Yevamos 23a

יבמות כ״ג ע״א

Yevamot 23a

Learn Yevamos 23a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Which half-sisters count as a legal sister, and how a child's status follows a שפחה or גויה mother

Overview

The גמרא reads בת אשת אביך (the daughter of your father's wife) to mean that a half-sister counts only if her mother could have a marriage bond with the father. It then tests how far that limit goes. רב פפא shows that קידושין take effect with חייבי לאוין, so a sister from such a mother counts. רבא uses 'born at home or born outside' to include even a sister from a כרת union. A sister from a שפחה or a גויה stays excluded, because no marriage with them is possible, and a woman who converts is treated as a new person. The גמרא then asks where the רבנן learn these exclusions. For a שפחה they use 'the wife and her children shall be her master's.' For a גויה they use 'כי יסיר את בנך', which teaches that a child from a גויה is her son, not his father's. רבינא learns from the same פסוק that a daughter's son from a גוי is still 'your son'. The גמרא explains that this makes him Jewish and not a ממזר, but still a ישראל פסול. Finally, the פסוק covers every nation, not just the seven nations, because the opinion that argues with רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה is רבי שמעון, who learns from the reason a פסוק gives.

Opening lines

The steps (25)

1. ChallengeMaybe the phrase leaves out a sister from a forbidden union
2. Resolutionרב פפא: marriage takes effect even with a forbidden woman
3. ProofProof from the beloved and hated wives
4. ChallengeMaybe it leaves out a sister from a כרת union
5. Resolutionרבא: 'born at home or born outside' includes her
6. ChallengeThen include a sister from a maidservant or gentile too
7. ResolutionA marriage bond must be possible
8. QuestionWhy include the כרת case and not the שפחה or גויה?
9. Responseקידושין can take effect with a woman forbidden by כרת
10. ChallengeA שפחה or גויה could convert and then marry him
11. ResolutionAfter conversion she is a new person
12. QuestionWhere do the רבנן learn to exclude שפחה and גויה?
13. ResponseThe children follow the שפחה, not the father
14. ChallengeWhy does רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה need his own source?
15. ResolutionOne פסוק for the שפחה, one for the גויה
16. ResolutionWhy the גויה source alone would not be enough
17. QuestionWhere do the רבנן learn the rule for a גויה?
18. ResponseThe source from 'כי יסיר את בנך'
19. Statementרבינא: a daughter's son from a גוי is still 'your son'
20. ChallengeDoes רבינא hold that such a child is fully כשר?
21. RejectionNot a ממזר, but a ישראל פסול
22. ChallengeIsn't this verse only about the seven nations?
23. Resolution'He will turn away' includes anyone who turns a child away
24. ChallengeThat works for רבי שמעון, but what about the רבנן?
25. ResolutionThe opinion arguing with רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה is רבי שמעון