un ma'amar effectue une acquisition véritable de la Torah. Et si elle est une na'arah et qu'elle a un père, son père et le yavam qui avait fait un ma'amar dans son annulation de ses vœux.] R. Yehoshua dit: À un, mais pas à deux. [Car R. Yehoshua ne détient pas de ma'amar pour effectuer une acquisition de bonne foi. Cependant, il soutient que la zikkah («lien») obtient et que la zikkah est comme le mariage. Et quand il n'y a qu'un seul yavam, il annule; mais s'il y en a deux, aucun d'eux n'est annulé, car il n'y a pas de breirah (discrimination rétroactive).] R. Akiva dit: Ni à un ni à deux. [Il soutient que la zikkah n'est pas comme le mariage et que ma'amar n'effectue pas l'acquisition véritable de la Torah.] R. Eliezer: Maintenant, si une femme qu'il a acquise pour lui-même [c'est-à-dire sa fiancée]— s'il annule ses vœux —une femme qui lui a été léguée par le Ciel [c'est-à-dire, sa yevamah], combien plus devrait-il annuler ses vœux [conjointement, avec son père]! R Akiva à R. Eliezer: Il peut en être ainsi avec une femme qu'il s'est acquise pour lui-même, car les autres n'ont aucun droit sur elle! [Car elle aussi est liée à l'autre yavmin.] R. Yehoshua à R. Akiva: Akiva, vos paroles (justifient) pour deux yavmin, mais que direz-vous pour un yavam! [Autrement dit, votre réponse suffit pour les paroles de R. Eliezer, qui dit qu'il annule même là où il y a deux yavmin. Mais comment répondrez-vous à ma: "à un, mais pas à deux"?] R. Akiva à R. Yehoshua: La yevamah n'est pas absolument acquise par le yavam [pour rendre passible de la peine de mort celui qui vit avec elle], comme la fiancée est absolument acquise par son mari [touchant cette peine. La halakha est conforme à R. Akiva.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Nedarim
שומרת יבם וכו' ר"א אומר יפר when he made her the widow of a brother who died without children (יבמה) , it (i.e., the Mishnah) is speaking of the Yavam’s betrothal (by word of mouth, as opposed to the consummation of marriage, for Rabbi Eliezer holds that מאמר/statement - betrothal of the widow of a brother who died without children/a יבמה – that this betrothal should be effected by means of a marriage document or money should be accompanied by a statement of betrothal, which acquires the childless widow of his dead brother completely from the Torah, But if she is a נערה/a young woman/lass and she has a father, the father and her Yavam/dead husband’s brother [both] annul her vows.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nedarim
Introduction
This mishnah discusses a yavam’s rights to annul the vows of a woman who is awaiting yibbum or halitzah with him. To remind ourselves briefly, if a husband dies without children his wife is liable for either yibbum (levirate marriage) or halitzah (the release from levirate marriage) with his brother. Generally speaking, any brother may perform yibbum or halitzah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nedarim
רבי יהושע אומר לאחד ולא לשנים – for Rabbi Yehoshua does not hold that מאמר/the statement does not acquire In a complete acquisition. However, he holds that there is a זיקה/a levirate bond (between the Yevama waiting for her brother-in-law to act and her deceased husband’s brothers during the period after the husband’s death before one of the brothers performs a levirate marriage) and this levirate bond is like she is a married woman, but when there is only one levir/יבם , he annuls [her vows, vut when there are two levirs, not a single one of them can annul [her vows] for there is no retroactive designation.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nedarim
If a woman waits for a yavam, whether for one or for two [yevamim]: Rabbi Eliezer says: he can annul [her vows]. Rabbi Joshua says: [only if she waits] for one, but not for two. Rabbi Akiva says: neither for one nor for two. There are three halakhic opinions in this section. According to Rabbi Eliezer, even if there are several brothers (yevamim) any one of them may annul her vows. According to Rabbi Joshua if there is only one yavam he may annul her vows but if there are more than one, neither may annul her vows. Rabbi Joshua believes that the connection between a yavam and his yevamah is strong enough that he may annul her vows but if there are two yevamim each prevents the other from doing so. Also, if there are two yevamim we don’t know who will end up performing yibbum and therefore neither may annul her vows. According to Rabbi Akiva a yavam never has the right to annul his yevamah’s vows.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nedarim
