Yevamot ( he, יבמות, "Brother's Widow", also pronounced Yevamos, or Yavmus) is a tractate of the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
that deals with, among other concepts, the laws of
Yibbum (, loosely translated in English as
levirate marriage
Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage (i.e. marriage ou ...
), and, briefly, with conversion to Judaism. This tractate is the first in the order of
Nashim
__notoc__
Nashim ( he, נשים "Women" or "Wives") is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud) containing family law. Of the six orders of the Mishnah, it is the shortest.
Nashim consists of seven tractates:
#'' Yevamot' ...
(, "Women").
Yevamot, along with
Eruvin and
Niddah
Niddah (or nidah; he, נִדָּה), in traditional Judaism, describes a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirem ...
, is considered one of the three most difficult tractates in the
Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...
. A Hebrew mnemonic for the three is (''ani'', meaning "poverty").
[ Jacob Emden, ''Mitpachat Sefarim'' 4:174]
Contents
''Yibbum'' is the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
law () by which the brother of a man who died without children is allowed and expected to marry the widow. This law only applies to paternal brothers, i.e., brothers by the same father; whether they have the same mother or different mothers is irrelevant. The deceased's widow(s) is forbidden to marry anyone else while waiting for one of the brothers to marry her, or release to her by performing a ceremony known as
Halizah. In any case where Yibbum applies, Halitsah may be performed as an alternative. There are numerous cases discussed in this tractate where Yibbum does not apply, and therefore Haliysah does not apply either.
English translation for this type of union is “Levirate Marriage,” from the Latin “Levir,” which means brother in law.
Chapter headings
# Chamesh Esreh Nashim חמש עשרה נשים
# Keytzad Eshet Achiv כיצד אשת אחיו
# (Arba'ah Achim) (ארבעה אחים)
# Hacholetz Livamto החולץ ליבמתו
#
Rabban Gamli'el רבן גמליאל
# Habba Al Yevimto הבא על יבמתו
# Almanah Lekhohen Gadol אלמנה לכהן גדול
# He'arel הערל
# Yesh Muttarot יש מותרות
# (Ha'ishah Shehalakh Balah Limdinat Hayam) (האישה שהלך בעלה למדינת הים)
# Nose'in Al Ha'anusah נושאין על האנוסה
# Mitzvat Chalitzah מצות חליצה
#
Beit Shamay Omrim Eyn Mema'anin בית שמאי אומרים אין ממאנין
# Cheresh Shennasa חרש שנשא
# Ha'ishah Shehalekhah Hi האשה שהלכה היא , Ha'ishah ... Shalom האשה ... שלום
# Ha'ishah Batra האשה בתרא , Ha'ishah Shehalekhah Balah Vetzaratah האשה שהלכה בעלה וצרתה
References
Talmud
Widow inheritance
Jewish marital law
{{Judaism-book-stub