## Yevamot Daf 31b

###### Yevamot 31b:1
[Yevamot 31b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:1)

וְאַרְעָא אוֹקְמַהּ בְּחֶזְקַת בַּר שָׁטְיָא!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**let the land remain in the possession of Bar Shatya.** Since no substantiated proof was brought forth, the land remains in the hands of its current possessor. As such, the same should be true with regard to cases of betrothal and divorce whose status is uncertain; the woman should remain in her former presumptive status.


###### Yevamot 31b:2
[Yevamot 31b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:2)

אֶלָּא אָמַר אַבָּיֵי: ״יַגִּיד עָלָיו רֵיעוֹ״. תְּנָא בְּקִידּוּשִׁין, וְהוּא הַדִּין לְגֵירוּשִׁין. תְּנָא בְּגֵירוּשִׁין, וְהוּא הַדִּין לְקִידּוּשִׁין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rather,** Rabba’s understanding of the mishna must be rejected, and **Abaye said:** The mishna should be understood according to that which is written: **“His fellow speaks of him”** (Job 36:33). This principle teaches that a related case can be inferred from the single case cited. The mishna **teaches** the case where it is uncertain whether the item is closer to him or closer to her **with regard to betrothal, and the same is true with regard to divorce** if it is uncertain whether the bill of divorce fell closer to him or closer to her. Similarly, the mishna **teaches** the case of bills that were written in a questionable manner **with regard to divorce, and the same is true with regard to betrothal.**


###### Yevamot 31b:3
[Yevamot 31b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:3)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רָבָא: אִי ״יַגִּיד עָלָיו רֵיעוֹ״, מַאי ״זֶהוּ״ דְּקָתָנֵי?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rava said to him: If** you understand that the legal ruling in all of these cases is the same, and the mishna was written in the style of: **His fellow speaks of him,** then **what is** the meaning of the term: **This is, that** the mishna **teaches?** The mishna in fact emphasizes that this is a betrothal whose status is uncertain and this is a divorce whose status is uncertain, which indicates this case alone and no other.


###### Yevamot 31b:4
[Yevamot 31b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:4)

אֶלָּא אָמַר רָבָא: כֹּל שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּקִידּוּשִׁין יֵשׁ בְּגֵירוּשִׁין, וְיֵשׁ בְּגֵירוּשִׁין מַה שֶּׁאֵין בְּקִידּוּשִׁין, וְ״זֶהוּ״ דְּגֵירוּשִׁין לָאו דַּוְקָא. אֶלָּא, מִשּׁוּם דִּתְנָא ״זֶהוּ״ בְּקִידּוּשִׁין, תְּנָא נָמֵי ״זֶהוּ״ בְּגֵירוּשִׁין. וְ״זֶהוּ״ דְּקִידּוּשִׁין לְמַעוֹטֵי מַאי? לְמַעוֹטֵי זְמַן, דְּלֵיכָּא בְּקִידּוּשִׁין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rather, Rava said: All** of the cases **that exist with regard to betrothal** whose status is uncertain **exist in** cases **of divorce** as well. However, **there are** some cases of uncertainty **with regard to divorce that do not exist with regard to betrothal,** as betrothal performed with a questionable bill is not disqualified. Accordingly, the term: **This is,** utilized in the mishna **with regard to divorce, is not specific** and does not imply exclusion of the case where it is possibly closer to him and possibly closer to her. **Rather, because** the mishna **teaches** the ruling of: **This is, with regard to betrothal,** where it is specific **it teaches** the phrase: **This is, with regard to divorce as well.** The Gemara asks: **And what does** the phrase: **This is,** mentioned **with regard to betrothal,** come **to exclude?** The Gemara answers: **It** comes **to exclude the** matter of the **date, which is not** essential **with regard to betrothal,** as when one betroths a woman by means of a document the date need not be written.


###### Yevamot 31b:5
[Yevamot 31b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:5)

וּמִפְּנֵי מָה לֹא תִּקְּנוּ זְמַן בְּקִידּוּשִׁין? הָנִיחָא לְמַאן דְּאָמַר מִשּׁוּם פֵּירֵי — אֲרוּסָה לֵית לַהּ פֵּירֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks about this matter itself: **And for what** reason **did they not institute** that **the date** must be included **in the betrothal** document? **This** policy **works out well according to the one who says** that the reason the Sages instituted that the date must be written on a bill of divorce **is due to the profits.** As the husband receives the profits from the wife’s properties during the period of their marriage, it was necessary to write a date on the bill of divorce in order to know at what point his right to receive or sell these items was terminated. However, it was not necessary to include a date on a deed of betrothal, as this document serves only to create a bond of betrothal, **and there are no profits from a betrothed woman.** A husband does not have the right to receive profits from his betrothed’s property until she is his full-fledged wife.


