YEVAMOS - 020a – כיצד – פרק שני – יבמות, כ ע”א

that he divorces her with a get and may remarry her;^[1]

שמגרשה בגט - and she does not need chalitzah, and if he wishes to remarry her he may; and we do not say: the Torah imposed a mitzvah on him and he did it, and from now on let her stand forbidden to him as a brother's wife.

There too, let us say: and he shall perform yibum with her — the first yibum is still upon her, and she should require chalitzah!

לימא - the first yibum is still upon her, and she should require chalitzah.

There it is different, for the verse says (Devarim 25:5): and take her to himself as a wife — once he has taken her, she becomes like his wife in every respect.

If so, here too the Torah wrote (Devarim 25): and perform yibum with her!

And what did you see?

It is reasonable: apply the leniency to the permitted case,

שדי היתרא - to expound and take her, that she need not require chalitzah —

אהיתרא - where the whole matter is permitted, as when one performs yibum with his brother's wife.

and apply the stringency to the case with a prohibition.

ושדי איסורא - to expound and perform yibum — the yibum is still upon her —

אאיסורא - where there is an aspect of prohibition, as with the wife of his brother who was not in his world.

And according to Rabbi Shimon, who said: since he came and found her permitted, and she did not stand forbidden to him for one moment —

if so, his maternal sister whom his paternal brother married, and afterwards a brother was born and the husband died — let her undergo yibum, since he came and found her permitted!

אחותו מאמו שנשאה אחיו מאביו - before this one was born; and when this one was born he found her married to his brother — let her undergo yibum to him when that one dies, for he found her permitted for yibum.

The prohibition of his sister — where did it go?

Here too, the prohibition of the brother who was not in his world — where did it go?

That one is a prohibition that has no permission; this one is a prohibition that has a permission:

איסור אחותו לית ליה היתר - but the prohibition of a brother's wife has a permission, when he has no children; therefore when the first died without children, his prohibition lapsed with respect to the second, who married her, and the third comes by force of the second.

Mishnah

They said a general rule regarding a yevamah: any whose prohibition is a prohibition of ervah neither does chalitzah nor is taken in yibum.^[2]

לא חולצת ולא מתייבמת - her co-wife, and all the more so she herself.

A prohibition of mitzvah and a prohibition of holiness — she does chalitzah but is not taken in yibum.^[3]

איסור מצוה - he goes on to explain them.

Her sister who is her yevamah — does chalitzah or is taken in yibum.

אחותה - of the ervah, when she is her yevamah — as when two sisters fell from two brothers, one of them forbidden as an ervah, such as his daughter-in-law or his mother-in-law.

או חולצת או מתייבמת - the sister of the ervah, for he does not encounter the sister of his zekukah, since the ervah is not his zekukah.

A prohibition of mitzvah — secondary relatives by the words of the Sofrim.

שניות - secondary to the arayos, which the Sofrim decreed upon, and the Gemara explains it; the terms mitzvah and holiness the Gemara explains.

A prohibition of holiness — a widow to a Kohen Gadol, a divorcee or chalutzah to an ordinary Kohen, a mamzeres or nesinah to a Yisrael, and a bas Yisrael to a nasin or mamzer:

אלמנה לכ"ג - whose ordinary brother died and his widow fell before him.

גרושה וחלוצה לכהן הדיוט - where the deceased brother transgressed and married a chalutzah or divorcee, and when he died she needs chalitzah, for kiddushin takes effect with her, since kiddushin takes effect with those forbidden by a lav; but not yibum, for she is forbidden to this one, who is a Kohen; and to exempt her with nothing at all is not possible, for a lav is not strong enough to exempt her, as we learn from the wife's sister in the first perek (3b).

Gemara

A general rule — to include what? Rafram bar Pappa said: to include the co-wife of an ailonis, and as Rav Assi. And some say: any whose prohibition is a prohibition of ervah — her co-wife is forbidden; but one whose prohibition is not a prohibition of ervah, her co-wife is not forbidden. To exclude what? Rafram said: to exclude the co-wife of an ailonis, and not as Rav Assi:^[4]

לאיתויי צרת אילונית כרב אסי - in the first perek (12a), that she neither does chalitzah nor is taken in yibum, for we call an ailonis an ervah, since the verse excluded her from which she bears, and she stands forbidden to him as a brother's wife; therefore her co-wife is the co-wife of an ervah.

