[ ]From Wife to Widow and Back Againwho says, “I am forbidden to you” bring proof. [As for the one
who says,] “God is [the witness] between you and me” let them
attempt to mediate. [As for the one who says,] “I am unavailable
to Jews,” let [the husband] annul the part of the vow that applies
to him and she can have intercourse with him and be forbidden
to all other Jews.
c. It was asked of them: “I am unavailable to Jews” how does
this impact a levir? Did it or did it not occur to her that [her
husband] might die without children and she would fall before
the levir?^95The Bavli acknowledges the need to limit a woman’s abilit y to escape
her ma rriage by ma k ing a cla im t hat wou ld lead a court to insist t hat her
husband give her a divorce. If a woman attempts to obtain a divorce by
making a vow, the husband may annul the part of the vow that applies to
him, leaving her sexually forbidden to all (male) Jews except him.
The Bavli now asks, “What if this woman’s husband dies without
children?” Can her levir marry her and annul the part of the vow that
applies to him, or, because he is not yet her husband and therefore un-
able to annul her vows, must he release her? The Bavli’s concern is her
intention. In particular, the Bavli is uncomfortable with the possibility
that the yevama, like the women discussed in Mishnah Nedarim, made
the vow to escape marriage. The sugya concludes that the levir cannot
annul the vow and must release his sister-in-law, but it also insists that
we assume the yevama’s vow not to derive benefit from her brother-in-
law was made without any thought of avoiding levirate marriage. If she
specifies that the vow was intended to avoid levirate marriage, the court
does not pressure the levir but merely “asks” him to do halitza.
The Bavli is willing to “force” the levir to submit to halitza only be-
cause the yevama is not pressuring the levir (or the rabbis) through her
vow. Here, the Bavli neutralizes the power of the yevama by denying
that she is trying to exercise power. In an ironic twist, a woman who
understands what is at stake can ensure that her vow will be honored by
using language that suggests she does not understand what is at stake.
Faced with a sick, childless husband, an intelligent woman can vow not
to benefit from her brother-in-law and, as long as she omits any mention
of levirate, expect a court to support her if she finds herself bound to