Yevamot 65b — the Talmud in English

We learned in our Mishna: If he married a woman and lived with her for ten years, and she did not give birth, he may not remain married to her. And if she miscarried, he counts from the time that she miscarried:

And if the husband and wife disagreed as to whether she miscarried or not, and they came before the court and argued:

He

the husband

said: You miscarried within ten

[you miscarried within the ten years that passed], and if so, I am not yet obligated to divorce you, as we learned in our Mishna: And if she miscarried, he counts from the time that she miscarried.

And

if

she

[the woman]

said: I did not miscarry

[I did not miscarry], and the court must compel him to divorce me because of the mitzva of procreation.

Rabbi Ami said: Even in this case she is believed,

and we compel him because of the fulfillment of procreation.

For if it is so that she miscarried—

she would not establish herself as barren!

If indeed she miscarried, it would have been preferable for her to say so, rather than to say that she had not miscarried, but had not conceived at all, and thereby to be regarded in the eyes of the people as barren.

And if a

woman miscarried

woman,

and then miscarried again, and then miscarried again—

she has been established

this woman

as one who miscarries,

and he is therefore obligated to divorce her, in order to fulfill procreation. And he must also give her the marriage contract, for perhaps he was not privileged to be built up through her.

But if they disagreed between themselves concerning the number of miscarriages:

He

the husband

said: I miscarried twice

[I miscarried twice], and I am still not obligated to divorce her.

And

if

she said: Three

[I miscarried three times], and the court must compel him to divorce me because of the fulfillment of procreation—

Rabbi Yitzhak ben Elazar said: There was an incident in the beit-midrash

[an incident had already occurred, and the question was brought to the beit-midrash],

and they said

in the beit-midrash:

She—

is believed!

For if it is so that she did not miscarry—

she would not establish herself as one who miscarries!

If it was indeed not as she said, that she had been established as one who miscarries, she would not have represented herself in the eyes of the people as a woman who miscarries.

Mishna:

The man is obligated in

the fulfillment of the mitzva of

procreation.

But not the woman.

Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka says: Concerning both of them,

Adam and Eve, that is, concerning every man and woman,

he

the verse

says: "

And God created man in His image; male and female He created them.

And God blessed them, and God said to them: Be fruitful and multiply!"

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: The man is obligated in procreation, but not the woman:

And we explain:

From where are these words

that the woman is not obligated in procreation?

Rabbi Ila said in the name of Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon:

The verse says: "

And God said to them: Be fruitful and multiply,

and fill the earth and conquer it."

The verse teaches that the Torah commanded procreation only to one whose way is to conquer the land.

And only

a man’s way is to conquer, but a woman’s way is not to conquer.

And we challenge this:

On the contrary,

behold,

“and conquer it” is a plural expression, and

it

implies two,

that the man and the woman were included in this obligation?!

He said,

he answered,

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak: “And conquer it”

is written defectively,

it is written

in the singular.

Rav Yosef said: From here

one may learn that the woman is not obligated in procreation—

as it is stated: “And God appeared again to Jacob. And God said to him:

I am God Almighty; ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’ And He did not

say

to him:

‘Be fruitful and multiply.’

And

further,

Rabbi Ila said in the name of Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon:

Just as it is a mitzva for a person to say a matter that will be heard

to one whom he rebukes, who accepts rebuke,

so “it is a mitzva”

[and not an obligation]

for a person not to say a matter that will not be heard

by one whom he rebukes.

Rabbi Abba says: It is an obligation

for a person not to say a matter that will not be heard,

as it is stated: “Do not rebuke a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.”

And

further,

Rabbi Ila said that Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Shimon:

It is permitted for a person to alter

[to say something that is not true]

for the sake of peace,

because of peace.

As it is stated: "

And Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead. And they said, ‘Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and will surely repay us all the evil that we did to him.’

And they commanded Joseph, saying:

Your father commanded

before his death, saying,

‘Thus shall you say to Joseph: Please, forgive

the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you.’"—

But Jacob had commanded nothing concerning this matter; rather, they altered it for the sake of peace.

Rabbi Natan says: It is a mitzva

to alter for the sake of peace, for the Holy One, blessed is He, commanded the prophet Samuel to alter.

As it is stated: "

And the Lord said to Samuel: ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing that I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I shall send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have seen a king for Myself among his sons.’

And Samuel said: ‘How shall I go?’

‘And Saul will hear and kill me!’

And the Lord said: ‘Take a heifer with you, and say: I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I shall make known to you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I tell you.’"

The school of Rabbi Ishmael taught: Great is peace, for even the Holy One, blessed is He, altered for its sake.

For initially it is written: "

And Sarah laughed within herself, saying: ‘After I have become worn out, shall I have pleasure,

and my lord is old.’"

And finally it is written: "

And the Lord said to Abraham: ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying: Shall I indeed bear,

when I have grown old?’"

We learned in the Mishna:

Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka says:

Concerning both of them the verse says: “And God blessed them, and God said to them: Be fruitful and multiply”:

It was stated: Rabbi Yohanan and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi

disagreed concerning the halakhic ruling:

One said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka,

that the woman too is obligated in procreation.

And one said: The halakha is not in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka,

but only the man is obligated in procreation.

And the Gemara proves:

It may be concluded,

come and hear,

that it was Rabbi Yohanan who said that

that

the halakha is not

in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka.

