Se alguém cai na água, com ou sem fim, sua esposa é proibida (se casar novamente). R. Meir disse: Certa vez, um homem caiu no grande poço e subiu depois de três dias. ["água que tem fim"—onde todos os quatro lados são visíveis ao redor da água; "água que não tem fim"—onde não se pode ver tudo à sua volta. R. Meir não faz distinção entre um e outro, mas os sábios fazem no baraitha, dizendo que (se ele cair) na água que tem um fim, sua esposa será permitida se ele permanecer lá por mais tempo do que o tempo ideal de sobrevivência; e (se ele cair) na água que não tem fim, sua esposa é proibida, pois pode ser que ele tenha subido (do outro lado) e continuado, conforme R. Yossi em nossa Mishnah. A halachá está de acordo com os sábios. ("E ele surgiu depois de três dias") R. Meir sustenta que se pode sobreviver na água por muitos dias. Portanto, mesmo na água que tem um fim, onde, se ele emergisse, teria sido visto, apreendemos que ele pode ter emergido depois de muitos dias e não ter sido visto. E R. Yossi discorda e diz: "Aconteceu com um certo cego que ele foi banhar-se em uma caverna, etc."; e o exemplo de uma caverna é de água que tem um fim, e eles esperaram até morrer e casar com suas esposas.] R. Yossi disse: Aconteceu com um certo cego que ele desceu para tomar banho em uma caverna , e seu atendente foi atrás dele, e eles esperaram (o tempo que levaria) para que eles morressem, e eles se casaram com suas esposas. Outro incidente (que ocorreu) em Assia. Eles colocaram alguém no mar e subiram apenas com a perna dele. Os sábios disseram: (Se a perna foi cortada) acima da articulação do joelho, ela pode se casar novamente; abaixo da articulação do joelho, ela pode não se casar novamente. [Como ele pode viver (nessa condição), ela pode não se casar novamente, pois pode ser que ele tenha emergido e não tenha sido visto, sendo a água que não teve fim.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
מים שיש להם סוף – that appears all four directions that surround the water and water that is not in sight of shore, that a person cannot see all about him. But Rabbi Meir does not make a distinction between a body of water that is not within sight of shore and a body of water that is within sight of shore but the Sages dispute in the Baraita (see Tosefta Yevamot, Chapter 14, Halakha 5 and Talmud Yevamot 121a) and state that a body of water that is within sight of shore, his wife is permitted if he tarried there a period of time where it is impossible that he would live, according to this period of time within the water. But water that is not in sight of shore, his wife is forbidden [to remarry] for lest after he came up from there, he left and went on his way, as Rabbi Yosi stated in our Mishnah, and the Halakha is according to the Sages.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
Introduction
This mishnah deals with deciding whether a person who has entered into a body of water and not reappeared can be assumed to have drowned.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
ועלה לאחר שלשה ימים – for Rabbi Meir holds that a person can live within the water for a number of days, and because of this, even in water that is within sight of a shore, that if he comes out, someone will see him, for we suspect that perhaps after he would come out after many days and they wouldn’t see him. But Rabbi Yosi disputes on this and says that there is an incident about a blind person who went down to ritually immerse in a cave and the cave had water that is in sight of a shore and they remained until they died and their married off their wives.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
If a man fell into water, whether it had [a visible] end or not, his wife is forbidden [to marry again]. According to the first opinion in the mishnah, even though a man may have fallen into a large body of water and not reappeared, we cannot assume that he is dead. In the Talmud, this opinion is ascribed to Rabbi Meir. The Sages hold that if the water has an end, then his wife may remarry. If the water has an end and we did not see him come out, then we know that he didn’t come out the other side and we can assume that he has drowned. However, if the water has no end, he might have washed up alive on some distant shore and his wife should not remarry.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
מן הארכובה ולמטה – since he would be able to live, [his wife] should not remarry lest he leaves and no one sees him, for they are a body of water that is not within sight of a shore.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
Rabbi Meir said: it once happened that a man fell into a large cistern and came out after three days. Rabbi Meir now offers a story that illustrates his principle, that even if the water has an end, the person might be alive. In such a case, if people saw that he didn’t come up, they might have left the place where he allegedly drowned, assuming that he was dead. Therefore, we cannot make such an assumption and his wife cannot remarry.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
Rabbi Yose: it once happened that a blind man descended into a cave to immerse and his guide went down after him; and after waiting long enough for their souls to depart, permission was given to their wives to marry again. Rabbi Yose disagrees with Rabbi Meir. He brings a story where a blind man and his guide fell into a cave that had water in it and the Sages waited a while and then left and declared that the wife could remarry. If we extrapolate, we can conclude that if the water has an end, she may remarry.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
Another incident occurred at Asia where a man was lowered into the sea, and only his leg was brought up, and the Sages ruled: [if the recovered leg contained the part] above the knee [the man’s wife] may marry again, [but if it contained only the part] below the knee, she may not marry again. This mishnah deals with a case where a person was cast into the sea and according to the Talmud he was bound. Later, they drag his leg out of the water. If when they drag the leg out of the water, it is from the knee and up, then we can assume that the person is dead. Even if he survived the loss of part of his leg, he would not be able to swim without a full leg. However, if only the lower part of the leg was cut off, the man might have been able to swim and he might have come out of the water somewhere else. Therefore his wife cannot remarry. Note that this mishnah became all too relevant in determining whether widows of Sept. 11 victims could remarry. Since the World Trade Center is like “water that has an end”, it can be assumed that someone who didn’t show up afterwards had indeed died, and his widow was allowed to remarry.
