## Yevamot Daf 79b

###### Yevamot 79b:1
[Yevamot 79b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:1)

בִּימֵי רַבִּי בִּקְּשׁוּ לְהַתִּיר נְתִינִים. אָמַר לָהֶם רַבִּי: חֶלְקֵנוּ נַתִּיר, חֵלֶק מִזְבֵּחַ מִי יַתִּיר?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
It is related that **in the days of Rabbi** Yehuda HaNasi the Sages **sought to permit the Gibeonites** and treat them like Jews in all regards, thereby allowing them to enter into the congregation. **Rabbi** Yehuda HaNasi **said to them:** Even if **we permit our share** and say that the court nullifies the Jewish people’s right to enslave the Gibeonites, and so they should be treated like emancipated slaves, **who can permit the altar’s share?** Do they not belong to the Temple and the altar as well?


###### Yevamot 79b:2
[Yevamot 79b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:2)

וּפְלִיגָא דְּרַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא. דְּאָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: חֵלֶק עֵדָה — לְעוֹלָם אָסוּר, חֵלֶק מִזְבֵּחַ, בִּזְמַן שֶׁבֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קַיָּים — אָסוּר, אֵין בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קַיָּים — שְׁרֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara comments: **And** Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi **disagrees with** the teaching of **Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba. As Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said** that **Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The share** in the enslavement of the Gibeonites that belongs **to the congregation** of Israel **is forbidden forever** and can never be permitted. However, with regard to **the share** belonging **to the altar, when the Temple is standing** it is **forbidden,** but when **the Temple is not standing** it is **permitted.**


###### Yevamot 79b:3
[Yevamot 79b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:3)

**מַתְנִי׳** אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ: שָׁמַעְתִּי שֶׁהַסָּרִיס חוֹלֵץ וְחוֹלְצִין לְאִשְׁתּוֹ, וְהַסָּרִיס לֹא חוֹלֵץ וְלֹא חוֹלְצִין לְאִשְׁתּוֹ, וְאֵין לִי לְפָרֵשׁ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**MISHNA:** **Rabbi Yehoshua said: I heard** two rulings from my teachers. One ruling is **that a eunuch performs *ḥalitza*** with his *yevama*, **and** his brothers **perform *ḥalitza* with his wife, and** the other ruling is that **a eunuch does not perform *ḥalitza*** with his *yevama*, **and** his brothers **do not perform *ḥalitza* with his wife. And I cannot explain** these two rulings, as I do not remember the circumstances to which each ruling applies.


###### Yevamot 79b:4
[Yevamot 79b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:4)

אָמַר רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, אֲנִי אֲפָרֵשׁ: סְרִיס אָדָם — חוֹלֵץ וְחוֹלְצִין לְאִשְׁתּוֹ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָיְתָה לוֹ שְׁעַת הַכּוֹשֶׁר. סְרִיס חַמָּה — לֹא חוֹלֵץ וְלֹא חוֹלְצִין לְאִשְׁתּוֹ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁלֹּא הָיְתָה לוֹ שְׁעַת הַכּוֹשֶׁר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Akiva said: I will explain. A eunuch** caused **by man,** i.e., one who became emasculated after birth, **performs *ḥalitza*** with his *yevama* **and** his brothers **perform *ḥalitza* with his wife, because he had an hour of fitness,** a time when he was fertile. On the other hand, **a eunuch by natural causes,** i.e., who was entirely lacking in sexual capacity from birth, **does not perform *ḥalitza*** with his *yevama* **and** his brothers **do not perform *ḥalitza* with his wife, because he did not have an hour of fitness,** as he never had the potential to father children.


