Yevamos 37b

יבמות ל״ז ע״ב

Yevamot 37b

Learn Yevamos 37b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

רבי אליעזר בן יעקב's teachings about ספק ממזר and marriage, then inheritance disputes over a child of doubtful father after יבום, and whether an old verdict stands or is reopened.

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an earlier discussion: הלכתא אהלכתא, two separate rulings stacked together. אביי then tries to prove that רבי אליעזר בן יעקב treats a ספק ממזר like a definite ממזר, using a ברייתא about children of unknown fathers. רבא pushes the proof off by reading זמה as 'זו מה היא', 'what is this?', which describes doubt rather than certainty. The same ברייתא warns a man not to marry wives in two countries. The גמרא asks how רב and רב נחמן could take wives on their travels, and answers that famous rabbis are different. It then explains how they handled שבעה נקיים, and adds רבי אליעזר בן יעקב's rule against marrying with a plan to divorce. Next come inheritance cases about a child who may be the son of the dead brother or of the יבם. Against the יבם, money in doubt is split. רב משרשיא shows that the 'bring proof and take' rule applies only when the other side's claim is certain. Finally, רבי אבא and רבי ירמיה argue whether an old verdict stands or is reopened. The גמרא compares this to the argument between אדמון and the חכמים about a lost path, a comparison that is still being worked out on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (30)

1. ResolutionA ruling on top of a ruling
2. Statementאביי's claim: a doubt counts as a certainty
3. ProofThe proof: the world filled with ממזרין
4. Rejectionרבא: זמה means 'what is this?'
5. StatementDo not marry wives in two different countries
6. ChallengeBut רב and רב נחמן married wives in other towns
7. ResolutionRabbis are different because everyone knows their children
8. ChallengeHow could they marry the same day if the woman needs seven clean days?
9. ResolutionThe Rabbis sent messengers ahead of time
10. ResolutionThe Rabbis only wanted seclusion, not relations
11. StatementDo not marry while planning to divorce
12. StatementA doubtful son and the יבם both claim the inheritance
13. ConclusionMoney in doubt is split
14. StatementThe doubtful son versus the sons of the יבם
15. ProofThe students think a משנה settles this case
16. ProofSame rule, with the sides switched
17. Rejectionרב משרשיא says the two cases are not alike
18. StatementThe case the משנה really fits
19. StatementA new case: the יבם's estate after he already split the dead man's property
20. StatementThe two sides' claims: 'bring proof' against 'whichever way you look at it'
21. StatementDoes the first verdict stand or get reopened?
22. QuestionIs this the same as the argument about a lost path?
23. ChallengeAdmon's logic looks strong
24. ResolutionThe field is surrounded by four different owners
25. ChallengeThen what is Admon's reason?
26. ResolutionCases where everyone agrees the neighbors win
27. ResolutionThe real argument: one buyer of all four fields, and אדמון's reason
28. ResolutionThe reason of the חכמים: the buyer can threaten to undo the sales
29. QuestionMatching רבי אבא to the חכמים and רבי ירמיה to אדמון
30. Rejectionרבי אבא can fit even with אדמון