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1) CAN WE EXPLAIN OUR MISHNAH?

(a) Rejection: The Mishnah says, they do Chalitzah - Lechatchilah.
(b) Suggestion: Say that a decree was made, lest one do Chalitzah on the 1st one first!
(c) Rejection: It says, she does not do Yibum - there is no way to do Yibum.
(d) Suggestion: Say that the Mishnah is a decree, lest the brother that does not do Yibum dies, and it is forbidden to uproot the Mitzvah of Yibum!
(e) Rejection: R. Yochanan says that we do not decree because we are concerned that one may die.
(f) Suggestion: Say that the Mishnah is as R. Eliezer, who says that once a Yevamah became forbidden, she remains forbidden forever!
(g) Rejection: Since R. Eliezer is mentioned at the end of the Mishnah, he is not the Tana of the beginning.
(h) Suggestion: Say that they fell simultaneously, as R. Yosi ha'Galili, who says that events can happen exactly at the same time!
(i) Rejection: We do not have an anonymous Mishnah as R. Yosi ha'Gelili.
(j) Suggestion: Say that we do not know which fell first to Yibum!
(k) Rejection: If so, why does it say, if they both did Yibum, they must divorce their wives?!

1. We understand why the first to do Yibum must divorce his wife - she was forbidden to him.
2. Why must the 2nd divorce his wife?

i. He can say - my brother did Yibum on the 2nd - I did Yibum on the 1st!

(l) This is why R. Yochanan said that he did not know who authored our Mishnah.
(m) (Mishnah): If one sister was Ervah on a Yavam (Reuven), he is forbidden to her, and permitted to marry her sister; the other brother is forbidden to both.

1. We are thinking that Reuven's mother-in-law (i.e. the sister that is Ervah to him) fell first.

(n) Question: Let Reuven do Yibum on her sister - his mother-in-law will then be a Yevamah that was permitted (to the other Yavam), forbidden, and again permitted!
(o) Answer (Rav Papa): The other sister fell first.

(a) (Mishnah): R. Eliezer says, Beis Shamai ...
(b) (Beraisa - R. Eliezer): Beis Shamai says, they may remain married; Beis Hillel says, the may not;
(c) R. Shimon says, they may remain married;
(d) Aba Sha'ul says, this was a leniency of Beis Hillel - Beis Shamai said that they may not remain married, Beis Hillel said that they may.
(e) Question: Whose opinion does R. Shimon express?

1. If he says how Beis Shamai holds - he is as R. Eliezer!
2. If he says how Beis Hillel holds - he is as Aba Sha'ul!

(f) Answer: He says that Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel did not argue on this.

(a) (Mishnah): If one of them was forbidden ...
(b) Question: But we learned this in a previous Mishnah!

1. (Mishnah): A woman that falls to Yibum with her sister (who is Ervah to the Yavam) does Chalitzah or Yibum.

(c) Answer: Both Mishnayos are needed.

1. In that Mishnah, there is only 1 Yavam; here, one might think that we forbid Yibum, lest his brother do Yibum (which is forbidden, since neither are Ervah to him).
2. In our Mishnah, his brother must do Chalitzah, so people see that the sister of a Zekukah (a Yevamah awaiting Yibum) is forbidden; this does not apply there - one might think, there we forbid Yibum, lest people think that the sister of a Zekukah is permitted.

(d) (Mishnah): If 1 was forbidden because of Mitzvah ...

(e) Question: We already learned this in a Mishnah!

1. (Mishnah): If she is forbidden because of Mitzvah or Kedushah - she does Chalitzah, not Yibum.

(f) Answer: There, she fell alone to Yibum; here, her sister also fell to Yibum.

1. One might think that the prohibition of Mitzvah should count as Ervah, to allow her sister to do Yibum - we see, this is not so.
2. Question: Why not?
3. Answer: Since according to the Torah, she does fall to Yibum, her sister is the sister of a Zekukah, and is forbidden.