For Rabbi Abbahu was sitting

[he sat]

and was saying in the name of Rabbi Yohanan

that the

halakha

is in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka.

And Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi turned their faces away

[they turned their faces away] in order to show him that his words were not correct, but that Rabbi Yohanan had never said this.

And because they accorded him honor, they did not wish to contradict him explicitly.

And it is proven that Rabbi Yohanan was the one who held that the halakha is not in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka.

And there are those who say,

it was not Rabbi Abbahu who said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan that the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka, but rather

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said

this.

And Rabbi Ami and Rav Asi turned their faces away.

He said,

Rav Pappa wondered,

Rav Pappa:

Granted, according to the one who says that Rabbi Abbahu said it

in the name of Rabbi Yohanan before Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi, it is understandable that Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi did not disagree with him explicitly, but merely turned their faces away,

because of the honor of the house of Caesar,

for Rabbi Abbahu was close to the government, and therefore

they did not say to him

Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi anything to Rabbi Abbahu,

and not a thing

[and nothing], but merely turned their faces away.

But according to the one who says that Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said it,

in the name of Rabbi Yohanan, why did they merely turn their faces away?

Let Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi say to him

explicitly:

Rabbi Yohanan did not say this!

And since the amoraim disagreed concerning Rabbi Yohanan’s view, the Gemara asks:

What has been decided concerning it?

How should the halakha be ruled in practice?

Come and hear

that Rabbi Yohanan held that the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka:

For Rabbi Aha bar Hanina said in the name of Rabbi Abbahu in the name of Rabbi Asi:

There was an incident before Rabbi Yohanan

[an incident came before Rabbi Yohanan]

in the synagogue of Caesar,

where a woman who had no children came, and the woman demanded that her husband divorce her so that she could marry and give birth, and that he also give her the marriage contract.

And

Rabbi Yohanan

said:

He shall divorce

and give

her

the marriage contract.

And if it enters your mind that she is not commanded

[was commanded] concerning procreation, if so,

what is the purpose of the marriage contract

[what relevance is there to the claim for the marriage contract]?!

That is, if not because of procreation, the claim of lacking children is not a sufficient reason to obligate him to divorce her and give her the marriage contract. And it is proven that she is obligated in procreation; therefore, her claim that she wants children is a valid claim, and he is obligated to divorce her and give her the marriage contract.

And it is proven that Rabbi Yohanan held that the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka, that the woman too is obligated in procreation.

And we reject this:

Perhaps

the woman demanded that he divorce her because she

comes on the basis of a claim

that she needs children [as it will explain below].

And since she comes on the basis of a claim, he must divorce her and give her the marriage contract; but in any event, Rabbi Yohanan held that the halakha is not in accordance with Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka.

Like that

[like that woman]

who

had no children. And

she came before

[came before]

Rabbi Ami.

She said to him: Give me my marriage contract,

rule for me that my husband must give me my marriage contract.

He said to her,

Rabbi Ami:

Go, you are not commanded!

Go, for you were not commanded concerning procreation. And if you wish him to divorce you, you have no marriage contract.

She said to him,

that woman to Rabbi Ami:

When she grows old,

when she becomes [I become] an old grandmother—

what will become of this woman?

She spoke about herself in the third person, as though she were saying it about another woman: When that woman grows old, what will become of her? And who will support her, if not her children?!

He said,

Rabbi Ami:

In such a case,

such as this case, where she comes on the basis of a claim—

we certainly compel!

We certainly compel the husband to divorce her and give her the marriage contract.

That woman,

a woman who had no children,

who came before Rav Nahman,

and demanded that her husband divorce her and give her the marriage contract.

He said to her,

Rav Nahman: You

are not commanded

concerning procreation, and if you wish to leave him, you have no marriage contract.

She said to him,

that woman to Rav Nahman: Is it so that

this woman does not need

a staff for her hand and a hoe for her burial

[does that woman not need a staff on which to lean in her old age, and a hoe with which to dig her grave?] That is, I need a son who will support me in my old age and take care of my burial.

Rav Nahman said,

Rav Nahman:

In such a case—

we certainly compel

her husband to divorce her and give her the marriage contract.

It was stated:

Judah and Hezekiah,

the sons of Rabbi Hiyya,

were twins.

One

of them

was fully formed at the end of nine

months of pregnancy.

And one was fully formed at the beginning of seven.

Judith—

his wife

[his wife]

of Rabbi Hiyya, had difficulty in childbirth.

And because of this,

she changed garments

[she changed her clothes] so that her husband would not recognize her,

and she came before Rabbi Hiyya

her husband, and

said

[asked]:

Does a

woman

woman

have an obligation concerning procreation?

He said to her,

Rabbi Hiyya, her husband:

No,

a woman was not commanded concerning procreation.

She went and drank a sterilizing potion

[his wife went and drank a potion that sterilizes the one who drinks it], so that she would not give birth again.

Eventually the matter became known

[the matter became known].

He said to her,

Rabbi Hiyya to his wife:

If only you would give birth to another belly for me

[would that the potion not benefit you, and you would give birth to two more in one belly, the Maharshal].

For the master said,

we already learned above that she was accustomed to giving birth to twins:

Judah and Hezekiah,

the sons of Rabbi Hiyya,

brothers,

they were twin brothers.