[  ]

[4]

Brothers

O

rdered by his father to “provide offspring for [his] brother,” Ju-
dah’s son Onan takes steps to ensure that he will not in fact pro-
vide his deceased brother with a child. This act is “displeasing
to YHVH,” and Onan dies. It is ironic that in the Book of Genesis, a book
that includes the theft of a brother’s birthright and blessing, the sale of a
brother into slavery, and fratricide, it is the refusal of a man to fulfill an
obligation to his late brother that draws divine wrath and death at the
hand of God. This narrative, together with the ritual of shame directed
at a man unwilling to fulfill his obligation to his deceased brother in
Deuteronomy , suggests that levirate is the ultimate test of fraternal
loy a lt y.
This chapter explores the relationship between brothers in a levirate
situation, seeking answers to the following questions: When one brother
has died and the other is expected to enter into a levirate union, can
the levir’s devotion to his dead brother be gauged by his willingness or
unwillingness to perform levirate? Is eagerness to perform levirate seen
in rabbinic texts as a sign of brotherly love or self-interest? What might
motivate a man to opt for levirate marriage or for halitza?
The Mishnah and later rabbinic texts also consider situations in
which the deceased is survived by more than one brother. Such a situa-
tion might improve the likelihood that levirate will be performed, since
at least one brot her might be w illing to marr y t he w idow. One can imag-
ine a situation in which several brothers work together to determine