Yevamos 25a

יבמות כ״ה ע״א

Yevamot 25a

Learn Yevamos 25a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

When rumors force a divorce, remarrying a wife divorced for a bad name, and why an agent or a death witness may not marry the woman he freed

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a ברייתא about suspicious signs in the home. רבי says that if reversed shoe prints are found under the bed, the wife must be divorced because the matter is ugly. The גמרא rules like both רב, who requires witnesses, and רבי. It settles the clash this way: a rumor (קלא) that keeps going is enough on its own, but a rumor that stops needs עדים. אביי says a persistent rumor lasts a day and a half. The גמרא then adds limits about a pause in the talk, a pause caused by fear, and enemies who may have started the rumor. Next, רבה בר הונא asks whether a man who divorced his wife for a bad name and then remarried her must divorce her again. A proof from the suspected-adulterer משנה is rejected, because his marrying her strengthens the rumor while the husband's taking her back weakens it. A new משנה then says that an agent who brings a גט from overseas, or a witness to the husband's death, may not marry the woman. The גמרא explains that a גט is a written document that proves itself, unlike a death report. Finally, the גמרא questions how anyone may rely on a witness who says 'I killed him,' since he has called himself a רשע. Its rejection of the idea that עדות אשה is more lenient continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (29)

1. StatementReversed shoes under the bed
2. ChallengeWhy not just check whose shoes they are?
3. ResolutionIt means shoe prints, not shoes
4. ConclusionThe ruling follows both רב and רבי
5. ChallengeThe two rulings contradict each other
6. ResolutionA rumor that stops versus a rumor that keeps going
7. QuestionHow long must a rumor last?
8. ResponseA day and a half
9. StatementFirst limit: the rumor must not pause
10. StatementSecond limit: a pause out of fear doesn't count
11. StatementThird limit: no weight if there are enemies
12. StatementNew topic: no taking back a wife divorced for a bad name or a vow
13. QuestionIf he remarried her anyway, must he divorce her?
14. ResponseAnswer from the משנה about the suspected adulterer
15. RejectionThe two cases use different wording
16. Resolutionרבה בר רב נחמן's version also reads 'he sent her out'
17. ChallengeHusband versus the adulterer
18. ResolutionBoth cases share the same pattern
19. RejectionThe comparison fails: one strengthens the rumor, the other shows it was false
20. StatementThe agent who brings a גט from overseas may not marry the woman
21. StatementA witness to the husband's death may not marry the widow
22. Statementרבי יהודה: 'I killed him' does not free her, 'We killed him' does
23. StatementThe ban applies only when the court relies on the agent
24. ChallengeBut the death witness is barred even though we don't rely only on him
25. ResolutionA death report has no document, but a גט does
26. ProofA משנה proves that the writing makes the difference
27. StatementOnly the witness himself may not marry her, so others may
28. ChallengeA witness who admits sinning should be disqualified
29. RejectionRejecting the idea that the רבנן were lenient for a woman's testimony