###### Yevamot 31b:6
[Yevamot 31b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:6)

אֶלָּא, לְמַאן דְּאָמַר מִשּׁוּם בַּת אֲחוֹתוֹ — לִיתַקֵּין זְמַן!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**However, according to the one who says** that the Sages instituted the requirement of including the date in the bill of divorce **due to** a case where a man is married to **the daughter of his sister,** then **they should institute** that he must include **the date** in a deed of betrothal as well. Occasionally a man might marry the daughter of his sister, whom he loves all the more because she is his close relative in addition to being his wife. If he knows that she acted licentiously while she was married to him, he might grant her a bill of divorce without a date so as to save her from the death penalty. Were witnesses to come forth and testify to her behavior, she could claim that at the time of her licentious act she was already a divorced woman. If this was indeed the reason for the Sages’ instituting the requirement of including the date in a bill of divorce, then the date should be included in a deed of betrothal as well, for an undated document of betrothal could be utilized equally well to prove the innocence of the daughter of his sister. If she acted licentiously in the period prior to her betrothal, she would not be penalized. Therefore, the date should be written on this document as well.


###### Yevamot 31b:7
[Yevamot 31b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:7)

מִשּׁוּם דְּאִיכָּא דִּמְקַדֵּשׁ בְּכַסְפָּא וְאִיכָּא דִּמְקַדֵּשׁ בִּשְׁטָרָא, לָא תַּקּוּן רַבָּנַן זְמַן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara answers: **Because there are those who betroth by means of money and those who betroth by means of a deed, the Sages did not institute** that **the date** must be written in the document. As the date of the betrothal has no place in the act of betrothal by means of money, the Sages did not distinguish between the various modes of betrothal.


###### Yevamot 31b:8
[Yevamot 31b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:8)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַב אַחָא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַב יוֹסֵף לְרַב אָשֵׁי: וְהָא עַבְדָּא, דְּאִיכָּא דְּקָנֵי בְּכַסְפָּא וְאִיכָּא בִּשְׁטָרָא, וְתַקּוּן רַבָּנַן זְמַן! הָתָם רוּבָּא בִּשְׁטָרָא, הָכָא רוּבָּא בְּכַסְפָּא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Aḥa, son of Rav Yosef, said to Rav Ashi: But** with regard to **a slave, where there are** those **who acquire** them **with money and there are** those who acquire them **with a deed, the Sages** nevertheless **instituted** that **the date** must be written in a slave’s deed of purchase. He responded: **There,** with regard to slaves, **the majority** of people purchase them **by means of a deed. Here,** with regard to betrothal, **the majority** of people perform betrothal **by means of money.**


###### Yevamot 31b:9
[Yevamot 31b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:9)

אִיבָּעֵית אֵימָא, מִשּׁוּם דְּלָא אֶפְשָׁר. הֵיכִי לֶיעְבֵּיד? לַינְּחֵהּ גַּבֵּי דִידַהּ — מָחֲקָה לֵיהּ. לַינְּחֵהּ גַּבֵּי דִידֵיהּ — זִמְנִין דְּבַת אֲחוֹתוֹ הִיא וּמְחַפֵּה עֲלַהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**If you wish, say** a different reason why the Sages did not institute that the date must be included in a deed of betrothal. This is **due to** the fact that **it is not possible** to institute this in a manner that will ensure that no problems will result. **How would we do** this? If **we leave** the deed of betrothal **with her, she will erase** the date, and so it would remain impossible to prove the juncture at which her licentious behavior took place. If **we leave** the deed **with him,** then **there are times when she is his sister’s daughter and he might cover for her** by erasing the date himself.


###### Yevamot 31b:10
[Yevamot 31b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:10)

לַינְּחֵהּ גַּבֵּי עֵדִים — אִי דִּזְכִיִרִי לַיְתוֹ לַיסְהוּד. וְאִי לָא — זִמְנִין דְּחָזוּ מִכְּתָבָא וְאָתוּ מַסְהֲדִי, וְרַחֲמָנָא אָמַר: ״מִפִּיהֶם״, וְלֹא מִפִּי כְתָבָם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
If **we leave it with the witnesses** who signed the document, **if they remember** themselves the date when the deed was given to the woman, the date need not be written in the document itself, for **let them come forth and testify** from their memory. **And if** they do **not** remember by themselves, then **there are times when they see** the date **that is written and come forth to testify** on that basis. **And the Merciful One states:** “By the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established” (Deuteronomy 19:15). From this verse it is derived: **From their mouths, and not from their writings,** indicating that testimony is proper only if the individual stated it of himself, and not on the basis of what is written.


