## Yevamot Daf 64a

###### Yevamot 64a:1
[Yevamot 64a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/64a:1)

מְלַמֵּד שֶׁאֵין הַשְּׁכִינָה שׁוֹרָה עַל פָּחוֹת מִשְּׁנֵי אֲלָפִים וּשְׁנֵי רְבָבוֹת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל. הֲרֵי שֶׁהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁנֵי אֲלָפִים וּשְׁנֵי רְבָבוֹת חָסֵר אֶחָד, וְזֶה לֹא עָסַק בִּפְרִיָּה וּרְבִיָּה — לֹא נִמְצָא זֶה גּוֹרֵם לַשְּׁכִינָה שֶׁתִּסְתַּלֵּק מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל?!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
This **teaches that the Divine Presence does not rest upon less than two thousands and two ten-thousands of the Jewish people,** as the terms thousands and ten-thousands are both in the plural. Consequently, if **there were two thousands and two ten-thousands of the Jewish people, less one, and this** man **did not engage in** the mitzva to be **fruitful and multiply, is he not found** to have **caused the Divine Presence to be depart from the Jewish people?**


###### Yevamot 64a:2
[Yevamot 64a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/64a:2)

אַבָּא חָנָן אָמַר מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר: חַיָּיב מִיתָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּבָנִים לֹא הָיוּ לָהֶם״, הָא הָיוּ לָהֶם בָּנִים — לֹא מֵתוּ. אֲחֵרִים אוֹמְרִים: גּוֹרֵם לַשְּׁכִינָה שֶׁתִּסְתַּלֵּק מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״לִהְיוֹת לְךָ לֵאלֹהִים וּלְזַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ״, בִּזְמַן שֶׁזַּרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ — שְׁכִינָה שׁוֹרָה, אֵין ״זַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ״ — עַל מִי שׁוֹרָה? עַל הָעֵצִים וְעַל הָאֲבָנִים?!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Abba Ḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer:** A man who does not engage in procreation is **liable to death, as it is stated** with regard to the sons of Aaron: “And Nadav and Avihu died…**and they had no children”** (Numbers 3:4). This indicates that if they would have **had children they would not have died. Others say:** He **causes the Divine Presence to depart from the Jewish people, as it is stated: “To be a God to you and to your seed after you”** (Genesis 17:7). **When your seed is after you,** i.e., when you have children, **the Divine Presence rests** upon the Jewish people, but if **your seed is not after you, upon whom** can the Divine Presence **rest? Upon wood and stones?**


###### Yevamot 64a:3
[Yevamot 64a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/64a:3)

**מַתְנִי׳** נָשָׂא אִשָּׁה וְשָׁהָה עִמָּהּ עֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים וְלֹא יָלְדָה — אֵינוֹ רַשַּׁאי לְבַטֵּל. גֵּירְשָׁהּ — מוּתֶּרֶת לִינָּשֵׂא לְאַחֵר. וְרַשַּׁאי הַשֵּׁנִי לִשְׁהוֹת עִמָּהּ עֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים. וְאִם הִפִּילָה — מוֹנֶה מִשָּׁעָה שֶׁהִפִּילָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**MISHNA:** If a man **married a woman and stayed with her** for **ten years and she did not give birth, he is no** longer **permitted to neglect** the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply. Consequently, he must either divorce her and marry someone else, or take another wife while still married to her. If **he divorced her she is permitted to marry another** man, as it is not necessarily on her account that she and her first husband did not have children, **and the second** husband **is permitted to stay with her** for **ten years. And if she had a miscarriage, he counts** the ten years **from the time of the miscarriage.**


###### Yevamot 64a:4
[Yevamot 64a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/64a:4)

**גְּמָ׳** תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: נָשָׂא אִשָּׁה וְשָׁהָה עִמָּהּ עֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים וְלֹא יָלְדָה — יוֹצִיא וְיִתֵּן כְּתוּבָה, שֶׁמָּא לֹא זָכָה לְהִבָּנוֹת מִמֶּנָּה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**GEMARA:** **The Sages taught:** If a man **married a woman and stayed with her** for **ten years and she did not give birth, he should divorce** her **and pay** her **marriage contract,** because **perhaps he did not merit to be built,** i.e., to have children, **from her.** It is not certain that their failure to have children is due to her, as it is possible that they are not a suitable match for bearing children.


###### Yevamot 64a:5
[Yevamot 64a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/64a:5)

אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵין רְאָיָה לַדָּבָר, זֵכֶר לַדָּבָר: ״מִקֵּץ עֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים לְשֶׁבֶת אַבְרָם בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן״ — לְלַמֶּדְךָ שֶׁאֵין יְשִׁיבַת חוּץ לָאָרֶץ עוֹלֶה לוֹ מִן הַמִּנְיָן. לְפִיכָךְ, חָלָה הוּא אוֹ שֶׁחָלְתָה הִיא, אוֹ שְׁנֵיהֶם חֲבוּשִׁים בְּבֵית הָאֲסוּרִים — אֵין עוֹלִין לוֹ מִן הַמִּנְיָן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Although there is no** explicit **proof for the matter** that one must take another wife if he has not had children after ten years of marriage, there is **an allusion to the matter,** as the verse states: “And Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar…**after Abram had dwelled ten years in the land of Canaan,** and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife” (Genesis 16:3). Incidentally, this verse also comes **to teach you that** the years spent **dwelling outside of Eretz Yisrael do not count** as part of **his tally. Consequently,** if **he was sick** during this period **or she was sick, or** if one of **the two of them** was **imprisoned in jail,** it **does not count** as part of **his tally.**


