Yevamot 15:1
讛讗砖讛 砖讛诇讻讛 讛讬讗 讜讘注诇讛 诇诪讚讬谞转 讛讬诐, 砖诇讜诐 讘讬谞讜 诇讘讬谞讛 讜砖诇讜诐 讘注讜诇诐, 讜讘讗转讛 讜讗诪专讛 诪转 讘注诇讬, 转谞砖讗. 诪转 讘注诇讬, 转转讬讘诐. 砖诇讜诐 讘讬谞讜 诇讘讬谞讛 讜诪诇讞诪讛 讘注讜诇诐, 拽讟讟讛 讘讬谞讜 诇讘讬谞讛 讜砖诇讜诐 讘注讜诇诐, 讜讘讗转讛 讜讗诪专讛 诪转 讘注诇讬, 讗讬谞讛 谞讗诪谞转. 专讘讬 讬讛讜讚讛 讗讜诪专: 诇注讜诇诐 讗讬谞讛 谞讗诪谞转, 讗诇讗 讗诐 讻谉 讘讗转讛 讘讜讻讛 讜讘讙讚讬讛 拽专讜注讬谉. 讗诪专讜 诇讜: 讗讞转 讝讜 讜讗讞转 讝讜, 转谞砖讗.
If a woman traveled abroad with her husband, and there had been peace between them, and peace in the world, and then she returned and stated, 鈥淢y husband died,鈥� then she may remarry. [If she said,] 鈥淢y husband died鈥� [in a case where they were childless], she may marry his brother. If, however, there had been a fight between him and her, or a war in the region, and she returned and stated, 鈥淢y husband died,鈥� then she is not believed. Rabbi Yehudah says, 鈥淪he is never to be believed unless she appears weeping with her clothing torn.鈥� They [i.e., the sages] said to him, 鈥淓ither way [i.e., with or without the show of grief] she can remarry.鈥�
This tractate deals primarily with complicated cases that test the Torah鈥檚 dictate that if a man dies childless, his younger brother is obligated to marry the widow (Deut. 25:5-6). Mingled with these discussions are the consideration of many other situations involving widowhood, divorce, and remarriage.
Comments
Rabbinic law generally required two witnesses to verify a change in status, such as a married woman becoming a widow. Women were generally excluded from giving testimony. Furthermore, relatives and other people who had a personal interest in a case were also excluded from testifying. For all of these reasons, it was a great leniency that the rabbis accepted the solitary testimony of a woman to the death of her husband, and allowed her to remarry on that basis. However, even this leniency had limits. If there was prior evidence of discord between the couple, or they had been passing through a war-torn region, then there would be reason to suspect that the wife may have been less than thorough in the verification of her husband鈥檚 death. She may, for example, have seen him wounded and assumed that he had died of his wounds, having been unable to return to him on the battlefield. Rabbi Yehudah demanded an external show of grief from the widow before trusting her testimony, but the sages rejected the need or indeed the significance of such exhibits (which were presumably weeks, if not months, after the death).
Questions
- How did the sages balance compassion for the apparent widow with protection for a wounded but surviving husband?
- What would have been the consequences of a stricter standard of evidence?
- Can you think of contemporary situations in which the need for evidence must be balanced by a separate social value?
