Yevamot 2: The Fifteen Exeptions

We delve into Yevamot quickly: there are fifteen women who are exempt from yibum, levirate marriage, and from chalitza, refusal.  Each of these women is forbidden to marry her brother-in-law based on Torah law regarding forbidden sexual relationships.

Yibum is ordinarily performed when a woman's husband dies before they have had children together.  One of his brothers is obliged to marry her or to perform the chalitza ceremony that releases her from this obligation.   And so we begin Masechet Yevamot with a list of those who are exempt from marrying one of their husband's brothers.  Because families often married cousins or other close relatives, the potential for forbidden relationships through yibum was of concern to the rabbis.

The exemptions:

1. A man's daughter;
2. The daughter of his daughter;
3. The daughter of his son;
4. The daughter of his wife;
5. The daughter of the son of his wife;
6. The daughter of the daughter of his wife;
7. His mother-in-law;
8. The mother of his mother-in-law
9. The mother of his father-in-law.
10. His maternal sister.
11. His mother's sister;
12. His wife's sister;
13. The wife of his maternal brother;
14. The widow of his much younger (not born yet) brother
15. His daughter-in-law.

The yevama is a woman whose husband has died.  Interestingly, these exceptions to yibum also apply to the tzarot, or the second, etc., rival wives who were also married to the yevama's husband.  Thus even when a tzara is not officially forbidden from marriage with someone due to Torah law regarding sexual relationships, she is exempt from yibum.  However, if the yevama dies, the tzara is now free to participate in yibum.

Minors and aylonot are questions: what of a married minor who has not consented to her marriage yet has not, for whatever reasons, removed herself from that marriage through mi'un before adulthood?  And what about the aylonit, who cannot reproduce?  

The rabbis wonder why the list of forbidden relationships is listed as it is, above.  Is it in order of severity of punishment?  Which punishment is worse, stoning or burning?  

Of course, through all of these descriptions, defining parameters and debates, are not concerned at all with the will of the woman who is the subject of the debate.   While rabbis might claim that she is being protected by these guidelines (which they do not yet assert), it is hard to believe that these rules are based on the interests of women.  And when women had no voice in setting the guidelines, it is almost certain that women were afforded next to no power and thus next to no agency in their most important decisions.  We should not forget that all of this is happening while wives were in mourning for their husbands.