Her sister who is her yevamah: the sister of whom? If you say of the prohibition of mitzvah — since by Torah law she falls before him, he encounters the sister of his zekukah! Rather, the sister of the prohibition of ervah:

A prohibition of mitzvah — sheniyos: Why is it called a prohibition of mitzvah? Abaye said: It is a mitzvah to heed the words of the Sages:

A prohibition of holiness — a widow to a Kohen Gadol, a divorcee or chalutzah to an ordinary Kohen: And why are they called a prohibition of holiness? For it is written (Vayikra 21:6): They shall be holy to their God.

It was taught: Rabbi Yehudah reverses: a prohibition of mitzvah — a widow to a Kohen Gadol, a divorcee or chalutzah to an ordinary Kohen.

And why is it called a prohibition of mitzvah? For it is written (Vayikra 27:34): These are the mitzvos.

אלה המצות - at the end of the book Toras Kohanim, and it implies that it refers to the whole Sifra, and all the warnings for Kohanim are written there.

A prohibition of holiness — secondary relatives by the words of the Sofrim.

And why is it called a prohibition of holiness?

Abaye said: Whoever fulfills the words of the Sages is called holy.

Rava said to him: And whoever does not fulfill the words of the Sages — is it only that he is not called holy, but he is not called wicked either?

Rather, Rava said: Sanctify yourself in what is permitted to you:^[5]

קדש עצמך - to stand guard and be careful —

אף במותר לך - to add to them the secondary relatives, permitted to you, beyond the arayos, so that you do not come to the arayos forbidden by the Torah.

A widow to a Kohen Gadol:

It states without distinction: no difference whether from marriage

קפסיק ותני - a widow to a Kohen Gadol — no difference whether she fell before him from marriage, which is two deficiencies: one, that she is a widow, and there is the lav of a widow he shall not take; and further, that she is not a virgin, and there is a prohibition of an aseh regarding him, as it is written: a wife in her virginity shall he take, and not one who is not a virgin, and a lav derived from an aseh is an aseh.

and no difference whether from betrothal.

ולא שנא - she fell before him from betrothal and is still a virgin, where there is only the lav of a widow.

Granted from marriage — there is an aseh and a lav, and an aseh does not override a lav together with an aseh;^[6]

but from betrothal it is a mere lav — let the aseh come and override the lav!

יבא עשה - of her yavam shall come upon her.

Rav Giddel said in the name of Rav: The verse says (Devarim 25:7): then his yevamah shall go up to the gate — it need not say his yevamah; why does it say his yevamah?

ועלתה השערה מצי למכתב - for it is already written at the beginning of the verse: to take his yevamah; why does it say his yevamah?

You have one yevamah who goes up for chalitzah but does not go up for yibum.

יש לך יבמה כו' - for had it written: and if the man does not wish to take his yevamah, and she shall go up to the gate, it would imply that only one to whom to take applies does the Torah require to go up to the gate for chalitzah; but those forbidden by a lav, to whom to take does not apply, she shall go up would not apply to them; therefore it wrote his yevamah again, to say that you have another yevamah who goes up to the gate for chalitzah, even though to take is not written regarding her, for she does not go up for yibum.

And which is this?

Those forbidden by a lav.^[7]

But say those liable to kares!

אימא חייבי כריתות - too, let us learn from here that she requires chalitzah — so why do we exempt her completely?

The verse says (Devarim 25): And if the man does not wish to take — thus if he wishes, he performs yibum; whoever goes up for yibum goes up for chalitzah, and whoever does not go up for yibum does not go up for chalitzah.

If so, those forbidden by a lav too!

But the Torah included his yevamah.

And what did you see^[8]

תפסי בה קידושין - therefore to take applies to him after the fact; but with those liable to kares kiddushin does not take effect, and even if this yavam transgressed and married her, it is no taking.

Tosafos

האי איסורא דאית ליה התירא - For the prohibition of a brother's wife lapses, since he may remarry her after divorcing her; and just as the prohibition of a brother's wife lapses with respect to himself, it lapses also with respect to his brother who is born, and she is the wife of his brother who was in his world.

