Study Yevamot folio 41A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
הך דאזלא בהדה לבי דינא, גזרו בהו רבנן. האי דלא אזלא בהדה לבי דינא, לא גזרו בהו רבנן.
The Talmud explains: With regard to that woman, the relative of the ḥalutza, who often goes together with the ḥalutza to court, since she is present in the court during the ḥalitza, people might mistakenly assume that it was she who actually performed ḥalitza. Were the yavam permitted to marry her rival wife, people might incorrectly conclude that it is permitted to marry the rival wife of one’s ḥalutza. To preclude this possibility, the rabbis decreed with regard to her that her rival wife should be forbidden. However, with regard to this woman, the rival wife of the ḥalutza, who does not go together with the ḥalutza to court, since she is never present in the court during the ḥalitza, there is no concern that people will mistake her for the ḥalutza herself. Consequently, the rabbis did not see any reason to decree with regard to her that her relatives should be forbidden.
מתני׳ החולץ ליבמתו, ונשא אחיו את אחותה, ומת — חולצת ולא מתיבמת. וכן המגרש את אשתו, ונשא אחיו את אחותה, ומת — הרי זו פטורה.
Mishnah: In the case of a yavam who performed ḥalitza with his yevama and then his brother married her sister and died, the sister performs ḥalitza with the yavam, but she may not enter into levirate marriage with him, since as a sister of his ḥalutza she is forbidden to him. And similarly, in the case of one who divorced his wife and his brother married her sister and died, then that woman is exempt both from ḥalitza and from consummating levirate marriage, since as the sister of his former wife she is forbidden to him.
שומרת יבם שקידש אחיו את אחותה — משום רבי יהודה בן בתירא אמרו, אומרים לו: המתן עד שיעשה אחיך מעשה.
In the case of a widow waiting for her yavam to consummate levirate marriage or perform ḥalitza with her, and the brother of the yavam betrothed her sister, they said in the name of R' Yehuda ben Beteira: They say to the brother: Wait and do not marry the woman you betrothed until your brother performs an act, either of ḥalitza or of consummating the levirate marriage, as until he does there remains a levirate bond between the yevama and each of the brothers, and it is prohibited to marry the sister of a woman to whom one is bound by a levirate bond.