Yevamos - Daf 15
- "תאבני מתי תבא צרת הבת לידי ואשאנה"
The Gemara continues the discussion whether Beis Shammai followed their own opinion, and brings a Baraisa that states: Rebbe Tarfon, who was a talmid of Beis Shammai, said: תאבני מתי תבא צרת הבת לידי ואשאנה – I desire the time when the tzarah of my daughter, who is currently married to my brother, will fall into my hand, and I will marry her in yibum. Since marrying a tzarah of an ervah is only permitted according to Beis Shammai, this is proof that Beis Shammai followed their opinion. When the Gemara attempts to reject this proof by emending the Baraisa to read: ואשיאנה – and I will marry her off to someone else without doing chalitzah, which would be permitted according to Beis Hillel, it objects, for Rebbe Tarfon said: תאבני – I desire, which implies that he intended to do something novel, and not merely follow Beis Hillel’s opinion, which everyone followed. The Gemara answers that Rebbe Tarfon sought to preclude the opinion of Rebbe Yochanan ben Nuri, who attempted to accommodate the views of both Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel by requiring every tzarah do chalitzah. By stating that chalitzah is not necessary, Rebbe Tarfon was showing that he disagreed with Rebbe Yochanan ben Nuri’s suggestion.
- מעשה בשוקת יהוא שהיתה בירושלים
Mar Zutra attempted to show that Beis Shammai followed their own opinion, based on the following Baraisa: מעשה בשוקת יהוא שהיתה בירושלים – There was an incident with Yehu’s trough in Yerushalayim, which was connected to an adjoining mikveh, וכל טהרות שהיו בירושלים נעשים על גבה – and all the tahor foods were prepared there, meaning that their keilim were immersed there, and Beis Shammai sent and widened it, for they held that it is not valid עד שתיפחת ברובה – until the majority of the dividing wall is broken so that the waters mix over a large area, and not just through a hole. Since it was learned in another Mishnah in Mikvaos that the mingling of the waters between two mikvaos can happen through a hole, כשפופרת הנוד בעובייה ובחללה כשתי אצבעות – the size of leather skin bottle’s tube, including its thickness and its hole, which is equivalent to the area in which two fingers can rotate, it is clear that Beis Shammai followed their own ruling. The Gemara rejects this proof, saying הרואה אומר לאפושי מיא הוא דקא עביד – one who sees a talmid of Beis Shammai breaking open the wall of Yehu’s trough would say that he is doing it to increase the amount of water in the trough.
- Why Rebbe Yehoshua was afraid to pasken if a tzarah of a daughter is permitted in yibum
After proving that Beis Shammai did follow their own opinions, the Gemara brings another proof: Rebbe Yehoshua was asked: צרת הבת מהו – What is the halachah regarding the tzarah of one’s daughter? Is one permitted to her in yibum? He answered that it is a machlokes Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel, and when pressed regarding who the halachah follows, he answered: מפני מה אתם מכניסין ראשי בין שני הרים גדולים – Why are you putting my head between two great mountains, between the two great factions of Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel…מתיירא אני שמא ירוצו גלגלתי – I am afraid that they might crush my skull. Rashi explains that if he ruled in favor of Beis Hillel, then those who are rendered to be mamzeirim might kill him. אבל אני מעיד לכם על שתי משפחות גדולות שהיו בירושלים – but I can testify to you about two great families in Yerushalayim, שהם בני צרות ומהם כהנים גדולים ושמשו על גבי המזבח – that they are descendants of tzaros who had remarried without chalitzah, and from them came Kohanim Gedolim who served upon the mizbayach. The Gemara explains that if you say that Beis Shammai followed their own opinion, that is why Rebbe Yehoshua was afraid that those rendered mamzeirim might kill him. But if Beis Shammai followed Beis Hillel, what was he afraid of?
