[ ]Paternity and Continuitythey say to him, “Bring proof that you are our brother and take
[a portion].”
g. A child whose status is uncertain and sons of the levir come to
divide the property of the levir after he divided up the property
of the deceased. The sons of the levir say: Bring proof that you are
our brother and take [your share of our father’s property]. The
child whose status is uncertain says: What do you prefer? If [you
claim that] I am your brother, give me a portion among you. If
[you claim that] I am the son of the deceased, give me the half
portion that your father took from me.
h. R. Abba said Rav said: The judgment stands. {The child of uncertain
status had presumably challenged the levir’s claim to the property.
Whatever division was made in response to that challenge stands;
it cannot be reopened now that the levir has died.}
i. R. Jeremiah said: The judgment can be reviewed.... {The sons
of the levir must recognize him as their brother and give him
a son’s portion of the estate, or acknowledge him as the son of
the deceased and give him the entirety of that estate, even the
portion their father had been awarded.}
j. A child whose status is uncertain and a levir come to divide the
property of the grandfather {the father of the levir}. The child
whose status is uncertain says: I am the child of the deceased
[brother of the levir], and half the property is mine. {This
assumes that the deceased and the levir were their father’s only
sons.} The levir says: You are my son, and you have no claim to
the property. The levir has a certain claim and the child whose
status is uncertain has an uncertain claim — an uncertain claim
has no standing when there is a certain claim.
k. A child whose status is uncertain and sons of the levir come to
divide the property of the grandfather. The child whose status
is uncertain says: I am the son of the deceased and half the
property is mine [as my father’s only son]. The sons of the levir
say: You are our brother, and you have only a portion together
with us. They take the half that he concedes is theirs, and he
takes the third that they concede is his. A sixth of the property is
left and the [appropriate disposition of the] money is uncertain,
and in such a case, they divide [the property equally].^25