Gemara Clarity

Yevamos 118a

יבמות קי״ח ע״א

Yevamot 118a

Learn Yevamos 118a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Yevamos 118a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Testimony about a husband's death: conflicting witnesses, why a צרה cannot testify for her rival, and the argument of רבי טרפון and רבי עקיבא about a rival or mother-in-law eating תרומה.

Overview

The amud opens with the last line of a משנה: when witnesses contradict each other about whether a husband died, his wife may not remarry. The גמרא then looks back at the earlier case of two co-wives, where the one who says 'he did not die' may not remarry. It explains that the words 'he did not die' do not mean a silent צרה could rely on her rival. They rule out the idea that she is lying just to spite her rival. Next the גמרא asks why רבי מאיר does not also disagree in that earlier clause. רבי אלעזר says he does. רבי יוחנן says even רבי מאיר agrees there, but a line of the משנה is a difficulty for רבי יוחנן, and it stays unanswered. A new משנה teaches that a wife who says her husband died may remarry, but her צרה or her חמות may not. רבי טרפון lets that other woman keep eating תרומה, while רבי עקיבא forbids her both. The גמרא explains why both cases were needed, rules like רבי טרפון, and אביי supports this from a later משנה showing that a rival wife's words are ignored.

Opening lines

אִשָּׁה אוֹמֶרֶת: ״מֵת״,

A woman says: 'He died,'

וְאִשָּׁה אוֹמֶרֶת: ״לֹא מֵת״ —

and a woman says: 'He did not die' —

הֲרֵי זוֹ לֹא תִּנָּשֵׂא.

this one may not marry.

גְּמָ׳

GEMARA:

The steps (17)

  1. Statementמשנה: one woman says he died, another says he did not
  2. ChallengeIf she had stayed silent, could she remarry?
  3. ResolutionThe words 'he did not die' were needed to block a mistake
  4. ChallengeWhy doesn't רבי מאיר disagree in the first clause too?
  5. Resolutionרבי אלעזר: רבי מאיר does disagree there
  6. Resolutionרבי יוחנן: even רבי מאיר agrees in the first clause
  7. ChallengeA line in the משנה seems to contradict רבי יוחנן
  8. ConclusionThe גמרא admits the difficulty stands
  9. StatementNew משנה: the wife may marry, but her rival may still eat תרומה
  10. Statementרבי עקיבא: the rival is strict both ways
  11. StatementSame case with the father-in-law: the mother-in-law may still eat תרומה
  12. Statementרבי עקיבא again: the mother-in-law is strict both ways
  13. StatementWhy the mother-in-law case was needed
  14. ConclusionWhy the rival wife case was needed
  15. StatementThe הלכה follows רבי טרפון
  16. Proofאביי quotes a משנה about a son who died
  17. ProofOnly her own words count, not a rival wife's