Yevamot 59A

מהו? בתר נישואין אזלינן, או בתר אירוסין אזלינן.

what is the halakha? The Talmud clarifies the dilemma: Do we follow the time of marriage, at which point she was unfit for him according to most tanna’im, who hold that a High Priest may not marry a grown woman, as she is no longer called “a wife in her virginity” (Leviticus 21:13)? Or do we follow the time of betrothal, at which point she was of suitable age?

אמר ליה, תניתוה: נתארמלו או נתגרשו, מן הנשואין ⁠— פסולות, מן האירוסין ⁠— כשרות.

Shmuel said to him: You learned it in the Mishnah: If they were widowed or divorced from marriage, they are disqualified from partaking of teruma, but if they were widowed or divorced from betrothal, they are fit to partake of teruma. This indicates that disqualifications from the privileges of priesthood are determined based upon marriage rather than betrothal.

אמר ליה: לשוויה חללה לא קמיבעיא לי, דביאה היא דמשוויה חללה. כי קמיבעיא לי: ״והוא אשה בבתוליה יקח״, מאי? קיחה דקדושין בעינן, או קיחה דנישואין בעינן.

R' Ḥiyya bar Yosef said to Shmuel: With regard to causing her to become a ḥalala I did not raise a dilemma, as it is clear that it is sex that causes her to become a ḥalala. When I raised a dilemma, it was with regard to the verse pertaining to a High Priest: “And he should take a wife in her virginity” (Leviticus 21:13). What does “take” mean in this verse? Do we require that only the taking of betrothal must occur when she is in her virginity, i.e., when she is a minor or a young woman, or perhaps we require even the taking of marriage to be performed when she is a minor or young woman?

אמר ליה, הא נמי תניתוה: אירס את האלמנה ונתמנה להיות כהן גדול ⁠— יכנוס. שאני התם, דכתיב: ״יקח אשה״.

Shmuel said to him: This, too, you learned in a Mishnah (61a): If he betrothed a widow and was subsequently appointed to be High Priest, he may marry her, despite the fact that a High Priest is prohibited from marrying a widow. This indicates that her permissibility to him is determined according to the time of the betrothal rather than the time of marriage. The Talmud refutes this proof: There it is different, as it is written: “He should take for a wife” (Leviticus 21:14). The superfluous expression “for a wife” indicates that he is permitted to marry the widow in this case.