[ ]Brotherscal texts on levirate and the redemption of property through marriage
to the deceased’s widow indicates that brotherly sentiment or duty may
not sway a man’s decisions.
Brothers in Rabbinic Texts
The earliest rabbinic documents, the Mishnah and the Tosefta, contain
material that considers the legal aspects of the fraternal relationship.
Most of the discussions about brothers, outside of those relating to levi-
rate marriage, involve brothers’ division of their father’s estate and the
busi ness relat ionsh ips t hat resu lt f rom t hat d iv ision or f rom t he decision
to hold the property jointly. If brothers choose to divide their father’s
estate, each bea rs responsibi lit y for t he por t ion he ta kes. If, for insta nce,
brot hers d iv ide a field i n her ited f rom t hei r fat her, t he field is now t reated
as two separate fields and each brother must set aside a corner of his
field for the poor. If, however, they merge the divided field, becoming
partners, only one corner must be left unharvested.^10
Either by choice or as a result of inheriting property together, adult
brothers may find themselves living together. The Mishnah describes
a situation in which adult brothers share a house and some household
goods while each maintains some utensils separately.^11 Another rule
imagines adult brothers who are business partners and who eat Sab-
bath meals together at their father’s home while maintaining separate
residences.^12 In t hese ca ses, t he concer n of t he Mish na h is to d ist i ng u ish
between the status of jointly held property and private property. The
Mishnah also imagines the different living arrangements available to
adult brothers; they might live together — presumably in the house they
inherited from their father — or they might live separately while sharing
economic interests. These rules suggest a fair amount of interaction be-
tween brothers while acknowledging the possibility of a certain degree
of independence.
The closeness of brothers has legal ramifications. Brothers may
not serve as witnesses for or against each other in court; nor may one
brot her ser ve as a judge in a case involv ing t he ot her.^13 A man is believed
when he testifies that a signature is that of his brother, on the assump-
tion that he would be familiar with his brother’s handwriting.^14 Brot hers
may not marry each other’s widows or divorcées. And in the event that
one brother dies without a child, brothers are obligated to perform levi-