Yevamot 65b (סה:) — the Talmud in English

We learned in our Mishna: If one married a woman and remained with her for ten years, and she did not bear a child, he may not continue to remain married to her. And if she miscarried, he counts the ten years from the time she miscarried:

And if the husband and wife disagree as to whether she miscarried, and they came before the court and claimed:

He

the husband

said: You miscarried within the ten

you miscarried during the ten years that have passed], and therefore I am not yet required to divorce you, as we learned in our Mishna: And if she miscarried, he counts from the time she miscarried.

And

if

she

the wife]

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: In this case too, she is believed,

and he is compelled to divorce her because of the fulfillment of the mitzva of procreation.

For if it is so that she miscarried—

she would not establish herself as infertile!

If she had in fact miscarried, it would have been preferable for her to say so rather than say that she had not miscarried, but had never conceived at all, and thereby become established in the eyes of the public as an infertile woman.

And if a

woman miscarried

and

then miscarried again, and miscarried again—

she is established

this woman

as one who miscarries,

and he is therefore obligated to divorce her in order to fulfill the mitzva of procreation. He must also pay her marriage contract, since perhaps he was the one who was not privileged to be built up through her.

But if they disagree regarding the number of miscarriages:

He

the husband

said: She miscarried twice

she miscarried two times], 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 the mitzva of procreation—

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

an incident once occurred, and the question was brought before the study hall],

and they said

in the study hall:

She—

is believed!

For if it is so that she did not miscarry—

she would not establish herself as one who miscarries!

If it had not been as she claimed, that she had become established as one who miscarries, she would not have represented herself in the eyes of the public as a woman who miscarries.

Mishna:

The man is commanded to

fulfill the mitzva of

procreation.

But not the woman.

Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka says: It applies to both,

Adam and Eve—that is, to every man and woman;

he

the verse

says: "

And God created the 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 commanded concerning procreation, but not the woman:

And we explain:

From where are these words derived

that the woman is not commanded concerning 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 earth.

And only

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

And we raise an objection to this:

On the contrary,

for

“and conquer it”

is in the plural, and

it implies two,

meaning that the man and the woman are included in this obligation?!

He said,

in answer:

“And she shall conquer it”

is written defectively,

written

in the singular.

Rav Yosef said: From here

we learn that the woman is not commanded concerning procreation—

as it is stated: "And God appeared again to Jacob and said to him:

I am God Shaddai; ‘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 something that will be heard

by the one whom he rebukes, who will accept the rebuke,

so it is a mitzva

[but not an obligation]

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

by the one whom he rebukes.

Rabbi Abba said: It is an obligation

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

as it is stated: “Do not rebuke a scorner, 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 sent word to 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."—

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

Rabbi Natan says: It is a mitzva

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

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 can I go?

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 invite 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 shall tell you."

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

Initially it is written: "

And Sarah laughed within herself, saying: After I have withered, shall I have pleasure,

and my husband is old."

But ultimately it is written: "

And the Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sarah laugh, saying: Shall I truly bear a child,

when I am old?"

We learned in the Mishna:

Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka says:

He says that it applies to both: “And God blessed them, and God said to them: Be fruitful and multiply”:

It was stated: Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi

disagreed concerning the halakhic ruling:

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

that the woman too is commanded concerning procreation.

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

but only the man is commanded concerning procreation.

And the Gemara proves:

It can be concluded,

let us determine

that it was Rabbi Yoḥanan who said

that

the halakha is not

in accordance with Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka.

For Rabbi Abbahu was sitting

he was sitting]

and said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan

that

the halakha

is in accordance with Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka.

And Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi turned their faces away

they turned their faces away] to show him that his words were incorrect; rather, Rabbi Yoḥanan had never said this.

And because they accorded him respect, they did not explicitly contradict him.

This proves that Rabbi Yoḥanan was the one who held that the halakha is not in accordance with Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka.

