Study Yevamot folio 119B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
In the first clause of the Mishnah, the legal presumption is that this widow is obligated to enter into levirate marriage, but in a majority of cases she will actually be permitted to marry a man from the general public, because it is statistically probable that her rival wife had a child. A legal
However, in the latter clause, the legal presumption is that the widow is permitted to marry a man from the general public, since her late husband had no brothers initially. And in a majority of cases her mother-in-law will not have had another son, and therefore the widow will actually be permitte
§ It was taught in the Mishnah that in the case of a woman whose husband and rival wife went overseas and then her husband died, she shall not marry and shall not enter into levirate marriage until she knows whether her rival wife is pregnant. The Talmud asks: But must she wait indefinitely? She sh
Ze’eiri said: In order for herself [le’atzma] to be permitted to marry, she must wait 3 months after performing ḥalitza, since every woman must wait 3 months after her husband’s death before she marries again. Additionally, due to the concern for the possibility that her fellow wife may be pregnant
R' Ḥanina said: For those concerns relating to herself she must wait 3 months, as explained, but for concerns related to her fellow wife’s possible pregnancy she must wait indefinitely, until it is verified whether or not that wife gave birth. The Talmud challenges R' Ḥanina’s opinion: But let her