Notes[ 6 ]that sugya as well, the Bavli proposes a preferable way to manage the situation,
one that involves an action by the court, not the woman.
9. This acknowledgment contrasts with the Bavli’s insistence in several
places that a woman would prefer any marriage to being single. In eight places,
the Bavli cites a proverb, “It is better to sit as two than to sit alone,” attributing
this view specifically to women. See Elman, “Marriage and Marital Property,”
3 – 38. It is worth noting that the rabbis appealed to by women seeking to avoid
levirate never cite this proverb or pressure women into levirate unions.
98. B. Yev. 93 b – 94 a.
99. A married daughter may still inherit from her father in the absence of sons
and may inherit property from her mother’s family as well. The right of a married
woman to visit her parents’ home is attested to in M. Ket. : 4 , and some holiday
visits are assumed in M. Pes. 8 : 1.
A married woman is expected to mourn for her in-laws. If she is married to a
priest, she may eat certain foods restricted to the priestly caste, even if she was
not born into a priestly family.
1. Rashi on B. Ket. 66 a, s.v. yakhol hu she’yomar.
1 1. M. Yev. 13 :1.
1. See M. Yev., ch. 13. A minor girl betrothed by her father could not exercise
the right of refusal, but that right was granted to a minor whose father was dead
and whose betrothal was arranged by other relatives. The School of Hillel ex-
tended this right to a minor whose husband died leaving her subject to levirate.
1 3. M. Git. :; M. Sotah 6 :.
14. In another instance, B. Yev. 4 a, the Bavli insists that a yevama should not
be forced to marry a man with boils.
1 5. M. Yev. 13 : 13.
- Paternity and Continuity (pages 16 – 194 )
- Steinmetz, From Father to Son, 44 – 49.
. See Chapter . - Sifre Deuteronomy 88.
- B. Yev. b.
- M. Yev. : 5.
- M. Yev. 4 : 1.
. M. Yev. 8 : 5. - T. Yev. : 5 ; B. Yev. 91 b, 119 a.
- M. Yev. 8 : 4.
1. Even those rabbis who argue that a castrated brother may impose a levi-
rate obligation on his sister-in-law agree that levirate is not an option; the bond
must be resolved through halitza. - B. Yev. 44 b, 1 1a.
1. B. Yev. 119 a. - In fact, lev i rate of ten i nvolves a ssig n i ng pater n it y away f rom t he biolog ica l
father. I use the term “social father” here to acknowledge that while the rabbis
assume the levir is the biological father of the children born of the levirate union,
biological paternity could not be established in the rabbinic period. Instead, a
woman’s husband was assumed to be the father of her children and thus was
given the legal rights and responsibilities attached to fatherhood. - Quale, A History of Marriage Systems, 6.
- For discussions of the circumstances that inform levirate in several Afri-
can societies, see Potash, ed., Widows in African Societies. Some societies assign
- Steinmetz, From Father to Son, 44 – 49.