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Perek 16

Mishnayos Yevamos Perek 16 Mishnah 1

יבמות פרק ט"ז משנה א׳

1
In the case of a woman whose husband and rival wife traveled to a country overseas, and witnesses came and told her: Your husband died, she shall not marry any other man, in case she requires levirate marriage with her brother-in-law, i.e., yavam, in which case she is prohibited from marrying anyone else. And she also shall not enter into levirate marriage until she knows whether she, i.e., her rival wife, is pregnant. If her rival wife bears a child to her late husband, she does not have a levirate bond with her brother-in-law, and she is therefore prohibited from marrying him. If she had a mother-in-law overseas, but her late husband had no brothers, she need not be concerned that a brother to her husband may have been born. But if her mother-in-law departed from her town pregnant, this widow should be concerned that perhaps her late husband now has a brother, with whom she is obligated in levirate marriage. Rabbi Yehoshua says: Even in such a case she need not be concerned and may marry whomever she wishes.
הָאִשָּׁה שֶׁהָלַךְ בַּעְלָהּ וְצָרָתָהּ לִמְדִינַת הַיָּם, וּבָאוּ וְאָמְרוּ לָהּ מֵת בַּעְלֵךְ, לֹא תִנָּשֵׂא וְלֹא תִתְיַבֵּם, עַד שֶׁתֵּדַע שֶׁמָּא מְעֻבֶּרֶת הִיא צָרָתָהּ. הָיְתָה לָהּ חָמוֹת, אֵינָהּ חוֹשֶׁשֶׁת. יָצְתָה מְלֵאָה חוֹשֶׁשֶׁת. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר, אֵינָהּ חוֹשֶׁשֶׁת:
א׳

האשה. לא תנשא – since her husband went [abroad] without children.

ולא תתיבם – for perhaps her rival/associate wife gave birth, and if she should say, perform the ritual of removing the shoe of the brother-in-law who refuses to perform levirate marriage, and afterwards marry whomever you want in the world whichever way you turn. They answered in the Gemara (Tractate Yevamot 119b) because a woman whose husband died without children who has performed the rite of Halitzah with a brother of the deceased is disqualified of [marrying into] the priesthood and if she should perform the rite of Halitzah and it is found afterward that her rival/associate wife gave birth to a living child, her Halitzah is not anything, they need to announce concerning her that she is fit for the priesthood, and was not disqualified on account of that rite of ahalitzah. And whomever that it is found at the time of her Halitzah, and is not found at the time where they announced about the Halitzah, it is nothing and she is not disqualified from the priesthood through her and when he sees her afterwards married to a Kohen, he would say that a woman who had performed the rite of Halitzah is permitted to a Kohen.

היתה לה חמות – abroad.

אינה חוששת – perhaps she had been given a levir even though we suspect above lest her rival wife had given birth whether to a male or a female, he exempts her to this one who is performing the duty of levirate marriage but her mother-in-law, if she also gave birth, she would not be needed for her for this one but if she had given birth to male, it is possible to state that perhaps she aborted, and if you can assume that she did not abort, perhaps it was a girl.

יצתה מלאה – pregnant.

חוששת – perhaps she had been given a levir. But the Halakha not according to Rabbi Yehoshua who said that she does not have to worry/scruple [concerning her].

האשה. לא תנשא. הואיל ובלא בנים יצא בעלה:

ולא תתיבם. שמא ילדה צרתה. וא״ת תחלוץ ואח״כ תנשא לשוק ממה נפשך. תירצו בגמרא, משום דחלוצה פסולה לכהונה, ואם תחלוץ וימצא אחר כך שילדה צרתה ולד של קיימא וחליצתה אינה כלום, צריכים להכריז עליה שהיא כשרה לכהונה ולא נפסלה מחמת אותה חליצה. ומי שנמצא בשעת חליצתה ולא נמצא בשעה שהכריזו על החליצה דלאו כלום היא ולא נפסלה לכהונה על ידה כשיראה אותה נשואה אחר כך לכהן יאמר שחלוצה מותרת לכהן:

היתה לה חמות. במדינת הים:

אינה חוששת. שמא ניתן לה יבם. אע״ג דחיישינן לעיל שמא ילדה צרה, התם הוא דכל מה דילדה צרה בין זכר בין נקבה מפיק לה להיאך מיבם, אבל חמות דאי נמי ילדה לא זקיק לה להיאך אלא א״כ ילדה זכר, איכא למימר שמא הפילה, ואם תמצא לומר לא הפילה שמא נקבה היתה:

יצתה מלאה. מעוברת:

חוששת. שמא ניתן לה יבם. ואין הלכה כר׳ יהושע דאמר אינה חוששת: