[ ]Brotherswidow to enter into a levirate union. Genesis and Ruth indicate an
interest on the part of the older generation — the father or mother of the
deceased — in encouraging the levir or widow to contemplate a levirate
union. The Mishnah and the two Talmuds, on the other hand, assign or
assume no such participation. The only hint that family involvement is
a possible factor lies in discussions of a minor levir or yevama. While it
is possible that a minor levir might, on his own initiative, initiate sexual
contact with his sister-in-law, it is also conceivable that a parent, wish-
ing to ensure that the younger brother inherits his brother’s estate,
might encourage him to act. The Mishnah also discusses a situation in
which both the yevama and the levir are minors and suggests that in
such a situation they be allowed to grow up together, presumably with
the expectation that they will marry upon reaching adulthood.^55 Such
an arrangement would presumably be facilitated by the parents of the
levir and possibly the parents of the yevama as well.
Aside from discussions about minors, there is no hint that any mem-
ber of the family contributed to the levir’s decision to marry or submit
to halitza. We can imagine such input — especially on the part of the
levir’s wife — but the rabbis show no interest in it. Rabbinic discussions
of levirate portray the levir as an individual making a decision that is his
alone and that is based on his needs or preferences. There is no indica-
tion that the levir is part of a large clan or kinship web that might have
interests in his choice.
Conclusions
In its most classic formulation, levirate offers few if any benefits to the
man who performs it. He sires children who will be accounted to his
dead brother or kinsman, and the deceased’s property is transferred
to those children rather than reverting back to his family of origin. In
many societies, the “widow” remains de jure the wife of the deceased
and does not share a residence with the levir. The only incentive, then,
for a man to enter into a levirate relationship is a sense of fraternal or
familial obligation.
The laws and narratives of the Hebrew Bible suggest that this was
the case in ancient Israel. Resistance to levirate is ascribed to the levir’s
unwillingness to father children whom he cannot claim. Assuming re-
sponsibility for the property of the deceased is seen as a threat to one’s