###### Yevamot 64a:6
[Yevamot 64a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/64a:6)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רָבָא לְרַב נַחְמָן: וְלֵילַף מִיִּצְחָק, דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיְהִי יִצְחָק בֶּן אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה בְּקַחְתּוֹ אֶת רִבְקָה וְגוֹ׳״, וּכְתִיב: ״וְיִצְחָק בֶּן שִׁשִּׁים שָׁנָה בְּלֶדֶת אוֹתָם״! אֲמַר לֵיהּ: יִצְחָק עָקוּר הָיָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rava said to Rav Naḥman: Let us derive from Isaac** that one may wait a longer period of time, **as it is written: “And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah**…to be his wife” (Genesis 25:20), **and it is written** with regard to the birth of Jacob and Esau: **“And Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them”** (Genesis 25:26). This indicates that one may wait twenty years. Rav Naḥman **said to him: Isaac** knew that he **was infertile,** and therefore there was no reason for him to marry another woman, as Rebekah was not the cause of their infertility.


###### Yevamot 64a:7
[Yevamot 64a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/64a:7)

אִי הָכִי, אַבְרָהָם נָמֵי עָקוּר הָיָה! הַהוּא מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ לְכִדְרַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא. דְּאָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: לָמָּה נִמְנוּ שְׁנוֹתָיו שֶׁל יִשְׁמָעֵאל — כְּדֵי לְיַיחֵס בָּהֶן שְׁנוֹתָיו שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara responds: **If so, Abraham** also should not have married another woman, as he **was also infertile.** Rather, the *tanna* **requires that** verse that states when Jacob and Esau were born **for** that which **Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba** taught. This is **because Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said** that **Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Why were Ishmael’s years counted** in the Torah, as they do not appear to be relevant to its narrative? **In order to determine through them the years of Jacob,** i.e., Jacob’s age at the time that various events took place, as explained in tractate *Megilla* (17a). The verse concerning Jacob’s birth was not meant to allude to a *halakha* about remaining married before having children, but to make it possible to determine Jacob’s age by relating it to the age of Ishmael.


###### Yevamot 64a:8
[Yevamot 64a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/64a:8)

אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק: יִצְחָק אָבִינוּ עָקוּר הָיָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיֶּעְתַּר יִצְחָק לַה׳ לְנֹכַח אִשְׁתּוֹ״. ״עַל אִשְׁתּוֹ״ לֹא נֶאֱמַר, אֶלָּא ״לְנוֹכַח״, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁשְּׁנֵיהֶם עֲקוּרִים הָיוּ. אִי הָכִי: ״וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ״ — ״וַיֵּעָתֵר לָהֶם״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ! לְפִי שֶׁאֵינוֹ דּוֹמֶה תְּפִלַּת צַדִּיק בֶּן צַדִּיק לִתְפִלַּת צַדִּיק בֶּן רָשָׁע.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Isaac our father was infertile, as it is stated: “And Isaac entreated the Lord concerning [*lenokhaḥ*] his wife** because she was barren” (Genesis 25:21). **It is not stated** that he entreated the Lord **for [*al*] his wife, but *lenokhaḥ*,** which can mean opposite, against, or corresponding to; this **teaches that they were both infertile.** The Gemara asks: **If so,** why does the verse continue: **“And** the Lord **let Himself be entreated of him”?** The verse **should say: And** the Lord **let Himself be entreated of them.** The Gemara answers that their prayers were answered due to Isaac, **because the prayer of a righteous individual** who is **the son of a righteous individual is not similar to the prayer of a righteous individual** who is **the son of a wicked individual,** and Rebekah’s father was the wicked Bethuel.


###### Yevamot 64a:9
[Yevamot 64a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/64a:9)

אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק: מִפְּנֵי מָה הָיוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ עֲקוּרִים — מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִתְאַוֶּה לִתְפִלָּתָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים. אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק: לָמָּה נִמְשְׁלָה תְּפִלָּתָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים כְּעֶתֶר — מָה עֶתֶר זֶה מְהַפֵּךְ הַתְּבוּאָה מִמָּקוֹם לְמָקוֹם, כָּךְ תְּפִלָּתָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים מְהַפֶּכֶת מִדּוֹתָיו שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִמִּדַּת רַגְזָנוּת לְמִדַּת רַחֲמָנוּת. אָמַר רַבִּי אַמֵּי: אַבְרָהָם וְשָׂרָה טוּמְטְמִין הָיוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הַבִּיטוּ אֶל צוּר

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Yitzḥak said: For what reason were our forefathers** initially **infertile? Because the Holy One, Blessed be He, desires the prayers of the righteous,** and He therefore wanted them to pray for children. Similarly, **Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Why are the prayers of the righteous compared to a pitchfork [*eter*],** as in the verse: “And He let Himself be entreated [*vaye’ater*]”? This indicates that **just as this pitchfork turns over produce from one place to another, so the prayer of the righteous turns over the attributes of the Holy One, Blessed be He, from** the **attribute of rage to** the **attribute of mercy. Rabbi Ami said: Abraham and Sarah were** originally ***tumtumin*,** people whose sexual organs are concealed and not functional, **as it is stated: “Look to the rock**