Yevamot 62b (סב:) — the Talmud in English

Meytivi:

to Rabbi Yohanan from that which was taught in a beraita concerning the mitzva of procreation:

Grandsons—

they are like sons.

And it initially entered our minds that this is what the tanna meant: If he had already fathered a son and a daughter, and his son died and left a son behind, that grandson joins the existing daughter.

You have therefore learned that if the son died and left no son, his father did not fulfill the mitzva of procreation.

And we explain:

When that was taught—

it was to complete.

For example, the grandfather had never had more than one son, and that son married a woman and fathered a daughter. The daughter joins with her father to complete the fulfillment of the mitzva of procreation for her grandfather.

But if he had a son and a daughter, even if they died, he has no need at all for grandchildren.

Meytivi:

to Rav Huna from that which was explicitly taught:

If he had

grandsons—

they are like sons

with regard to fulfilling the mitzva of procreation.

But if

one of them died

[of the sons] and had no sons,

or if

one of the sons

was found to be a eunuch—

then he

did not fulfill the mitzva of procreation.

And we conclude:

A refutation of Rav Huna is indeed a refutation!

We learned in a beraita:

Grandsons are like sons:

Abaye thought to say

[Abaye was of the opinion]: When do grandchildren take the place of the grandfather’s children, who had been a son and a daughter?

If there remained

a son from a son

[a son of a deceased son]

and a daughter

from a daughter

[a daughter of a deceased daughter].

And all the more so

if there remained

a son from a daughter

[a son of a deceased daughter].

But

if there remained

a daughter from a son

[a daughter of a deceased son]—

no.

Rava said to him: “For the purpose of settling the world”—

it is required.

But there is

the fulfillment of “settling the world” even when a daughter of a deceased son remains.

And the Gemara derives from the words of Abaye and Rava:

Everyone—

whether according to Abaye or according to Rava—

at least,

if

two from one

[two descendants of the deceased son or daughter, even if they are a male and a female] remain, while the other one died childless—

no,

the grandfather did not fulfill the mitzva of procreation.

And we wonder:

And

if

he did not

fulfill it?

But the Rabbis said to Rav Sheshet: “Marry a woman and father sons”

[marry a woman and father sons] in order to fulfill the mitzva of procreation.

And

he said to them,

Rav Sheshet:

My daughter’s sons—

they are sons

[my daughter’s sons are like sons].

Thus, even two sons from one son are effective!

And we explain:

There, he was merely dismissing them

[Rav Sheshet dismissed them without substance], because in any event he was unable to marry a woman and father children.

Since

Rav Sheshet—

had become sterile through Rav Huna’s lecture.

Rav Sheshet became sterile because when he needed to urinate, while Rav Huna was prolonging his discourse, he would restrain himself from leaving and urinating.

Rabba said to Rava bar Mari:

“From where is this matter that the Sages said: Grandsons are like sons?”

If you say, from that which is written

concerning Laban, who said to Jacob when Jacob departed from him:

“The daughters

who are yours are

my daughters.

And the sons

who are yours are

my sons!”

Thus, Laban’s daughters’ sons are considered like his sons.

But from now,

does what Laban said to Jacob as well—

“And the flocks—

my flocks”—

also

mean that Laban said they were his own!?

!?

Rather,

Laban certainly intended to say:

“You acquired

the flocks

from me”

[you acquired the flocks from me] as payment for your labor.

That is, they came to you from me.

And if so,

likewise,

what Laban said, “The sons are my sons,” means:

“You acquired from me”

[you acquired from me] your wives as payment for your labor, and your sons came to you from me.

Rather, from here

it can be learned that the sons of daughters are like sons:

For it is written:

“And afterward Hezron

son of Perez, son of Judah, came

to the daughter of Machir, father of Gilead, and she bore him Segub.”

Thus, a man from the tribe of Judah married Machir’s daughter.

And it is written

in the Song of Deborah:

“From Machir descended legislators.”

Thus, the “legislators” are called Machir’s sons.

And it is written, “Judah is my legislator”,

so the legislators are from the tribe of Judah.

It necessarily follows that they are neither Machir’s sons nor his grandsons, but his daughter’s sons, for she married Hezron, as stated, and he was from the tribe of Judah.

You have therefore learned that the sons of daughters are like sons.

And here the Gemara returns to explain our Mishna:

The Mishna,

our Mishna, in which we learned that a man may not desist from procreation unless he has children—which implies that if he has children he may desist from procreation—

is not in accordance with Rabbi Yehoshua!

As it was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yehoshua says: If a man married a woman in his youth—

he

should marry a woman

also

in his old age.

If he had children in his youth—

he should have children

also

in his old age.

As it is stated: “In the morning

[in your youth]

sow your seed, and in the evening

[in your old age]

do not withhold your hand, for you do not know which will succeed

[which seed will be worthy, God-fearing, and enduring],

or this one.