לאתויי צרת אילונית - Although the Mishnah does not mention a co-wife, nonetheless she is included in any whose prohibition is a prohibition of ervah, which implies one whose prohibition comes on account of an ervah — that is, the co-wife; and it did not need to mention the co-wife explicitly because it refers back to the previous perek. And that it does not say to include the co-wife of a sotah or the co-wife of one who remarries his divorcee — because an ailonis is more similar to the arayos, which are permitted to the deceased and forbidden to the yavam.

בשלמא מן הנשואין כו' - It is puzzling: from marriage too he should ask why she does chalitzah, since she does not go up for yibum, for the aseh does not come and override a lav and an aseh, and she should be like those liable to kares. And one can answer that he says granted only regarding why she is not taken in yibum.

יבא עשה וידחה לא תעשה - The Riva asked, in the second perek of Sanhedrin (19a): since a woman does not conceive from a first cohabitation, as it says at the end of perek Arba'ah Achin (34a), how can she be taken in yibum, for in the first cohabitation there is no establishing of a name, and the second cohabitation is forbidden to him, as it says later: a decree on the first cohabitation because of the second? And the Ri said: it is no difficulty at all, for we do not require that she be fit for establishing a name, but only that the yevamah and the yavam be fit for establishing a name; and we exclude only an ailonis and a saris, who are never fit to bear; but a cohabitation in which she cannot conceive we do not exclude, since the woman or the yavam is fit to bear eventually. For otherwise it would be difficult how a minor is taken in yibum according to the Rabbis; and according to Rabbi Meir too she would be taken in yibum were it not for the concern that she may be found to be an ailonis. And in perek Beis Shammai (111b) we learned: A minor who cohabited with an adult — she should raise him; and in perek HaBa al Yevimto (55b) too we include that she is acquired by unnatural cohabitation and by initial contact, although she does not conceive from it.

אי הכי חייבי לאוין נמי - That is: since they do not go up for yibum, let them not go up for chalitzah. And it is puzzling to the Ri: how can he say that they should not go up for chalitzah, when from his yevamah, from which we learn that they do not go up for yibum, from there we learn that they go up for chalitzah, as we expound: you have another yevamah who goes up for chalitzah? And further, he asks: what did you see — that is, say the reverse, and apply his yevamah to those liable to kares and if he does not wish to those forbidden by a lav; how can he exclude those forbidden by a lav from chalitzah through if he does not wish, when if he wishes, he performs yibum applies to them, since the aseh comes and overrides the lav, once we apply his yevamah to those liable to kares? And it would seem somewhat to explain thus: if so, those forbidden by a lav too — let us equate chalitzah and yibum from this verse; and further he asks: what did you see — that is, from this verse if he does not wish let us equate those forbidden by a lav for chalitzah and yibum, and let them be subject to chalitzah and yibum. And one should not ask why we need a verse for this — let the verse be silent about it — for it is needed for much, as I explained later in perek HaCholetz (Yevamos 44a): and let him perform yibum with one and chalitzah with the other. But it is difficult: if so, what does he answer — it is reasonable, kiddushin takes effect with those forbidden by a lav — which implies from the answer that he asks that those forbidden by a lav should not go up for chalitzah. And one can answer with difficulty that he asks from those forbidden by a lav and those forbidden by an aseh, and so he asks: if so, let us equate those forbidden by a lav and those forbidden by an aseh for chalitzah and yibum from this verse, so that those forbidden by a lav go up also for yibum, and those forbidden by an aseh do not go up also for chalitzah; and the main question is from those forbidden by an aseh.

Notes

1. 1. Continues from [Yevamos 19b].
2. 2. Ervah — a woman forbidden to the yavam under penalty of kares; she and her co-wife are exempt from both chalitzah and yibum.
3. 3. That is: prohibitions without kares; the yavam may not take her in yibum, but she is still bound to him and requires chalitzah.
4. 4. Ailonis — a woman incapable of bearing children; according to Rav Assi [Yevamos 12a] her co-wife is forbidden.
5. 5. That is: sanctify yourself by refraining even from what the Torah permits you.
6. 6. The rule: a positive commandment overrides a lav, but does not override a lav together with an aseh.
7. 7. Chayvei lavin — women forbidden to him by a lav alone, without kares.
8. 8. The passage continues on [Yevamos 20b].