(g) (Mishnah): If one sister was Ervah to one Yavam, and the other was Ervah to the other, each Yavam may do Yibum on the Yevamah that is not Ervah to him.
(h) Question: We already learned this in our Mishnah - what difference does it make, if one or both are Ervah on a Yavam!
(i) Answer: If we only heard the law when only 1 is Ervah - we would think, only there Yibum is allowed, since the other Yevamah must do Chalitzah, people see that the sister of a Zekukah is forbidden; (here, we would decree not to do Yibum, lest people think that she is permitted).

1. If we only heard the law when both are Ervah - we would think, only there Yibum is allowed, since each Yavam is forbidden to a Yevamah, people realize that Ervah removes the problem of the sister of a Zekukah; there, we would decree not to do Yibum.

(j) (Mishnah): *This* is the case, the sister (of Ervah) that also falls to Yibum, may do Chalitzah or Yibum.
(k) Question: What does this come to exclude?
(l) Answer: When each sister is forbidden because of Mitzvah on a different Yavam.
(m) Question: What do we learn here, that we do not know from the case when one Yevamah has a prohibition of Mitzvah on 1 Yavam?
(n) Answer: We might have thought, there we do not consider the prohibition as Ervah, because the other Yevamah might do Yibum (improperly, since she is the sister of a Zekukah); here, each prohibition of Mitzvah would be considered as Ervah, and each may do Yibum with the other Yavam.

1. The Mishnah teaches that this is not so.

(a) (Rav Yehudah citing Rav): In all cases (of the Mishnah on Daf 2A), we can find that the Yevamah forbidden to one brother is permitted to the other; and when they are sisters (from different brothers), they do Chalitzah or Yibum.

1. Rav Yehudah himself says this applies to the cases starting with his mother-in-law.

i. He does not apply this to the first 6 cases, since the case of his daughter is only found through rape, not through marriage - the Tana does not deal with such cases.

(b) Abaye says that even the case of his daughter is included - even if it cannot be found through marriage.

1. Abaye excludes the case of the wife of a brother that died before the Yavam was born, since it is only found according to R. Shimon.

i. The Tana does not deal with cases subject to dispute.

(c) Rav Safra learns that even this case is included - it is found with 6 brothers, according to R. Shimon.

1. The way to remember how it is found - 'Died, was born, did Yibum; died, was born, did Yibum'.
2. Reuven and Shimon were married to 2 sisters; Levi and Yehudah were married to 2 unrelated women. Reuven died, Yisachar was born, Levi did Yibum; Shimon died, Zevulun was born, Yehudah did Yibum.
3. Levi and Yehudah died without children.

(d) Reuven's widow is forbidden to Yisachar; Shimon's widow is forbidden to Zevulun; they are sisters.
(e) Question: This is true even if Yehudah didn't do Yibum!
(f) Answer: We mentioned that Yehudah did Yibum, to have the case that each Tzarah is permitted to a different brother.
(g) Question: We see that the case is found applying to a Tzarah - how can we find, the Tzarah of a Tzarah?
(h) Answer: Later, Gad and Asher (other brothers) did Yibum with the Tzaros.
(i) (Mishnah): 3 brothers, 2 are married to sisters, or a woman and her daughter, or a woman and her daughter's daughter or son's daughter; (if the brothers die), the Yevamos do Chalitzah and not Yibum;
(j) R. Shimon says that there is no need for Chalitzah;
(k) If one of the sisters was forbidden to a Yavam because of Ervah, he is forbidden to her and permitted to her sister;
(l) If one of the sisters was forbidden to a Yavam because of Mitzvah or Kedushah, they do Chalitzah, not Yibum.
(m) (Gemara - Beraisa): R. Shimon exempts from Yibum and Chalitzah - "Do not marry a woman with her sister to be rivals" - when they are rivals to each other (both fell to Yibum to the same brother), you cannot marry even one of them.
(n) (Mishnah): If one of them was forbidden because of Ervah, ...
(o) Question: We already learned this!
(p) Answer: We need to hear R. Shimon's opinion.

1. One might have thought, since R. Shimon says that sisters (who are not Ervah on either Yavam) do not do Chalitzah or Yibum (since the sister of a Zekukah is itself like Ervah), we should decree when 1 is Ervah to a brother on account of when neither is Ervah to a brother.

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