###### Yevamot 79b:5
[Yevamot 79b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:5)

רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר: לֹא כִי, אֶלָּא: סְרִיס חַמָּה — חוֹלֵץ וְחוֹלְצִין לְאִשְׁתּוֹ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ רְפוּאָה. סְרִיס אָדָם — לֹא חוֹלֵץ וְלֹא חוֹלְצִין לְאִשְׁתּוֹ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאֵין לוֹ רְפוּאָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Eliezer says: No; rather,** the opposite is the case: **A eunuch by natural causes performs *ḥalitza*** with his *yevama* **and** his brothers **perform *ḥalitza* with his wife because he can be cured,** whereas **a eunuch** caused **by man does not perform *ḥalitza*** with his *yevama* **and** his brothers **do not perform *ḥalitza* with his wife because he cannot be cured.**


###### Yevamot 79b:6
[Yevamot 79b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:6)

הֵעִיד רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן בְּתֵירָא עַל בֶּן מְגוּסַת שֶׁהָיָה בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם סְרִיס אָדָם, וְיִבְּמוּ אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ, לְקַיֵּים דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Yehoshua ben Beteira testified about** a man named **ben Megusat, who** lived **in Jerusalem** and **was a eunuch** caused **by man,** that his brothers nevertheless **entered into levirate marriage with his wife,** in order **to fulfill** and confirm **the statement of Rabbi Akiva.**


###### Yevamot 79b:7
[Yevamot 79b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:7)

הַסָּרִיס — לֹא חוֹלֵץ וְלֹא מְיַיבֵּם, וְכֵן אַיְילוֹנִית — לֹא חוֹלֶצֶת וְלֹא מִתְיַיבֶּמֶת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**A sexually underdeveloped man does not perform *ḥalitza* or enter into levirate marriage** with his *yevama*. **And similarly, a sexually underdeveloped woman** [***aylonit***], who is incapable of bearing children, **does not perform *ḥalitza* or enter into levirate marriage** with her *yavam*.


###### Yevamot 79b:8
[Yevamot 79b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:8)

הַסָּרִיס שֶׁחָלַץ לִיבִמְתּוֹ — לֹא פְּסָלָהּ. בְּעָלָהּ — פְּסָלָהּ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהִיא בְּעִילַת זְנוּת. וְכֵן אַיְילוֹנִית שֶׁחָלְצוּ לָהּ אַחִין — לֹא פְּסָלוּהָ. בְּעָלוּהָ — פְּסָלוּהָ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁבְּעִילָתָהּ בְּעִילַת זְנוּת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
If **a sexually underdeveloped man performed *ḥalitza* with his *yevama*, he has not** thereby **disqualified her** from marrying into the priesthood, as his *ḥalitza* is invalid. However, if **he had intercourse with her, he has disqualified her.** This is **because it is** considered **licentious sexual intercourse,** since such intercourse does not fulfill the mitzva of levirate marriage and is therefore categorized as forbidden relations with one’s sister-in-law. **And similarly,** with regard to **a sexually underdeveloped woman,** if one of **the brothers performed *ḥalitza*** with her he **has not** thereby **disqualified her** from marrying into the priesthood. However, if he **had intercourse with her,** he **has disqualified her because the intercourse is** considered **licentious sexual intercourse.**


###### Yevamot 79b:9
[Yevamot 79b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:9)

**גְּמָ׳** מִכְּדִי שָׁמְעִינַן לְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא דְּאָמַר חַיָּיבֵי לָאוִין כְּחַיָּיבֵי כָּרֵיתוֹת דָּמוּ, וְחַיָּיבֵי כָּרֵיתוֹת לָאו בְּנֵי חֲלִיצָה וְיִיבּוּם נִינְהוּ!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**GEMARA:** **Now, we learned** that **Rabbi Akiva said: Those liable for** violating **a prohibition are like those liable to** receive ***karet*** with regard to the validity of their marriage and all its ramifications, **and those liable to** receive ***karet* are not eligible** to perform ***ḥalitza* or levirate marriage.** A eunuch caused by man has the status of a man with crushed testicles, and is therefore prohibited by a standard negative mitzva from marrying a Jewish woman. If he violated the prohibition and married her, his marriage is invalid according to Rabbi Akiva, just as if he had married a woman who is forbidden to him by a prohibition punishable by *karet*. Why, then, should his *ḥalitza* be valid?


