Un sommo sacerdote non può sposare una vedova, sia una vedova di fidanzamento che una vedova di matrimonio. E non può sposare un bogereth (uno che è maturato oltre la verginità), [essendo scritto (Levitico 21:14): "E lui, una donna nella sua verginità prenderà"—per escludere un bogereth, i cui segni vergini sono parzialmente persi (nel processo di maturazione)] R. Eliezer e R. Shimon consentono un bogereth. [L'halachah non è conforme a loro.] Potrebbe non sposare un mukath etz (una vergine accidentalmente deflorata). Se avesse fidanzato una vedova e fosse stato nominato sommo sacerdote, avrebbe potuto sposarla. È successo con Yehoshua b. Gamla che fidanzò Marta, figlia di Baito, e il re lo nominò sommo sacerdote, e la sposò. Se uno shomereth yavam (una donna in attesa di yibum), cadde davanti a un sacerdote regolare (per yibum), e fu nominato sommo sacerdote—anche se avesse fatto un maamar in lei, non avrebbe potuto sposarla. Se il fratello di un sommo sacerdote è morto, le dà chalitzah, ma non la prende in yibum.
Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
לא ישא את הבוגרת – as it is written (Leviticus 21:13): “He (i.e., the High Priest) may only marry a woman who is a virgin,” excluding a woman of age, whose virginity was destroyed.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
Introduction
This mishnah deals with the prohibition of a widow to a high priest. This prohibition is mentioned in Leviticus 21:14.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
רבי אליעזר ורבי שמעון מכשירין – and the Halakha is not according to their opinions.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
A high priest shall not marry a widow whether she became a widow after a betrothal or after a marriage. A high priest cannot marry any widow, even one who was only betrothed and not married before she became a widow.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
He shall not marry one who has reached puberty. Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon permit him to marry one who has reached puberty, but he may not marry one who lost her virginity through a stick. Leviticus 21:13 states that the high priest must marry a betulah, commonly translated as a virgin. The word “betulah” can also mean, young, unmarried girl. It was probably assumed that most prepubescent, unmarried girls were also physiological virgins. Incidentally, in Greek literature, virgin was also not used the same way that modern English uses the word virgin. It could also denote a young, unmarried girl. In any case, since the Torah states that he must marry a “betulah” the sages rule that he may not marry a girl who has reached puberty, which is actually six months after the first physical signs of maturation. The common age for this is 12 ½. Before this, by legal definition a girl could not reach puberty. Meaning, even if she did it was not considered to be statuary puberty. According to Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon, the high priest may marry a post-pubescent girl. According to their definition, a betulah is defined as one who still is physiologically a virgin. Since this girl is, the high priest may marry her. However, he may not marry one who has lost her physical signs of virginity in any way, even not through sexual intercourse. In the Mishnah a girl who lost her hymen in a way other than through sexual intercourse is called a “mukat etz”, literally, hit with a stick.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
[A priest who] betrothed a widow, and was subsequently appointed high priest, may bring her into marriage. It once happened with Joshua ben Gamla that he betrothed Marta the daughter of Boethus, and the king appointed him high priest, and he brought her into marriage. If a priest betrothed a widow, who is permitted to an ordinary priest, and then subsequently was appointed high priest, he may complete the marriage, even though as high priest he cannot marry a widow. In essence the marital bonds are secured before he became high priest and by merely completing them and bringing her into marriage, he is not transgressing the Torah’s prohibition of a widow to a high priest. The mishnah relates the story on Joshua ben Gamala who married Marta, the widowed daughter of a very wealthy man, and then became a high priest. Although she was a widow, he was still allowed to bring her into marriage. Note that the function of the story in this mishnah is probably to demonstrate that not only do the sages rule that this is allowed, but the priests actually did so. This point is crucial since often we see priests being even more strict than the law requires, at least on issues of marriage and status.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
If a shomeret yavam became liable to have yibbum with an ordinary priest and then he was appointed high priest, even though he already did ma’amar, he may not bring her into marriage. A high priest whose brother died must perform halitzah but may not contract yibbum. The laws of yibbum are problematic for a high priest, because he cannot marry a widow. In general we can see that the positive commandment to perform yibbum does not “trump” the prohibition of marrying a widow. This section teaches that if a shomeret yavam became liable for yibbum with an ordinary priest, and then he became high priest, even if he did ma’amar, he cannot marry her. Although in the above section we saw that if an ordinary priest had betrothed a woman and then been appointed high priest he could marry her, since ma’amar is only of rabbinic status (and not biblical as is regular betrothal), it does not create enough of a tie to allow him to marry her. If he were to have yibbum, it would count as marrying a widow while a high priest, which is forbidden. The mishnah ends by quoting mishnah Sanhedrin 2:1, which states that if a high priest’s brother dies without children, the high priest must perform halitzah and cannot have yibbum.
