Yevamos - Daf 64
- When a wife does not bear children after ten years of marriage
It was taught in a Baraisa: If a man married a woman and remained with her for ten years but she did not bear children, יוציא ויתן כתובה – he must divorce her and give her the money he owes from the kesubah, שמא לא זכה להיבנות ממנה – for perhaps he was not zocheh to build a family through her. The Gemara brings a זכר לדבר, a hint for this din, for it says in the passuk regarding Sarah giving Avraham Hagar, "מקץ עשר שנים לשבת אברם בארץ כנען" – After ten years of Avram living in Eretz Canaan, and she gave her to Avram, her husband, to him as a wife. This also teaches שאין ישיבת חוצה לארץ עולה לו מן המנין – That the years that he spent living outside of Israel are not included in the count of ten years, as Rashi explains, for perhaps it was the sin of living in chutz l’aretz that prevented her from conceiving. From here we could derive that if the husband got ill, or the wife got sick, or they were both confined in prison, the days during these times are not included in the count of ten years.
- Yitzchak was also sterile
Rebbe Yitzchak said: יצחק אבינו עקור היה – Yitzchak Avinu was sterile, as it says in the passuk, "ויעתר יצחק לנכח אשתו" – Yitzchak entreated Hashem, opposite his wife, because she was barren. It does not say, על אשתו – “regarding his wife”, but rather "לנכח" – “opposite his wife.” מלמד ששניהם עקורים – to teach that both of them were sterile, so Yitzchak davened regarding his infertility and Rivkah davened regarding her infertility. The Gemara asks, that if both were infertile, why does the passuk say, "ויעתר לו" – and Hashem allowed Himself to be entreated by him? It should have said, “by them”, and answers לפי שאינו דומה תפלת צדיק בן צדיק לתפלת צדיק בן רשע – because there is no comparison between the tefillah of a tzadik the son of a tzadik, to the tefillah of a tzadik the son of a rasha. On a related note, Rebbe Yitzchak said: Why were the avos and imahos infertile? מפני שהקדוש ברוך הוא מתאוה לתפלתן של צדיקים – Because Hakadosh Boruch Hu desires the tefillos of tzadikim.
- How many husbands must die to presume a woman is a katlonis?
It was taught in a Baraisa: ניסת לראשון ומת – If a woman was married to a first husband and he died, and then she was married to a second husband and he died, Rebbe says, לשלישי לא תנשא – she should not get married to a third husband. She is presumed to be a katlonis, a woman who causes her husbands to die. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says she may marry a third husband, but if he dies, she may not marry a fourth husband. The Gemara asks that while it is understandable in a case where a family has had multiple children die from bris milah, that there is a presumption that there is some hereditary cause, and therefore rational concern whether milah should be done on a child from that family, but what is the basis is for presuming that the death of one’s husbands will have any bearing on the death of a future husband? It was said in the name of Rav Huna: מעין גורם – her “spring” causes her husbands to die, through having relations with her. Rav Ashi said: מזל גורם – We suspect her mazal causes their deaths. The nafka minah between them is a case where he died after erusin without consummating the marriage, or if he fell from a palm tree and died.