###### Yevamot 79b:10
[Yevamot 79b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:10)

אָמַר רַבִּי אַמֵּי: הָכָא בְּמַאי עָסְקִינַן — כְּגוֹן שֶׁנָּשָׂא אָחִיו גִּיּוֹרֶת, וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא סָבַר לַהּ כְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי, דְּאָמַר: קְהַל גֵּרִים — לָא אִקְּרִי קָהָל.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Ami said: With what are we dealing here?** We are dealing with a case **where** the eunuch’s **brother** had **married a convert, and Rabbi Akiva holds in accordance with** the opinion of **Rabbi Yosei,** who **said** that the **congregation of converts is not called a congregation** of the Lord. Consequently, it is permitted even for those for whom it is prohibited to enter into the congregation, e.g., a eunuch, to marry converts.


###### Yevamot 79b:11
[Yevamot 79b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:11)

אִי הָכִי, יַבּוֹמֵי נָמֵי מְיַיבֵּם! אִין הָכִי נָמֵי, וְאַיְּידֵי דְּאָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ חוֹלֵץ, אָמַר אִיהוּ נָמֵי חוֹלֵץ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara raises a difficulty: **If so,** the eunuch should also be able to **perform levirate marriage** with the convert. The Gemara answers: **Yes, it is indeed so, but since Rabbi Yehoshua said** that a eunuch **performs *ḥalitza*** with his *yevama*, Rabbi Akiva **as well said** that **he performs *ḥalitza*** with her, while in fact he may enter into levirate marriage with her if he so chooses.


###### Yevamot 79b:12
[Yevamot 79b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:12)

דַּיְקָא נָמֵי, דְּקָתָנֵי: הֵעִיד רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן בְּתֵירָא עַל בֶּן מְגוּסַת שֶׁהָיָה בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם סְרִיס אָדָם, וְיִבְּמוּ אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ לְקַיֵּים דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא. שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara adds: The language of the mishna **is also precise** in this regard, **as it teaches: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Beteira testified about** a man named **ben Megusat, who** lived **in Jerusalem** and **was a eunuch** caused **by man,** that his brothers **entered into levirate marriage with his wife, to fulfill the statement of Rabbi Akiva.** This indicates that according to Rabbi Akiva, not only *ḥalitza* but even levirate marriage is permitted. The Gemara concludes: **Learn from this** that this is the correct understanding of the mishna.


###### Yevamot 79b:13
[Yevamot 79b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:13)

מֵתִיב רַבָּה: פְּצוּעַ דַּכָּא וּכְרוּת שׇׁפְכָה, סְרִיס אָדָם וְהַזָּקֵן — אוֹ חוֹלְצִין אוֹ מְיַיבְּמִין. כֵּיצַד: מֵתוּ וְלָהֶם נָשִׁים, וְלָהֶם אַחִין, וְעָמְדוּ אַחִין וְעָשׂוּ מַאֲמָר בִּנְשׁוֹתֵיהֶן, וְנָתְנוּ גֵּט, אוֹ שֶׁחָלְצוּ — מַה שֶּׁעָשׂוּ עָשׂוּ, וְאִם בָּעֲלוּ — קָנוּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabba raised an objection** from the following *baraita*: **A man with crushed testicles, and one whose penis has been severed,** and **a eunuch** caused **by man, and an elderly** man who is no longer capable of fathering children, may **either perform *ḥalitza* or enter into levirate marriage.** The *baraita* clarifies the matter: **How so?** If these men **died and they had wives and they** also **had brothers, and the brothers proceeded to perform levirate betrothal with their wives,** or **gave** them **a bill of divorce, or performed *ḥalitza*** with them, **what they did is done,** i.e., it is a valid act. **And if** the brothers **had intercourse** with the wives, **they acquired** them in levirate marriage, like any other *yevama*.