And if both are equally good.”

Thus, according to Rabbi Yehoshua, a man may not desist from procreation even after he has children, unlike our Mishna.

Rabbi Akiva says

to explain the verse:

If he studied Torah in his youth,

he

should study Torah

also

in his old age.

If he had students in his youth, he should have students

also

in his old age.

As it is stated: “In the morning sow your seed”.

And so on

and so forth.

The Sages said

about Rabbi Akiva:

Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students, from Gabbat to Antipras

[these are place-names, and all of them were situated between one another].

And they all died during one period

[at one time, between Passover and Shavuot, as the Gemara proceeds to explain],

because they did not treat one another with honor.

And the world was desolate,

for Torah was forgotten by Israel,

until Rabbi Akiva came to our Sages in the South and taught them.

And these were our Sages in the South:

Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yosei, Rabbi Shimon, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua.

And they were the ones who established Torah at that time.

The tanna

in a beraita:

All—

all of Rabbi Akiva’s students—

died between Passover and Shavuot.

Rav Hama bar Abba said, and some say Rabbi Hiyya bar Avin: They all died an unnatural death.

And we inquire:

What is

“an unnatural death”?

Rav Nahman said: Croup,

death by suffocation resulting from inflammation of the throat.

Rav Mattana said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yehoshua,

who said that one should father children even in old age.

Rabbi Tanhum said in the name of Rabbi Hanilai: Anyone who does not have a wife

is

deprived of joy and deprived of blessing,

and

deprived of goodness.

And the Gemara explains the source for each of these statements:

He is

deprived of joy—

as it is written: “And you shall rejoice, you and your household”

[“his household” refers to his wife].

He is

deprived of blessing—

as it is written: “To place blessing in your home.”

He is

deprived of goodness, as it is written: “It is not good for man to be alone”

“I will make him a helper corresponding to him.”

In the West they say

[in Eretz Yisrael they would say differently]:

Anyone who does not have a wife is

deprived of Torah,

and

deprived of a protective wall

that protects him from sinful thoughts.

And the Gemara cites a source for what they would say in the West:

He is

deprived of Torah, as it is written

in the Book of Job:

“Indeed

my help

[my wife, named for “a helper corresponding to him”]

is not within me, and resourcefulness

[Torah]

has been driven away from me”,

for I must attend to the needs of my household, and my learning is forgotten.

He is

deprived of a protective wall, as it is written: “A woman shall surround a man.”

Rava bar Ulla said:

Anyone who does not have a wife is

deprived of peace.

As it is written: “And you shall know that your tent is at peace

—your wife” , when you have a tent, you have peace,

“and you shall attend to your dwelling, and you shall not sin.”

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Anyone who knows that his wife is God-fearing

and does not attend to her

through intercourse at the time of her conjugal obligation—he is

called a sinner.

As it is stated: “And you shall know that your tent is at peace

[“complete”—your wife is complete in her fear of Heaven ], and you shall attend to your dwelling, and you shall not sin.”

But if he does not attend to her, he is a sinner.

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: A man is obligated to attend to

his wife when he is about to set out on a journey,

because at that time she desires him more.

As it is stated: “And you shall know that your tent is at peace, and you shall attend to your dwelling, and you shall not sin.”

And we wonder: Is

this—

the law that a man is obligated to attend to his wife when he is about to set out on a journey—

derived from here

[from this verse]—

does it emerge?

But

it emerges from there

[it is learned from another verse]!

For it is written:

“And your desire shall be for your husband”,

and they interpreted it:

This teaches that a woman longs for her husband

[desires him]

when he is about to set out on a journey,

and presumably, since she desires him, he must attend to her [Tosafot].

He said,

explaining,

Rav Yosef: It was necessary—

the words of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi—

only

to teach that he is obligated to attend to her even

close to her period,

when intercourse is rabbinically forbidden to him, as the Sages obligated a man to separate from his wife close to the time of her period.

And how much

is the measure of “close to her veset”?

Rabba said: One ona.

The ona [day or night] during which she is accustomed to see her menstrual blood.

And these words apply

when he needs to visit her as he sets out on a journey

for an optional matter.

But

when he sets out

for a mitzva,

he need not visit her, because

they are preoccupied;

he is occupied with the mitzva.

The Sages taught: One who loves his wife as himself,

and honors her

more than himself

[because a woman’s humiliation is more severe than a man’s humiliation],

and guides his sons and daughters along an upright path,

and marries them

his sons and daughters

close to the time of their maturity

while they are still young [Rashi to Sanhedrin] -

Concerning him the verse

in the Book of Job

says: “And you shall know that peace is in your tent.”

One who loves his neighbors, brings his relatives close, and marries his sister’s daughter,

since a person’s longing is greater for his sister than for his brother, as a result he comes to cherish his wife.

And one who lends a sela to a poor person in his time of distress -