Yevamot 111A

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Text Excerpt

תיתיב גביה ממה נפשך: אי קנויה היא ⁠— הא קנויה היא, ואי לאו קנויה היא ⁠— הא נכרית בעלמא היא.

Let her stay with him, as she is permitted whichever way you look at it: If she is acquired, then she is fully acquired; and if she is not acquired at all, then she is merely an unrelated woman. If the marriage to the deceased brother was not a true marriage, there is no reason for her to be forbidden to him.

וכי תימא, קטנה אמאי תמתין עד שתגדיל ותחלוץ? תיתיב גביה, אי קנויה היא ⁠— הא קנויה היא, אי לאו קנויה היא ⁠— נוכריתא בעלמא היא! אם כן, חרשת במה תיפוק.

And if you would say that the same question could be asked if you claim that it is the minor whose acquisition is uncertain: Why should she wait until she reaches majority and performs ḥalitza? Let her stay with him: If she is acquired, then she is fully acquired; and if she is not acquired at all, then she is merely an unrelated woman. However, you cannot say that because, if that is so, how should the deaf-mute be released? As a deaf-mute, she cannot perform ḥalitza, and he cannot consummate the levirate marriage with her since the minor may be considered to be acquired by him, in which case the deaf-mute would be disqualified as the rival wife of his yevama. Rav’s suggestion was meant to find a way for both of them to be able to remarry, and that is only possible if the minor and deaf-mute’s statuses are as Rav Ḥisda argues.

אמר רב ששת: הכי נמי מיסתברא, כדקא מתרץ רב חסדא אליבא דרב,

Rav Sheshet said: Indeed, this too stands to reason, i.e., only the way that Rav Ḥisda explained the halakha in accordance with the opinion of Rav is reasonable.

דתניא: שני אחין נשואין שתי אחיות יתומות, קטנה וחרשת, מת בעלה של קטנה ⁠— חרשת יוצאה בגט, וקטנה תמתין עד שתגדיל, ותחלוץ.

As it is taught in a baraita about the following case: Two brothers married two orphaned sisters, one of them a minor and one of them a deaf-mute. If the husband of the minor dies and she happens before the husband of the deaf-mute for levirate marriage, the deaf-mute must be released by means of a bill of divorce due to her sister’s levirate bond, and the minor must wait until she reaches majority and perform ḥalitza.

Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.