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Perek 1

Mishnayos Yevamos Perek 1 Mishnah 2

יבמות פרק א׳ משנה ב׳

2
The mishna explains: How do these women exempt their rival wives? If, for example, his daughter or any one of those women with whom relations are forbidden was married to his brother and this brother had another wife, and the brother died, then just as his daughter is exempt from levirate marriage, so too her rival wife is exempt. If his daughter’s rival wife subsequently went and married his second brother, to whom she is permitted, and he had another wife, and he died childless as well, which means that his wife comes before the first yavam, the daughter’s father, for levirate marriage, then just as his daughter’s rival wife is exempt, so too the rival wife of her rival wife is exempt. The mishna adds: Even if they are one hundred brothers, the same logic applies. If a woman is exempt from levirate marriage because she is the rival wife of a forbidden relative or the rival wife of a rival wife of this kind, and she herself has an additional rival wife, this rival wife is also exempt and in turn exempts her own rival wives from levirate marriage. How so? What are the cases in which if they died their rival wives are permitted? If, for example, one’s daughter or any one of those women with whom relations are forbidden was married to his brother, and this brother had another wife, and then his daughter died or was divorced and afterward his brother died, her rival wife is permitted to him. § The mishna states another principle: And if any of these forbidden relatives was a minor who could refuse her husband, then even if she did not refuse, her rival wife performs ḥalitza and does not enter into levirate marriage. The rival wife may not enter into levirate marriage, as she is the rival wife of a forbidden relative. However, she is not entirely exempt from levirate marriage and must be released by ḥalitza because the marriage of the forbidden relative was not a fully valid marriage, and therefore, by Torah law, the other woman is not considered a rival wife of a forbidden relative.
כֵּיצַד פּוֹטְרוֹת צָרוֹתֵיהֶן. הָיְתָה בִּתּוֹ אוֹ אַחַת מִכָּל הָעֲרָיוֹת הָאֵלּוּ נְשׂוּאָה לְאָחִיו, וְלוֹ אִשָּׁה אַחֶרֶת, וָמֵת, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁבִּתּוֹ פְּטוּרָה, כָּךְ צָרָתָהּ פְּטוּרָה. הָלְכָה צָרַת בִּתּוֹ וְנִשֵּׂאת לְאָחִיו הַשֵּׁנִי, וְלוֹ אִשָּׁה אַחֶרֶת, וָמֵת, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁצָּרַת בִּתּוֹ פְּטוּרָה, כָּךְ צָרַת צָרָתָהּ פְּטוּרָה, אֲפִלּוּ הֵן מֵאָה. כֵּיצַד אִם מֵתוּ צָרוֹתֵיהֶן מֻתָּרוֹת, הָיְתָה בִתּוֹ אוֹ אַחַת מִכָּל הָעֲרָיוֹת הָאֵלּוּ נְשׂוּאָה לְאָחִיו, וְלוֹ אִשָּׁה אַחֶרֶת, מֵתָה בִתּוֹ אוֹ נִתְגָּרְשָׁה, וְאַחַר כָּךְ מֵת אָחִיו, צָרָתָהּ מֻתֶּרֶת. וְכָל הַיְכוֹלָה לְמָאֵן וְלֹא מֵאֲנָה, צָרָתָהּ חוֹלֶצֶת וְלֹא מִתְיַבֶּמֶת:
ב׳

כשם שבתו פטורה – for [his daughter] is prohibited to him and there is no brother other than him, hence her rival/co-wife is also exempt.

הלכה צרת בתו ונשאת לקאחיו השני – where there is another brother that both of them are permitted to hi, and are not exempt, for there is here the commandment of levirate marriage and one of them engages in levirate marriage and the other is exempt, as it is written (Deuteronomy 25:9): “[Thus shall be done to the man who will not build up] his brother’s house;” he builds one house, but he does not build two homes, and if the second brother performed a levirate marriage with the rival wife of his daughter, and he [himself] has another wife, and he dies without children, and they returned and fell before him.

כשם שצרת בתו פטורה – that she became forbidden upon him from the time of the falling of his first brother, so too is the latter’s present associate/rival wife of his second brother’s wife is exempt, for this woman exempts her for the rivals of a woman forbidden on account of consanguinity exempts her rival/co-wife.

ואפילו הם מאה – [and even if they are one-hundred] brothers, and the rivals of a woman forbidden on account of consanguinity of his daughter went and engaged in levirate marriage with his third brother, and he has another wife, and he died without children, both of them are forbidden to each other, and similarly forever.

צרתה מותרת – to engage in levirate marriage for at the time of the levirate relation, she was not her rival wife.

וכל היכולה למאן – when she is a minor, [the woman forbidden to a man] and she is able to refuse, but she did not refuse, and his brother died, for since [her betrothal/Kiddushin] is not other than Rabbinic and her levirate relation is not other than Rabbinic, she does not exempt her rival/co-wife from Halitzah but to engage in levirate marriage is forbidden for she appears as forbidden on account of consanguinity.

כשם שבתו פטורה. שהרי אסורה לו, ואין שם אח אלא הוא. כך צרתה פטורה:

הלכה צרת בתו ונישאת לאחיו השני. היכא דיש אח אחר ששתיהן מותרות לו, ואינן פטורות, שהרי יש כאן מצות יבום, ומתיבמת האחת והשניה פטורה, דכתיב (דברים כ״ה:ט׳) את בית אחיו, בית אחד הוא בונה ואין בונה שתי בתים. ואם יבם אחיו השני את צרת בתו ולו אשה אחרת ומת בלא בנים וחזרו ונפלו לפניו:

כשם שצרת בתו פטורה. שנאסרה עליו משעת נפילת אחיו הראשון. כך צרת צרתה, אשת אחיו השני האחרת, פטורה, שזו פוטרתה, שצרת ערוה פוטרת צרתה:

ואפילו הם מאה. אחים, והלכה צרת צרתה של בתו ונתיבמה לאחיו השלישי, ולו אשה אחרת ומת בלא בנים, שתיהן אסורות על זה. וכן לעולם:

צרתה מותרת. להתיבם. שהרי בשעת זיקת יבום אינה צרתה:

וכל היכולה למאן. שהיא קטנה הערוה, ויכולה למאן ולא מיאנה, ומת אחיו, הואיל וקידושיה אינן אלא מדרבנן וזיקה שלה אינה אלא מדרבנן, אינה פוטרת צרתה מן החליצה, ולהתיבם אסורה, שנראית כצרת ערוה: