Levirate Marriage and the Family in Ancient Judaism

Levirate Marriage and the Family

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retical, since teruma was no longer distributed, but they underscore the
limbo in which a levirate widow finds herself as she waits for her brother-
in-law’s decision. She is no longer a full member of her husband’s family,
but she is still bound to the family in some way.
The Mishnah also discusses the yevama’s control over her property
while she waits for the levir’s decision:

A woman waiting for a brother-in-law (shomeret yavam) who

received property — the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel

agree that if she sells or gives away [her property], her decision

stands. If she dies [while awaiting levirate marriage or halitza],

what happens to her marriage settlement and the property that

comes in and goes out with her? The School of Shammai says: The

heirs of the husband divide it with the heirs of [her] father. The

School of Hillel says: The property remains in the possession of

those who have a presumptive claim on it. The marriage settlement

is subject to the presumptive claim of the heirs of the husband.

The property that comes in and goes out with her is subject to the

presumptive claim of the heirs of [her] father.^43

This mishna h i g h l i g ht s t h e a m bi g u ou s s t a t u s of t h e l e v i r a t e w i d o w. W h i l e
she waits for her brother-in-law to decide whether he w ill marr y her, she
has full control over her property. In this sense, she is like a woman who
receives property when she is neither married nor betrothed.^44 The levi-
rate widow has greater control over her property than does a betrothed
woman, who, according to the School of Hillel, should not sell property,
since the betrothal gives her husband-to-be some stake in his future
wife’s assets.^45
At the same time, the levirate widow is not like an ordinary widow.
T he nat u ra l hei rs of a w idow a re her ch i ld ren; i n t he absence of ch i ld ren,
one would expect a widow’s property to devolve on members of her fam-
ily of origin. Here we learn that the property of a levirate widow may be
claimed by her family and that of her husband. The levirate bond ties the
widow to her husband’s family, allowing them to make a claim on all of
her property (according to the School of Shammai) or her marriage set-
tlement (according to the School of Hillel). The Mishnah does not speak
of a claim on behalf of the levir, which would presumably have to derive
from his status as her husband-to-be, but of the claims of “the heirs of