Levirate Marriage and the Family[ ]bar Abba helped a woman avoid levirate marriage. While the Bavli offers
an elaborate exchange between Rabbi Hiy ya and the yevama (and/or her
mother), the Yerushalmi includes no such dialogue; we do not know how
Rabbi Hiy ya knew that the yevama did not wa nt to ma r r y her lev ir, nor is
there any mention of the levir’s unscrupulous motives for levirate mar-
riage. The Yerushalmi’s discussion ends with the levir’s critique of Rabbi
Hiy ya, perhaps suggesting that the rabbi’s decision to champion the
yevama by deceiving the levir was not wise.
In both the Bavli and the Yerushalmi, we find cases in which a sage
assisted a woman who did not want to marry her levir. The assistance
was provided despite the levir’s desire for levirate marriage and required
trickery on the part of the sage. While the Yerushalmi hints at discom-
for t w it h t hese met hods, t he Bavli does not. The Bavli, however, feels t he
need to justif y the tricker y by informing the reader that in each case the
levir was not a suitable partner for his sister-in-law.
While showing a willingness to help women avoid levirate marriage,
t he Bavl i is u ncom for table w it h lev i rate w idows who t r y to avoid lev i rate
marriage through vows:
A woman who vows to derive no benefit from her husband’s
brother — [if she makes the vow] in her husband’s lifetime, they
force [the levir] to perform halitza. [If she makes the vow] after
her husband’s death, they ask him to perform halitza. But if she
intended this {that is, to avoid levirate marriage through the vow},
even if [she made the vow] in her husband’s lifetime, they ask him
to perform halitza.^94
a. It was taught there [in M. Ned. 11:12]: At first they said: Three
[types of] women are divorced and collect their marriage
settlements — The one who says, “I am forbidden to you” {The
wife of a priest claims she has been raped and therefore cannot
remain married.} [Or the one who says,] “God is [the witness]
between you and me.” {There is no witness to her improper
behavior, but she assures him it has occurred.} [Or the one who
says,] “I am unavailable to Jews.” {She has taken a vow that she
will not have intercourse with any Jewish man.}
b. They retracted and said: Perhaps a woman will set her sights on
another man and seek to ruin her marriage. Rather, let the one