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Yevamos, 51

YEVAMOS 46-60 - Ari Kornfeld has generously sponsored the Dafyomi publications for these Dafim for the benefit of Klal Yisrael.

1) "GET ACHAR GET": CHALITZAH WITH THE FIRST YEVAMAH

QUESTION: The Beraisa discusses the case of "Get Achar Get" when there is one Yavam with two Yevamos. The Yavam first gives a Get to the first Yevamah and then gives a Get to the second Yevamah. Raban Gamliel says that only the first Get is effective, because he holds that there is only one opportunity to give a Get among all of the Yevamim and Yevamos. He rules that the Yavam must do Chalitzah with the first Yevamah (to whom he gave a Get). The Yavam then remains prohibited to the relatives of the first Yevamah, but he is permitted to the relatives of the second Yevamah.

RASHI (DH Choletz l'Rishonah) is bothered by the wording of the Gemara. Why does it say that the Yavam should do Chalitzah with the *first* Yevamah? Chalitzah with the second Yevamah will also work!

Rashi answers that the Beraisa is just giving good advice. Since the Yavam is already prohibited to the relatives of the first Yevamah because of the Get that he gave her, he might as well do Chalitzah with her and not with the second Yevamah, since he is *not* prohibited to her relatives. If he does Chalitzah with the second Yevamah, he will become prohibited to her relatives as well (because of the Isur of "the relatives of one's Chalutzah"). That is why the Beraisa suggests that the Yavam do Chalitzah with the first Yevamah (to whom he gave an effective Get).

The MAHARSHA asks that there is a more basic reason for doing Chalitzah with the first Yevamah. The Gemara earlier (44a) says that if one has an option to do Chalitzah with one of two Yevamos -- one of which is already Pesulah to marry a Kohen, and the other is Muteres to marry a Kohen -- one should do Chalitzah with the one who is already Pesulah l'Kehunah, for "one should not spill out his washwater when someone else needs it." Here, too, the reason why the Yavam should do Chalitzah with the first Yevamah is because she is already Pesulah l'Kehunah, since she received a valid Get, and he should not do Chalitzah with the second Yevamah who is not yet Pesulah l'Kehunah! Why does Rashi not give this reason?

ANSWERS:

(a) The MAHARSHA answers that Rashi holds that even according to Raban Gamliel, the Get that was given to the second Yevamah also invalidates her from marrying a Kohen. Even though it does not prohibit the Yavam from marrying her relatives, it does prohibit her from marrying a Kohen. Therefore, both Yevamos are Pesulos l'Kehunah, and that is why Rashi gives a different reason why the Yavam should do Chalitzah with the first Yevamah in particular.

(b) The RASHASH rejects the Maharsha's answer based on the Gemara later (52a) which says that a Get which is effective enough to make a woman Pesulah l'Kehunah is also able to prohibit a Yevamah to the Yavam. If the Maharsha is correct that the second Get is able to invalidate the woman l'Kehunah, then it should also take effect to prohibit the Yevamah to the Yavam, and thereby make the Yavam prohibited to her relatives.

The Rashash suggests instead that the reason Rashi does not give the reason that Chalitzah will make the Yevamah Pesulah l'Kehunah is because the Beraisa continues and says that the "same Halachah" applies to two Yevamim with one Yevamah. This implies that if two Yevamim each gave a Get to the Yevamah, only the first Get is effective (according to Raban Gamliel), and the *first* Yavam should do Chalitzah with the Yevamah. In that case, though, there is only one Yevamah, and she is going to become Pesulah l'Kehunah regardless of which Yavam does Chalitzah with her! The reasoning that one should not waste washwater does not explain why the first Yavam does Chalitzah in this case, and that is why Rashi says that it is advisable for the first Yavam to do Chalitzah in order that the second one not become Asur to the Yevamah's relatives unnecessarily.

This answer is not entirely satisfactory, though. Who is the Beraisa advising, in the case of two Yevamim? It cannot be advising the second Yavam to have the first one perform Chalitzah, since that is not up to him; perhaps he will refuse. It certainly is not advising the first Yavam to do the Chalitzah, since he is not the one who stands to gain from it. If anything, the Beraisa might mean not to offer "good advice," but to declare that it is a *Mitzvah* for the first Yavam to do Chalitzah, to spare his brother from becoming prohibited to the relatives of the Yevamah.

(The Rashash's question on the Maharsha can be resolved by pointing out that the Gemara on 52a is saying that what works as a "Rei'ach ha'Get" for a divorce for *marriage* is also Posel l'Kehunah. But a second Get given after a first Get is only Posel l'Kehunah as a Get *Yevamim*, which is different from a Get that serves to break a bond of marriage, and thus it is certainly possible that such a Get will *not* be able to prohibit the Yavam to her relatives, even though it is able to make the Yevamah Pesulah l'Kehunah.)

(c) It is possible that Rashi infers his reason from the words of the Beraisa. The Beraisa makes no mention of any condition that the women were able to marry Kohanim before each Get was given. This implies that the ruling of the Beraisa applies even if both women were already Pesulos l'Kehunah -- we still say that the Yavam should do Chalitzah with the first Yevamah. In such a case, the reasoning of "do not waste washwater" clearly does not apply. That is why Rashi had to say that the Beraisa is giving good advice to the Yavam that he do Chalitzah with the first Yevamah so that he not become prohibited to the relatives of the second Yevamah.


51b

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