Study Yevamot folio 29A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
This halakha was also taught in the previous Mishnah (26a), and it is cited in this Mishnah according to the opinion of R' Shimon. The Talmud asks: But didn’t R' Shimon say: Two sisters neither perform ḥalitza nor enter into levirate marriage? Because these women are eligible for levirate marriage
The Talmud answers: It is a rabbinic decree due to the general case of a prohibition resulting from a mitzva. If they did not perform ḥalitza in this case, where they are sisters, there is a concern that people would assume that their exemption from ḥalitza stemmed not from their status as sisters
The Talmud asks: This works out well for her, as she is forbidden due to the prohibition resulting from a mitzva. It is appropriate to require ḥalitza with her, to demonstrate that ḥalitza is generally applied in cases where there is a prohibition resulting from a mitzva. But with regard to her sist
The Talmud asks: If R' Shimon issues a decree in this case requiring ḥalitza for the sister, out of concern for confusion, then there is a difficulty: But, with regard to a forbidden relative we do not issue a decree requiring ḥalitza due to her sister; why does R' Shimon issue a rabbinic decree req
Mishnah: In the case of 3 brothers, two of whom were married to two sisters, and one who was single, the following occurred: The husband of one of the sisters died childless, leaving behind his wife, and the single brother performed levirate betrothal [ma’amar] to this wife. The single brother per