And some say,

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

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said

this.

And Rabbi Ami and Rav Asi turned their faces away.

Rav Pappa said,

in puzzlement,

Rav Pappa:

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

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

because of the honor of the house of Caesar,

as Rabbi Abbahu was close to the government, and therefore

they did not say to him

Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi anything to Rabbi Abbahu,

not a word

and nothing], but merely turned their faces away.

But according to the one who says that Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba stated it,

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

Let Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi say to him

explicitly:

Rabbi Yoḥanan did not say this!

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

What conclusion was reached?

How should the halakha be ruled in practice?

Come and hear

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

For Rabbi Aḥa bar Ḥanina said that Rabbi Abbahu said that Rabbi Asi said:

There was an incident before Rabbi Yoḥanan

an incident came before Rabbi Yoḥanan]

in the synagogue of Caesar,"

where a woman who had no children came and demanded that her husband divorce her so that she could marry and bear children, and also pay her marriage contract.

And

Rabbi Yoḥanan

said: He must divorce

his wife,

and give

her

the marriage contract.

And if it enters your mind that she was not commanded

she was not commanded] concerning procreation, then

what is the purpose of the marriage contract

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

That is to say: If not for procreation, the claim that she lacks children is not sufficient reason to obligate him to divorce her and pay her marriage contract. This proves 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 pay her marriage contract.

This proves that Rabbi Yoḥanan held that the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka, that the woman too is commanded concerning procreation.

And we reject this:

Perhaps the woman

is demanding that he divorce her because she

comes with a claim

that she needs children [as will be explained below].

Since she comes with a claim, he must divorce her and pay her marriage contract; but Rabbi Yoḥanan may in fact hold that the halakha is not in accordance with Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka.

Like that

like that woman]

who

had no children. And

she came before

she came before]

Rabbi Ami.

She said to him: Give me my marriage contract,

rule that my husband must pay me my marriage contract.

He said to her,

Rabbi Ami:

Go, you were not commanded!

Go, since 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 an elderly grandmother—

what will become of this woman?

She spoke of herself as though she were referring to another woman: When that woman grows old, what will become of her? Who will support her if not her children?!

Rabbi Ami said

Rabbi Ami:

In such a case,

such as this, where she comes with a claim—

we certainly compel him!

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

That woman,

who had no children,

who came before Rav Naḥman,

and demanded that her husband divorce her and pay her marriage contract.

He said to her,

Rav Naḥman: You

were not commanded

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

She said to him,

that woman to Rav Naḥman: Is it so that

this woman does not need

a staff for her hand and a hoe for her burial

does this woman not need a staff on which to lean in her old age and a hoe with which to dig her grave]? That is to say: I need a son who will support me in my old age and see to my burial.

Rav Naḥman said

Rav Naḥman:

In such a case—

we certainly compel

her husband to divorce her and pay her marriage contract.

It was stated:

Judah and Ḥizkiya,

sons of Rabbi Ḥiyya,

were twins.

One

of them

was fully formed at the end of nine

months of pregnancy.

And the other was fully formed at the beginning of seven.

Yehudit—

the wife

his wife]

of Rabbi Ḥiyya suffered during childbirth.

And because of this,

she changed her clothing

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

and came before Rabbi Ḥiyya

her husband, and

said

asked]:

Does a

woman

woman

have a commandment concerning procreation?

He said to her,

Rabbi Ḥiyya, her husband:

No,

a woman was not commanded concerning procreation.

She went and drank a sterilizing potion

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

Ultimately the matter became known

the matter became known].

He said to her,

Rabbi Ḥiyya to his wife:

If only you had borne me another bellyful

if only the potion had not helped you, and you had borne me two more children in one womb, Maharshal].

For the Master said,

as we already learned above, that she was accustomed to bearing twins:

Judah and Ḥizkiya,

sons of Rabbi Ḥiyya,

brothers,

were twin brothers.