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In memory of Babet bat Yoel, may her neshama have a great aliyah!
Chapter 8, Mishna 5, Chapter 9, Mishna 1, 2
Having established the case of three brothers, wherein one died childless leaving a widow who stood for levirate marriage – yibum – before the second brother, who would then inherit his property, and the third brother didn’t like that, so he sought to give her a bill of divorce, which would take yibum off the table for brother 2, and brother 2 said, “Let me marry her, and then we’ll split brother 1’s estate.” and brother 3 agreed, and brother 2 married the widow, and then said our deal is no deal because I was not in a position to make that deal before I married her, and Rav Yosef upheld brother 2’s claim, and Abaye disputed it… A new case came up with the same facts, and brother 3 said, “I don’t trust you!” So brother 2 made a different kind of deal… What does brother 2 inherit, and why can he not give it away even AFTER he marries the widow? How did the lien on all of a husband’s property to secure his wife’s marriage contract evolve over time? Can a husband cede away his rights to his wife’s property? Why does Rabbi Akiva say “One is not merciful in judgment”? Do we not beg mercy from our Judge in Heaven constantly? Between widows, heirs and creditors, who has the strongest claim on a dead man’s estate?
#ketubah #dowry #husband #wife #betrothal #marriage #divorce
Opening song: Bird sounds