[ ]From Wife to Widow and Back AgainThe Status of the Woman after Levirate or Halitza
The actions of the levir — his performance of levirate marriage or his
submission to halitza — transform the yevama. The Mishnah teaches
that when the levir marries his sister-in-law, “she is like his wife in ev-
ery respect.”^72 Although the marriage settlement is the one agreed to by
the first husband, the levir now has all of the obligations and rights of
a husband. If halitza is performed, the yevama is treated in some ways
like a divorcée; she and the levir are forbidden to marry each other’s
close relatives, and she is not eligible to marry a priest. The resolution of
the yevama’s status, her transformation into a wife or a widow, ends the
Mishnah’s interest in her. Her status, it seems, owes more to the act of
her brother-in-law than the death of her husband; her status as a woman
who has undergone halitza (halutza) is more like that of a divorcée than
a widow, insofar as she cannot marry a priest. From the Mishnah’s point
of v iew, her stat us is resolved; she is eit her ma r r ied to her for mer brot her-
in-law or she is a “free” woman, able to marry if she chooses. The mar-
riage of a levir and a yevama requires no additional consideration, but is
regulated by the laws of marriage detailed elsewhere in the Mishnah.
We see in the Mishnah and the Tosefta an attempt to clarify various
aspects of the position of the levirate widow. While the tannaim do ma ke
levirate marriage more “regular” through the introduction of a declara-
tion of intent to marry, the position of the yevama remains anomalous.
She has more freedom than a married woman with respect to her vows
and her property, but less freedom than a widow. The Mishnah and
Tosefta highlight these anomalies but offer no explanation for them.
Tannaitic sources also highlight the tensions surrounding the yevama,
bound to her brother-in-law and subject to his delays and decisions, but
playing the active role in the halitza ceremony. While levirate marriage
can be formalized against the will of the yevama, she may also be able to
avoid a levirate union through a vow or protest.
Widow or Not? Talmudic Attempts to Clarify
the Status of the Yeva ma
Both the Bavli and the Yerushalmi offer analyses of the mishnaic mate-
rial on levirate. The talmudic material emphasizes the two “problems”
inherent in being a levirate widow: her unclear status and the ways in