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Today's Mishnah Yomi

Yevamos 16:4 - 16:5

The Mishnah Yomi for Monday, December 25, 2023 is Yevamos 16:4 - 16:5

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Mishnah 1

Mishnayos Yevamos Perek 16 Mishnah 4

יבמות פרק ט"ז משנה ד׳

4
If a man fell into the water and did not come out, whether the body of water has a visible end or does not have a visible end, his wife is prohibited from remarrying. There is no absolute proof that the man died, as it is possible that he emerged from the water some distance away. Rabbi Meir said: An incident occurred involving a certain person who fell into the Great Cistern and emerged only after three days. This is evidence that sometimes one may survive a fall into water, even when everyone assumes he is dead. Rabbi Yosei said: An incident occurred involving a blind man who descended to immerse for ritual purity in a cave, and his guide descended after him, and they disappeared there, and they remained there long enough for their souls to have departed, and the Sages permitted their wives to marry because they had disappeared into the water and not emerged. And there was another incident in Asya in which they lowered a certain man into the sea on a rope, and when they pulled the rope back to land only his leg came up in their hands, and they were not certain whether he was alive or dead. The Sages said: If his leg was cut from the knee and above, his wife may marry, as he did not survive such a wound; if his leg was cut only from the knee and below, she may not marry.
נָפַל לְמַיִם, בֵּין שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָהֶן סוֹף, בֵּין שֶׁאֵין לָהֶן סוֹף, אִשְׁתּוֹ אֲסוּרָה. אָמַר רַבִּי מֵאִיר, מַעֲשֶׂה בְאֶחָד שֶׁנָּפַל לְבוֹר הַגָּדוֹל, וְעָלָה לְאַחַר שְׁלֹשָׁה יָמִים. אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹסֵי, מַעֲשֶׂה בְסוּמָא שֶׁיָּרַד לִטְבֹּל בִּמְעָרָה, וְיָרַד מוֹשְׁכוֹ אַחֲרָיו, וְשָׁהוּ כְדֵי שֶׁתֵּצֵא נַפְשָׁם, וְהִשִּׂיאוּ נְשׁוֹתֵיהֶם. וְשׁוּב מַעֲשֶׂה בְעַסְיָא בְּאֶחָד שֶׁשִּׁלְשְׁלוּהוּ לַיָּם, וְלֹא עָלָה בְיָדָם אֶלָּא רַגְלוֹ, אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים, מִן הָאַרְכֻּבָּה וּלְמַעְלָה, תִּנָּשֵׂא. מִן הָאַרְכֻּבָּה וּלְמַטָּה, לֹא תִנָּשֵׂא:
ד׳

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.

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.

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.

מים שיש להם סוף שנראים כל ארבע רוחות שסביב המים. ומים שאין להם סוף, שאין אדם יכול לראות כל סביביו. ורבי מאיר לא מפליג בין מים שאין להם סוף למים שיש להם סוף. אבל חכמים פליגי בברייתא, ואמרי, מים שיש להם סוף אשתו מותרת אם שהה שם שיעור שאי אפשר שיחיה כשיעור זה בתוך המים, ומים שאין להם סוף אשתו אסורה דשמא לאחר שעלה משם יצא והלך לו, כדאמר רבי יוסי במתניתין. והלכה כחכמים:

ועלה לאחר שלשה ימים. דסבירא ליה לר׳ מאיר אדם חי בתוך המים ימים רבים, ומשום הכי אפילו במים שיש להם סוף דאי נפיק הוה חזי ליה, חייש דילמא נפיק בתר ימים רבים ולא חזו ליה. ורבי יוסי פליג עליה ואמר מעשה בסומא שירד לטבול במערה וכו׳, ומערה מים שיש להם סוף, ושהו עד שתצא נפשם והשיאו את נשותיהן:

מן הארכובה ולמטה. הואיל ויכול לחיות, לא תינשא, שמא יצא ולא ראוהו, דמים שאין להם סוף הן:

Mishnah 2

Mishnayos Yevamos Perek 16 Mishnah 5

יבמות פרק ט"ז משנה ה׳

5
Even if one heard from the women, who were saying: So-and-so died, this is sufficient in order to testify to his death. Rabbi Yehuda says: Even if one heard from the children, who were saying: We are going to eulogize and bury so-and-so, that is also sufficient. Furthermore, one may rely upon someone mentioning that a man died, regardless of whether the speaker intends to testify and thereby allow the man’s wife to remarry or whether he does not intend to offer formal testimony. Rabbi Yehuda ben Bava says: With regard to a Jew who offers this information, it may be relied upon even if he intends for his statement to be considered formal testimony. However, with regard to a gentile, if he intended to testify, his testimony is not considered valid testimony. His statement is relied upon only when he does not intend to state it as formal testimony.
אֲפִלּוּ שָׁמַע מִן הַנָּשִׁים אוֹמְרוֹת, מֵת אִישׁ פְּלוֹנִי, דַּיּוֹ. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אֲפִלּוּ שָׁמַע מִן הַתִּינוֹקוֹת אוֹמְרִים, הֲרֵי אָנוּ הוֹלְכִין לִסְפֹּד וְלִקְבֹר אֶת אִישׁ פְּלוֹנִי, בֵּין שֶׁהוּא מִתְכַּוֵּן וּבֵין שֶׁאֵינוֹ מִתְכַּוֵּן. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בֶן בָּבָא אוֹמֵר, בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל עַד שֶׁיְּהֵא מִתְכַּוֵּן. וּבְגוֹי, אִם הָיָה מִתְכַּוֵּן, אֵין עֵדוּתוֹ עֵדוּת:
ה׳

אפילו שמע מן השנשים – that they don’t intend to testify, he can go to testify so that his (i.e., the dead person) wife may marry.

הרי אנו הולכים לספוד ולקבור את איש פלוני – in the Gemara (Tractate Yevamot 121b) that one requires that they would say, “we come from eulogizing and burying this particular individual,” and it also requires that he would hear them telling of the matters of the eulogy: “such-and such Rabbis were there,” “such-and-such eulogies were there,” because it is the manner of young children to pay and to bring up names and lest it was an ant or locust that they buried, and bring them in with the name of that certain individual.

אפילו שמע מן הנשים. שאין מתכוונות להעיד, יכול לילך להעיד להשיא את אשתו:

הרי אנו הולכים לספוד ולקבור את איש פלוני. בגמרא מוקי שצריך שיאמרו אנו באים מלספוד ולקבור את איש פלוני. וצריך נמי שישמע אותם מספרים מעניני ההספד, כך וכך רבנן הוו התם, כך וכך ספדני הוו התם, מפני שדרך תינוקות לשחק ולהעלות שמות ושמא נמלה או חגב קברו ומכנים אותו בשם איש פלוני:

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