Topics covered: Chapter 4, Mishna 9 The Sages had intense debates over the status of a child born of a Jewish mother and non-Jewish father (or Jewish slave father). All agree the child is a Jew, but is it a …

Topics covered: Chapter 4, Mishna 8, 9 May one man perform yibum with several yevamos from his multiple dead brothers? How do we know that performing yibum or chalitzah with one yevama exempts her rival wife? Is there a reason …

Topics covered: Chapter 4, Mishna 7 Why must all women wait three months before marrying again, or even becoming betrothed, after leaving a previous marriage through divorce or widowhood? Why do Rabbis Yehuda and Yosei disagree with this ruling? How …

Topics covered: Chapter 4, Mishna 2-7 Which is preferable, chalitzah by the eldest or yibum by a younger brother? Which is preferable, yibum or chalitzah? How does chalitzah affect inheritance? May a brother marry the relatives of the chalutzah? May …

Topics covered: Chapter 4, Mishna 1, 2 The uncertain heir poses some tricky problems. Is he the son of the original husband who died, or the yavam who stepped in to perform yibum? The ramifications for the laws of inheritance …

Topics covered: Chapter 3, Mishna 11, Chapter 4, Mishna 1 How does pregnancy affect the requirements of yibum (levirate marriage) and chalitzah (the alternative ritual)?   #Judaism #halacha #Torah #family #God #Talmud #wife #widow #brother #yibum #chalitzah #yavam #yevama #yevamos …

Topics covered: Chapter 3, Mishna 11 As we examine whether  multiple prohibitions can be violated by the same act, we look at the colorful case of two brothers betrothed to two sisters, and the brides were switched accidentally on the …

Topics covered: Chapter 3, Mishna 10 Three ideas to help us prepare for Passover next week: the condemned house yields treasure, the beggar who learned he was already rich, and the elderly shuffle we can leave behind by working on …

Topics covered: Chapter 3, Mishna 9, 10 Levirate betrothal – as opposed to yibum or chalitza – can create all kinds of problems, including a double levirate obligation on a woman who was first widowed from marriage and then from …