Como "a esposa de seu irmão que não estava em seu mundo" [isenta dela tzarah]? Se houvesse dois irmãos e um deles morresse, e um irmão nascesse para eles, [a quem ela estava ligada ao yibum, mas a quem (o terceiro irmão) ela é proibida por causa de "a esposa de seu irmão que era não em seu mundo "], e depois o segundo irmão [que tinha esposa própria] tomou a esposa de seu irmão em yibum, e ele morreu [sem filhos]—então a primeira mulher [a esposa da primeira que já havia caído antes dele uma vez (por yibum)] sai (por exemplo, ela não é levada em yibum) por causa da "esposa de seu irmão que não estava em seu mundo" ; e o segundo (sai) em virtude de ser seu tzarah. Se ele (o segundo) fizesse ma'amar nela (a esposa do primeiro irmão) e ele morresse [isto é, se a prometesse com dinheiro. Com um yevamah, o compromisso com o dinheiro não é um compromisso de boa-fé, mas é obtido apenas pela ordenança dos escribas. Pois um yevamah não é adquirido pelos yavam para ser considerado uma mulher casada até que ele viva com ela; e, neste caso, ele não havia morado com ela antes de morrer.], a segunda esposa recebe chalitzah [e ela não é isenta por causa de tzarath ervah, porque ela não é realmente sua tzarah], e ela não é levada para yibum [ porque ma'amar adquire até um certo ponto, e ela é tzarath ervah até um certo ponto. E onde quer que o noivado de boa-fé não seja obtido, ela recebe chalitzah e não é levada a yibum.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
כיצד אשת אחיו שלא היה בעולמו – she exempts her rival/co-wife [from the requirement of levirate marriage or Halitzah].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
Introduction
This mishnah explains how “the wife of his brother who died before he was born” exempts her rival wife from yibbum. This category of women was mentioned in the first mishnah of chapter one (there it was the 14th category).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
ונולד להן אח – and was found to be dependent upon a levir, but upon him she is prohibited because of [the prohibition of] the brother’s wife, for he was not a contemporary [having not yet been born].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
What is the case of “the wife of his brother who died before he was born”? If there were two brothers, and one of them died, and then a third brother was born, and then the second brother had yibbum with his dead brother’s wife and then died himself, the first woman is exempt as the wife of his brother who died before he was born, and the second wife [is exempt] because she is her rival wife. If he had ma’amar with her and died, the second wife, must perform halitzah but may not have yibbum. Reuven and Shimon are brothers and Shimon dies. Afterwards, Levi is born. Reuven then takes Shimon’s widow in yibbum. Afterwards Reuven also dies without children. This same widow, who was originally Shimon’s wife and then became Reuven’s wife, now technically should become liable to have yibbum or halitzah with Levi, the third brother. However, since Levi was not yet born when Shimon died, she is not liable for yibbum with Levi. Since she is exempt, all of her rival wives are exempt as well.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
ואח"כ יבם השני את אשת אחיו – and he has another wife.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
In order to understand this section, we must remind ourselves that ma’amar is the giving of money from the yavam to the yavamah, a parallel to the betrothal money given as “kiddushin” in regular marriages. As I explained in the introduction, according to the Torah there is no marital process for the widow who goes through yibbum. All that really happens is that he has relations with her, and thus yibbum is performed. However, the rabbis created an institution called “ma’amar” whereby the yavam would give her betrothal money similar to the betrothal money given in regular marriages (we will learn these laws in tractate Kiddushin). Ma’amar, however, does not make the woman the yavam’s full wife. The status of their marriage is only rabbinic. This will have many important implications in future mishnayoth. In our mishnah, Reuven does not have full yibbum with the woman, but only does ma’amar, and then dies. The woman therefore, is not biblically liable to have yibbum with Levi, the third brother, but only rabbinically liable. Since she is only rabbinically liable, her rival wife is not truly exempt, and according to biblical law she could have yibbum. However, since Reuven did perform ma’amar with the other wife, the rival wife can only have halitzah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
ומת – without children.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
הראשונה – she is the wife of the first brother who fell before him already one time, goes forth because of [the prohibition of] being the wife of his brother who had not yet been born.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
עשה בה – this one who died.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
מאמר – the explanation he betrothed her with money (as opposed to a document or an act of sexual intercourse) and with a Yevamah/widow of his deceased brother who died without issue, betrothal thorugh money is not a complete Kiddushin/betrothal, but rather, from the words of the Scribes/Soferim, the Yevamah is not acquired to the levir to become like a completely married woman until he comes upon her and he didn’t have sufficient time to marry her until he died.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
שנייה חולצת – and it does not exempt her because of being a rival of a woman forbidden on account of consanguinity because she is not actually her rival/co-wife.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
ולא מתיבמת – because the statement of intention acquires partially and she is [also] partially a rival of a woman forbidden on account of consanguinity, and in every place where there isn’t complete Kiddushin/betrothal, she performs the act of Halitzah and does not engage in a levirate marriage.