ר"ע אומר לא לאחד ולא לשנים – for he holds that the levirate bond/זיקה is not like someone who is married, and the “statement”/מאמר – does not effect a complete acquisition from the Torah.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Nedarim
Rabbi Eliezer said: if a man can annul the vows of a woman whom he himself acquired, isn’t it logical that can he annul those of a woman bequeathed to him by Heaven! Rabbi Akiva said to him: No! If you speak of a woman whom he himself acquires, that is because others have no rights in her; will you say [the same] of a woman given to him by Heaven, in whom others too have rights! Rabbi Joshua said to him: Akiva, your words apply to two yevamim; but what will you answer if there is only one yavam? He (Rabbi said to him (Rabbi: the yevamah is not as completely acquired to the yavam as a betrothed girl is to her [betrothed] husband. In this section the three rabbis argue out their respective positions. Rabbi Eliezer reasons that in a normal marriage a woman is acquired by the man himself (“acquisition” is one of the typical ways by which the mishnah refers to marriage) but in yibbum Heaven bequeaths the yevamah to the yavam. In other words the relation between the yavam and the yevamah is created at the moment of the brother’s death without any action by the yavam and therefore it is a stronger connection. If in the weaker acquisition the husband is allowed to annul vows, so too in the stronger acquisition. Rabbi Akiva responds by pointing out that the two situations are not truly analogous. If there are two or more yevamim then each has some rights in her, because any of them can perform yibbum or halitzah with her. However, in cases of normal marriage, only the betrothed husband has rights in her, for only he will be able to marry her. Rabbi Joshua points out that Rabbi Akiva’s refutation of Rabbi Eliezer holds true only if there is more than one yavam. If there is only one yavam he is the only one who has rights in her, and therefore he should be allowed to annul her vows. Why then does Rabbi Akiva say that he cannot. Rabbi Akiva responds again, this time with a more fundamental difference between normal marriage and yibbum. The union between a betrothed couple is stronger than the unity between a yavam and a yevamah (remember this is before yibbum has been performed; after yibbum she is his wife in all regards). A betrothed woman who has relations with a man other than her betrothed husband is an adulteress and is technically liable for the death penalty. In that sense Jewish betrothal works like marriage. In contrast, a yevamah who has relations with a man other than her yavam is not considered an adulteress and has merely broken a less severe commandment, one not punishable by death. From here we can deduce that the bond of betrothal is stronger and therefore a betrothed husband may annul his betrothed wife’s vows but a yavam may not do so for his yevamah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nedarim
אשה שקנה הוא לעצמו – that is his betrothed woman.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nedarim
הרי הוא מיפר נדרהי – in partnership with her father.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nedarim
אשה שהקנו לו מן השמים – which is the widow of his dead brother who died without children/יבמתו – his Yevamah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nedarim
אינו דין שיפר נדריה – in partnership with her father.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nedarim
שיש לאחרים רשות בה – for she is also in a levirate bond with the other brothers [of her dead husband].
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nedarim
מה אתה משיב על יבם אחד – meaning to say, your response is good on the words of Rabbi Eliezer who states that he annuls even when there are two [potential] levirs, what can you respond to me on my words that I state, to one, but not to two [levirs]?
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Bartenura on Mishnah Nedarim
אין היבמה גמורה ליבם – to make liable for death o someone who comes upon her in the same manner that the betrothed woman is completely his wife (of the betrothed man) in regard to the liability for death (if someone comes upon his betrothed wife). And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Akiva.