###### Yevamot 31b:11
[Yevamot 31b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:11)

אִי הָכִי, בְּגֵירוּשִׁין נָמֵי נֵימָא הָכִי! הָתָם — לְהַצָּלָה דִּידַהּ קָאָתֵי, הָכָא — לְחוֹבָה דִּידַהּ קָאָתֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **If that is so, let us say that with regard to divorce as well.** In cases of divorce there should also be a concern lest the woman erase the date on the bill of divorce in her possession. The Gemara responds: **There,** in the case of a bill of divorce, the date **comes to save her,** since the bill of divorce removes her status as a man’s wife. She therefore would fear erasing anything lest she disqualify the bill altogether, thereby possibly rendering herself a married woman again (Ramban). **Here,** however, when dealing with a deed of betrothal, the date **comes to her disadvantage,** since until now she was presumed to be a single woman, and if there is no date on the document then she clearly cannot be punished.


###### Yevamot 31b:12
[Yevamot 31b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:12)

**מַתְנִי׳** שְׁלֹשָׁה אַחִין נְשׂוּאִין שָׁלֹשׁ נׇכְרִיּוֹת, וּמֵת אֶחָד מֵהֶן, וְעָשָׂה בָּהּ הַשֵּׁנִי מַאֲמָר, וּמֵת — הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ חוֹלְצוֹת וְלֹא מִתְיַיבְּמוֹת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**MISHNA:** In the case of **three brothers** who **were married to three unrelated women, and one of** the brothers **died,** the following occurred: **The second** brother **performed levirate betrothal with** the wife of the deceased brother **and** before he was able to consummate the levirate marriage **he died** as well, leaving behind two women who happen before the third brother for levirate marriage. **Then those** two women must **perform *ḥalitza* and may not enter into levirate marriage.**


###### Yevamot 31b:13
[Yevamot 31b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:13)

שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּמֵת אֶחָד מֵהֶן... יְבָמָהּ יָבֹא עָלֶיהָ״ — שֶׁעָלֶיהָ זִיקַת יָבָם אֶחָד, וְלֹא שֶׁעָלֶיהָ זִיקַת שְׁנֵי יְבָמִין. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר: מְיַיבֵּם לְאֵיזוֹ שֶׁיִּרְצֶה, וְחוֹלֵץ לַשְּׁנִיָּה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**As it is stated:** “If brothers dwell together **and one of them dies** and he has no child, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside of the family to one not of his kin; **her brother-in-law will have intercourse with her”** (Deuteronomy 25:5). This teaches that a woman eligible for levirate marriage is one **who has one levirate relationship and not one who has a double levirate relationship.** In this case, the wife of the first deceased brother requires levirate marriage due to both the marriage with her first husband as well as the levirate betrothal with the second brother. **Rabbi Shimon says: He** may **consummate the levirate marriage with whichever** woman **he wishes and** then **perform *ḥalitza* with the second.**


###### Yevamot 31b:14
[Yevamot 31b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:14)

**גְּמָ׳** וְאִי זִיקַת שְׁנֵי יְבָמִין דְּאוֹרָיְיתָא, חֲלִיצָה נָמֵי לָא תִּיבְעֵי! אֶלָּא מִדְּרַבָּנַן, וּגְזֵירָה שֶׁמָּא יֹאמְרוּ שְׁתֵּי יְבָמוֹת הַבָּאוֹת מִבַּיִת אֶחָד מִתְיַיבְּמוֹת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**GEMARA:** The Gemara asks: **If** the *halakha* that a woman who has **a double levirate relationship** is exempt from levirate marriage is **by Torah** law, as indicated by the proof offered in the mishna, **she should not require *ḥalitza* as well,** but be completely exempt. **Rather,** it is **by rabbinic** law. The restriction on levirate marriage in this case is not by Torah law, as by Torah law the brother is allowed to consummate the levirate marriage with both of these women since each was the wife of a different brother. The requirement for *ḥalitza* in this case was instituted as a rabbinic **decree lest** people **say** that **two *yevamot* who come from a single household can enter into levirate marriage.** Since the second brother had performed levirate betrothal, people might come to think that both were actually married to him. If the third brother consummates the levirate marriage with both women, it would lead people to think that it is permitted to take two of a brother’s wives in levirate marriage, when in fact the Torah allows the *yavam* to marry only a single wife of the deceased.


###### Yevamot 31b:15
[Yevamot 31b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/31b:15)

וּנְיַיבֵּם לַחֲדָא וְנִיחְלוֹץ לַחֲדָא! גְּזֵירָה שֶׁמָּא יֹאמְרוּ: בַּיִת אֶחָד, מִקְצָתוֹ בָּנוּי

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **So let him consummate the levirate marriage with one** woman **and perform *ḥalitza* with** the other **one,** and this would eliminate our concern. The Gemara responds: We do not do this due to a rabbinic **decree lest they say:** When there are two women from **a single household, part of it** must **be built**