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Yevamos 113b

יבמות קי״ג ע״ב

Yevamot 113b

Learn Yevamos 113b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Yevamos 113b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

A חרש's mind and his גט; divorcing a שוטה wife; רבי יוחנן בן נורי's challenge; a גט called a loan document

Overview

The amud opens by finishing רב אשי's question about a חרש. Is his mind weak but steady every day, or does it switch between clear and unclear? The difference is whether he can give his wife a גט, and the question ends in תיקו. Next the גמרא turns to a wife who became a שוטה. רבי יצחק says that by Torah law she could be divorced, but the רבנן forbade it so people would not treat her as הפקר. After challenges from the schools of רבי ינאי and רבי ישמעאל, the גמרא sets the case: she understands her גט but cannot protect herself. אביי supports this from the משנה's use of the word 'never' only for the husband. The גמרא then shows that רבי יוחנן בן נורי was challenging the רבנן on their own terms. רבא learns from רבי יוחנן בן גודגדא that a גט handed over as a 'loan document' still divorces. The amud ends with the start of a story about keys lost on שבת, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

אִי לָאו דַּעְתָּא צִילּוּתָא,

or if his mind is not clear,

וּלְעוֹלָם חֲדָא דַּעְתָּא הוּא.

but he is always of one mind.

אוֹ דִלְמָא פְּשִׁיטָא לֵיהּ

Or perhaps it is obvious to him

דְּדַעְתֵּיהּ קְלִישְׁתָּא

that his mind is weak

The steps (23)

  1. QuestionFirst possibility: a weak mind that never changes
  2. QuestionSecond possibility: a mind that goes back and forth
  3. QuestionWhat difference does it make?
  4. ResponseThe difference: can a חרש divorce his wife?
  5. ConclusionThe question stays unresolved
  6. StatementBy Torah law, a שוטה wife can be divorced
  7. QuestionSo why did the רבנן say she cannot be divorced?
  8. ResponseTo protect her from being treated as ownerless
  9. QuestionWhat kind of שוטה are we talking about?
  10. ResponseFirst answer: she can guard neither her גט nor herself
  11. ChallengeChallenge from the school of רבי ינאי: she needs a 'hand'
  12. ProofA second source from the school of רבי ישמעאל: she must not come back
  13. ResolutionThe real case: she understands her גט but cannot protect herself
  14. Proofאביי shows the משנה's wording supports the answer
  15. QuestionWhat was רבי יוחנן בן נורי puzzled about?
  16. ProofThe רבנן's reply suggests he was asking about the man
  17. RejectionAnother line of the reply suggests he was asking about the woman
  18. ResponseHe was only challenging the רבנן on their own terms
  19. Statementרבא: A גט handed over as a 'loan document' still divorces
  20. ProofWhy the testimony proves רבא's rule
  21. ChallengeIsn't this obvious?
  22. ResolutionThe real point: calling it a loan document does not cancel the גט
  23. StatementStory: keys to the study hall lost on Shabbat