Yevamot 42b (מב:) — the Talmud in English

She is likely to give birth to a viable child and will need to nurse him. Therefore, the Sages prohibited her from marrying immediately after her husband's death—and if she marries immediately, without waiting, there is concern

perhaps she became pregnant

from her husband during the nursing period,

and

then

her milk will become spoiled,

the milk will be spoiled and the infant will not want to nurse from it,

and she will kill him,

with the result that she will cause her son to die of starvation.

And we challenge this:

If so,

with regard to his wet nurse,

his own

a man should likewise be prohibited from having relations with her throughout the entire period of her nursing, lest she become pregnant from him, leaving the infant without milk to nurse and causing him to die!

And we answer: The infant

of his own

if his mother's milk ceases because of her pregnancy, will not die, since his mother

will feed him other food,

feeding him in place of nursing

eggs

and

milk,

and the infant will not die because of the absence of his mother's milk.

And we challenge this: If so, with regard to her infant

as well,

we need not be concerned lest the milk become spoiled, since he will not die, because she

will feed him other food,

his mother feeding him

eggs and milk!

And we answer: With regard to her infant,

the husband will not give her

money to purchase eggs and milk for him, since he is not his son.

And we challenge this:

And let her sue him

the woman

before the heirs

of her first husband, so that they will give her money to purchase eggs and milk, since the obligation to provide the infant's sustenance is imposed upon his father's estate.

Abaye said: A woman is embarrassed to come before the court

to demand from her husband's heirs the money for eggs and milk to feed the infant,

and

against her will she will end up

killing her son

through starvation.

We learned in the Mishna that all women must wait:

both virgins and non-virgins.

Both married women and betrothed women.

And we inquire about this:

Which are the virgins, and which are the betrothed women?

The virgin and the betrothed woman are the same woman, since there can be no distinction between a virgin and a betrothed woman: How could a yevama be a virgin, unless she had been betrothed but not married?

And furthermore,

which are the non-virgins, and which are the married women?

The non-virgin and the married woman are likewise the same woman, since every woman who has married has had relations.

Rabbi Yehuda Yehuda said:

Do not read: “both virgins and betrothed women, and both non-virgins and married women,” which implies that the virgin and the betrothed woman, as well as the non-virgin and the married woman, are two separate categories.

Rather,

this is what

the tanna is saying:

Both virgins and non-virgins who were widowed or divorced.

And the tanna explains his statement: For example, they were widowed or divorced:

Whether from betrothal,

that is, virgins,

or from marriage,

that is, non-virgins.

And the Gemara relates an incident involving

Rabbi Elazar,

who

did not ascend

[he ascended] one day

to the bet midrash.

He found

Rabbi Elazar

Rabbi Asi.

Rabbi Elazar said to him:

Rabbi Elazar said:

What did the Sages say in the bet midrash

today?

Rabbi Asi said to him:

Rabbi Asi said:

This is what Rabbi Yohanan said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yosei,

who permits all married women to become betrothed and all betrothed women to marry, because the matter of determining the status of the child does not apply to them.

Rabbi Elazar said to him:

By inference

from Rabbi Yohanan's statement that the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yosei, you learn

that he is disputing an individual!

The first tanna in the Mishna who disagrees with Rabbi Yosei is a minority opinion, as he maintains that even a betrothed widow may not become betrothed, since they decreed this prohibition with regard to all women, even where there is no need to determine the status of the child.

And it is not the opinion of the Sages. For if it were, the halakha would be in accordance with them, as they are the majority.

Rabbi Asi said to him:

Yes!

Indeed, that is so. And there is proof of this from a beraita:

And it was taught:

A woman who was not with her husband for a substantial period before his death, and there is no concern that she became pregnant from him, for example:

If she was accustomed

to

go to her father's house

for an extended period;

or her husband was angry with her

while she was

in her husband's house,

and he did not have relations with her;

or her husband was imprisoned in a prison;

or her husband was elderly or ill,

and unable to have relations;

or she was ill,

and unable to have relations;

or she miscarried

her fetus

after her husband's death;

or she was barren,

her womb having been rendered incapable of conception;

or elderly, or a minor, or an aylonit,

who cannot give birth;

or she was incapable of giving birth

due to illness or because of a drug she had taken—

nevertheless, she

must wait three months; these are the words of Rabbi Meir.

This is because they decreed with regard to one who is incapable of giving birth on account of one who is capable of giving birth.

Rabbi Yehuda permits her to become betrothed and to marry immediately,

because they did not decree with regard to one who is incapable of giving birth on account of one who is capable of giving birth.

And it is proven that the dispute whether they decreed with regard to all women or only where there is a need to determine the status of the child is the dispute between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda, and not a dispute between the majority and an individual.

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said: Rabbi Yohanan retracted

his ruling that the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yosei.

Rav Yosef said: If he retracted his ruling,

if Rabbi Yohanan retracted his ruling, then it was

because of

the

Mishna of the vineyard

[which was taught in the vineyard of Yavne],

that he retracted his ruling.

As it was taught: Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka, said: I heard from the Sages in the vineyard of Yavne:

All

of the women,

including those who do not require determination of the child's status,

must wait three months!

Rabbi Yirmeya said to Rabbi Zerika: When you enter before Rabbi Abbahu, present this contradiction to him,

challenge him with the following contradiction:

Did

he really

say that Rabbi Yohanan ruled that the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yosei?

But Rabbi Yohanan said

that

the halakha is in accordance with an unattributed Mishna.

And we learned

here in an unattributed Mishna:

All women may not marry and may not become betrothed until they have waited three months.

Both virgins and non-virgins!

He said to him: The one who raised this objection to you

the person who presented this contradiction to you

did not take care over his flour,

he was not concerned with grinding the words he uttered; that is, he spoke without paying attention to what he was saying.

For our Mishna is not merely an unattributed Mishna, whose ruling is followed.

Rather, our Mishna

is an unattributed statement followed by a dispute,

since at the conclusion of the Mishna Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Yehuda disputed the matter.

And

in a case of an unattributed statement followed by a dispute,

the halakha does not follow the unattributed statement!

As Rav Pappa said, and some say Rabbi Yohanan:

If there is a dispute followed by an unattributed statement—

the halakha follows the unattributed statement.

If there is an unattributed statement followed by a dispute—

the halakha does not follow the unattributed statement.

And our Mishna is an unattributed statement followed by a dispute, and the halakha does not follow the unattributed statement; therefore, there is no difficulty here with regard to Rabbi Yohanan's ruling that the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yosei.

And the Gemara relates an incident:

Rabbi Abbahu was leaning

supported

and walking

along

on the shoulders

of

Rabbi Nahum, his attendant,

who served him.

And Rabbi Nahum was

gleaning

and

walking

along, and in this manner he was gathering

halakhot,

definitive rulings,

from him,

from Rabbi Abbahu.

Rabbi Nahum asked him

Rabbi Nahum asked Rabbi Abbahu:

If there is a dispute followed by an unattributed statement—

what

is the halakha?

He said to him: The halakha follows the unattributed statement.

If there is an unattributed statement followed by a dispute—

what is the ruling?

He said to him: The halakha does not follow the unattributed statement.

If there is an unattributed statement in the Mishna and a dispute in a beraita—

what is the ruling?

He said to him: The halakha follows the unattributed statement.

If there is a dispute in the Mishna and an unattributed statement in a beraita—

what is the ruling?

He said to him: