[ ]From Wife to Widow and Back Again[her] husband.”^46 Her tie to the levir is, on some level, a bond to the de-
ceased and to his need for an heir; the claim of his heirs — presumably
his father or brothers — on her estate suggests that she is still, in some
sense, the wife of her now-deceased husband.
Responding to the Levirate Bond
There are two legitimate responses to the levirate connection that is es-
tablished between a man and his childless brother’s widow. The bond
can be affirmed and brought to completion through levirate marriage,
or it can be dissolved through halitza. W hile Deuteronomy indicates
that levirate marriage is the preferred choice, the Mishnah presents levi-
rate marriage and halitza as equally appropriate responses.^47
At first glance, the levirate widow has no power to determine her
future. According to Deuteronomy, it is the levir who decides whether
to marry his sister-in-law or submit to halitza. This impression is rein-
forced by the behavior of Tamar and Ruth. Tamar cannot force Judah to
arrange her marriage with Shelah; she can only trick Judah into impreg-
nating her. While Naomi sends Ruth to the threshing floor, all Ruth can
do there is ask for Boaz’s protection; she cannot demand that he marry
her or voice a preference for Boaz over the nameless kinsman mentioned
in Ruth .
The inability of the levirate widow to affect her status is affirmed in
Mishnah Yevamot. We learn that sexual intercourse between a levir and
his sister-in-law effects levirate marriage, even if the sexual act is non-
consensual or is not understood by the woman to be for the sake of ef-
fecting levirate marriage.^48 The widow’s surviving brothers-in-law are
all legitimate candidates for levirate marriage, but she has no opportu-
nit y to choose from among them. Similarly, a lthough any one of a man’s
wives could enter into a levirate marriage, the choice as to which wife
to marry is the brother-in-law’s; the wives cannot decide among them-
selves which one should marry him. The Mishnah allows a man whose
four brothers die to marry one of each of the brother’s wives.^49 Though
such a scenario is unlikely, the rule makes it clear that a yevama may
find herself joining a household that includes at least one other wife,
should her levir choose to marry her.
Because a sexual act, even one not intended to effect levirate mar-