###### Yevamot 79b:14
[Yevamot 79b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:14)

מֵתוּ אַחִין, וְעָמְדוּ הֵן וְעָשׂוּ מַאֲמָר בִּנְשׁוֹתֵיהֶן, וְנָתְנוּ גֵּט אוֹ חָלְצוּ — מַה שֶּׁעָשׂוּ עָשׂוּ. וְאִם בָּעֲלוּ — קָנוּ, וְאָסוּר לְקַיְּימָן, מִשּׁוּם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״לֹא יָבֹא פְצוּעַ דַּכָּא וּכְרוּת שׇׁפְכָה בִּקְהַל ה׳״, אַלְמָא בְּקָהָל עָסְקִינַן!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
If **the brothers** of these sexually impaired men **died, and** the sexually impaired men **proceeded to perform levirate betrothal with their** brothers’ **wives,** or **gave** them **a bill of divorce, or performed *ḥalitza*** with them, **what they did is done,** i.e., it is a valid act. **And if they had intercourse** with their brothers’ wives **they acquired** them in levirate marriage, **but** they are **prohibited from maintaining them** as their wives **because it is stated: “A man with crushed testicles or a severed penis shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord”** (Deuteronomy 23:2). **Apparently, we are dealing with** a case where the eunuch’s brother had married a woman who is **in the congregation** of the Lord, i.e., a Jew from birth who is governed by this prohibition, and not a convert.


###### Yevamot 79b:15
[Yevamot 79b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:15)

אֶלָּא אָמַר רַבָּה: כְּגוֹן שֶׁנָּפְלָה לוֹ, וּלְבַסּוֹף נִפְצַע.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rather, Rabba said** that the case here is one **where** one’s brother died and his *yevama* **happened before him** for levirate marriage, **and he was injured** only **afterward.** Since the mitzva of levirate marriage had initially applied to him, he performs *ḥalitza* with her.


###### Yevamot 79b:16
[Yevamot 79b:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:16)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַבָּיֵי: וְלַיְתֵי אִיסּוּר פָּצוּעַ וְנִידְחֵי עֲשֵׂה דְּיִיבּוּם! מִי לָא תְּנַן, רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר: אִם מֵיאֲנָה — מֵיאֲנָה,

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Abaye said to him:** If so, **let the prohibition** applying to a man with **crushed** testicles **come and override** the **positive** mitzva **of levirate marriage. Didn’t we learn** in a mishna (109a) as follows: With regard to a case of two brothers who were married to two sisters, one of whom was a minor married off by her brothers in a marriage valid only by rabbinic decree, and the brother who was married to the adult sister passed away, **Rabban Gamliel says: If** the minor sister **refuses** her husband, declaring that she does not desire the marriage, **she has refused him.** Since the marriage is valid only by rabbinic decree, the girl may terminate it before she reaches the age of twelve by declaring that she does not wish to remain in the marriage, and no bill of divorce is required. In such a case the marriage is nullified retroactively, and so her former husband, the *yavam*, may perform levirate marriage with her sister.


###### Yevamot 79b:17
[Yevamot 79b:17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:17)

וְאִם לָאו — תַּמְתִּין עַד שֶׁתַּגְדִּיל, וְתֵצֵא הַלֵּזוּ מִשּׁוּם אֲחוֹת אִשָּׁה. אַלְמָא: אָתֵי אִיסּוּר אֲחוֹת אִשָּׁה וְדָחֵי. הָכָא נָמֵי: נֵיתֵי אִיסּוּר פָּצוּעַ וְנִידְחֵי!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The mishna continues: **But if** she does **not** refuse him, the minor **must wait** and her husband must not have relations with her **until she reaches adulthood** and their marriage is valid by Torah law, since in the meantime she is forbidden to him as the sister of a woman awaiting levirate marriage with him. At that point, when the minor reaches adulthood, **this one,** the adult sister, **goes out** free from the *yavam* without levirate marriage or *ḥalitza* **as** his **wife’s sister. Apparently, the prohibition** with regard to **a wife’s sister comes and overrides** the mitzva of levirate marriage that had previously been in effect. **Here too,** then, **let the prohibition** applying to a man with **crushed** testicles **come and override** the positive mitzva of levirate marriage.


