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.