1,884. Establishing Extramarital Paternity

Yibum v’Chalitzah 3:4

Let’s say that a man has a promiscuous relationship with either a single woman or a married woman, who becomes pregnant and he says that the child is his. Even if the mother confirms his claim so that the child is recognized as his as far as the laws of inheritance, it is still considered a doubtful situation vis-à-vis the laws of yibum because just as the woman engaged in extramarital relations with this man, she might have also done so with someone else. It is impossible for us to definitively ascertain paternity in the absence of a presumption. Since the matter is in doubt, the more stringent course of action is followed, i.e., the woman must perform chalitzah and may not perform yibum.

Yibum v’Chalitzah 3:5

The testimony of one witness is acceptable when it comes to the death of a woman’s husband, and she may perform yibum based on this testimony; the same is true to report that the yavam died or that her deceased husband had a son, either of which would free the woman of levirate obligations. The testimony of a servant or a woman, or statements made by a non-Jew in the course of regular conversation, are all acceptable when it comes to establishing the death of a yavam, the same as they are when it comes to establishing the death of a woman’s husband, thereby enabling her remarry. This was discussed in the last two chapters of Hilchos Geirushin.