###### Yevamot 79b:18
[Yevamot 79b:18](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:18)

אֶלָּא אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: הַאי תַּנָּא — הָךְ תַּנָּא דְּבֵי רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא הִיא, דְּאָמַר: מֵחַיָּיבֵי לָאוִין דִּשְׁאֵר הָוֵי מַמְזֵר, מֵחַיָּיבֵי לָאוִין גְּרִידִי לָא הָוֵי מַמְזֵר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rather, Rav Yosef said: This *tanna*** of our mishna **is the *tanna* of the school of Rabbi Akiva, who said** that only the child born of a union between those who **are liable for** violating **prohibitions involving incestuous relationships is a *mamzer*,** but the child born of a union between people who **are liable for** violating **ordinary prohibitions is not a *mamzer*.** The prohibition applying to a man with crushed testicles falls into the latter category, and therefore his marriage is valid and he may perform *ḥalitza*.


###### Yevamot 79b:19
[Yevamot 79b:19](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:19)

אִיקְּרִי כָּאן ״לְהָקִים לְאָחִיו שֵׁם״, וְהָא לָאו בַּר הָכִי הוּא?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: Why does the mitzva of levirate marriage apply at all to a eunuch? **Read here** the verse with regard to levirate marriage: **“To establish a name for his brother** in Israel” (Deuteronomy 25:7), **and this one is no** longer **capable of this,** even if previously he had an hour of fitness when he was fertile earlier in his life.


###### Yevamot 79b:20
[Yevamot 79b:20](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:20)

אָמַר רָבָא: אִם כֵּן, אֵין לְךָ אִשָּׁה שֶׁכְּשֵׁרָה לְיַבֵּם, שֶׁלֹּא נַעֲשָׂה בַּעְלָהּ סְרִיס חַמָּה שָׁעָה אַחַת קוֹדֶם לְמִיתָתוֹ!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rava said: If** it is **so** that anyone who cannot presently father children is exempt from levirate marriage even if he had previously been capable of doing so, **there is no instance of a woman who is fit for the *yavam*,** as even if **her husband** died of natural causes it is impossible that he **did not become** like **a eunuch by natural causes an hour before his death.** He had certainly lost his fertility before dying, and therefore he has the status of a eunuch, which means that the mitzva of levirate marriage should not apply in his case at all. Rather, it must be that a man who had previously been capable of fathering children is considered fit for the purposes of levirate marriage.


###### Yevamot 79b:21
[Yevamot 79b:21](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:21)

לְרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר, פֵּירוּקָא דְרָבָא פִּירְכָא הִיא!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara comments: **According to** the opinion of **Rabbi Eliezer** in the mishna that a eunuch caused by man does not perform *ḥalitza* and his marriage is invalid even though he had an hour of fitness when he was fertile, **Rava’s answer,** his proof from the fact that all men on their deathbeds lack sexual capacity, **is** undoubtedly **a refutation.**


###### Yevamot 79b:22
[Yevamot 79b:22](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:22)

הָתָם כְּחִישׁוּתָא דְּאַתְחִילָה בֵּיהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara answers: Rabbi Eliezer maintains that a man who is about to die cannot be compared to a eunuch, as **there,** he can no longer father children due to **the** general **weakness that begins** to take over his body as death approaches, which prevents him from engaging in relations with a woman, but his basic ability to father children remains unimpaired.


###### Yevamot 79b:23
[Yevamot 79b:23](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Yevamot/r/79b:23)

הֵיכִי דָּמֵי סְרִיס חַמָּה? אָמַר רַב יִצְחָק בַּר יוֹסֵף אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: כֹּל

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara raises a practical question: **What are the circumstances of a eunuch by natural causes? Rav Yitzḥak bar Yosef said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Anyone**