Yevamos - Daf 3
- Why does the Mishnah say פוטרות?
The Mishnah on Daf 2a stated that there are fifteen arayos which are פוטרות צרותיהן, - they exempt their צרות when they fall to yibum. Our Gemara asks ומאי איריא דתנא פוטרות - Why did the Mishnah use the word פוטרות, which Rashi explains implies that the צרות are not obligated to do yibum, however they can if they wish. But we know that the צרות are forbidden from doing yibum!? ליתני אוסרות -The Mishnah rather should have said the word אוסרות – that they are forbidden from doing yibum. After the Gemara suggests an answer, and then questions it, it concludes that if the Mishnah would have said אוסרות then we would think that even if one of the עריות married someone besides the person’s brother, and then this husband died, the צרה would be forbidden to the brother. Therefore, the word פוטרות teaches us that the איסור of צרת ערוה is only if they marry his brother.
- What the numbers of the Mishnah are coming to exclude
The Mishnah had begun: חמש עשרי נשים – Fifteen women. The Gemara here asks, מנינא דרישא למעוטי מאי – What does the number “fifteen” in the reisha exclude? Similarly, the seifa of the Mishnah says הרי אלו פוטרות, - behold these exempt, which (similar to a number) implies that only these cases and nothing else. The Gemara explains that these two מיעוטים are coming to exclude that which Rav said, that צרת סוטה is פטור from יבום, and that which Rav Assi said, thatצרת אילונית is פטור from יבום. Rav, on Daf 11a, says that if one of a man’s wives became a סוטה, both the סוטה and her צרה do not fall to יבום. Rav Assi, on Daf 12a, says that if one of a man’s wives was an אילונית, both the אילונית and the צרת אילונית do not fall to יבום. The Mishnah is coming to teach that only the fifteen women listed here exempt their צרות from chalitzah and yibum, but the sotah and aylonis do not.
- The source that the fifteen עריות are פטור from יבום
The Gemara brings a Baraisa that explains the source that these fifteen arayos do not fall to yibum. The passuk states "אשה אל אחותה לא תקח לצרר לגלות ערותה עליה בחייה " – One may not marry a woman and her sister to make them rival wives, to uncover her nakedness upon her in her lifetime. What is the extra word עליה – upon her, coming to teach? The Baraisa answers, since the passuk by yibum states: יבמה יבא עליה – her yavam shall cohabit with her, one might think that this is even in a case where the yevamah is one of the arayos. Therefore, the gezeirah shaveh of עליה is coming to teach מה להלן במקום מצוה אף כאן במקום מצוה – just as the passuk of yibum is dealing where there is a mitzvah, so too the passuk of אחות אשתו is referring to when there is a mitzvah of yibum, and the passuk there concludes, לא תקח – you shall not take a woman in addition to her sister. We therefore read the passuk of אחות אשתו as follows: "One may not marry a woman and her sister...even to do yibum”. The Gemara continues bringing the source for צרות being forbidden and then explains that we learn the halachah of yibum of the other עריות from the halachah of yibum by אחות אשתו.
