[ ]From Wife to Widow and Back Againsence of a formal betrothal? Is she to be regarded as his wife, despite
the fact that the levirate union has not been — and may never be —
consummated? Or is she an independent woman, like an emancipated
daughter or a widow? What is the nature of the bond between the levir
and the levirate widow, and how does it restrict the latter’s behavior?
Mishnah Yevamot : discusses the power of the yevama to manage
her property and the assignment of that property if the yevama dies be-
fore her brother-in-law marries or releases her. The first section of the
Mishnah accords the yevama the right to dispose of her property as she
wishes. The second section provides for the division of the yevama’s
property between “the heirs of her husband and the heirs of her father”
in the event of her death.
Wegner regards the second section of this mishna as proof that
“[h]ere the sages view the yebamah purely in terms of men’s proprietary
claims on her.”^76 At the same time, she acknowledges that the levirate
widow has greater control over her property than a betrothed woman.
This strengthens Wegner’s argument that women are treated as chattel
in the Mishnah only when a man has control over a woman’s sexuality.
The control of the levir over his brother’s widow is incomplete; thus his
claim on her property is weak.
Discussions of this mishna in both the Bavli and the Yerushalmi fo-
cus on clarifying the status of the levirate widow. Both sugyot begin by
questioning the apparent contradiction between the first and second
parts of the mishna. The power of the yevama to sell or give away prop-
erty suggests that she is entirely independent of the levir. In contrast, the
lev i r’s abi l it y to cla i m a por t ion of t he lev i rate w idow ’s proper t y a f ter her
death suggests that he does have a claim on her, since inheritance of a
woman’s property is ordinarily reserved for her husband.
“A levirate widow who inherits property.. .”
a. Here [in the first part of the mishna] you say, “If she sells or gives
it away, her transaction stands.” “If she dies, what happens to
her marriage settlement?” And here [in the latter part of the
mishna] you say, “Let the heirs of the husband and the heirs of
the father divide it.”
b. R. Yose b. Hanina said: In the case in which you say, “If she sells
or gives it away, her transaction stands,” the property came to