Today's daf continues the rabbi's focus on case studies that elucidate the specific laws of yibum. For example, we learn about what to do when a man is not sure which of two sisters he betrothed. We also learn about what to do when two brothers are betrothed to two sisters and one brother dies.
In the first case, we learn that when one is unsure of a betrothal, a chalitza is required. If both women are not released from yibum with chalitza, one might marry another person illegally or one might marry her yavam though that marriage is forbidden because she is the sister of his yevama.
In the second case, the rabbis speak at some length about when chalitza is required; when yibum is permitted. They extend this case to include three brothers and discuss whether or not he is permitted to perform yibum with the yevama.
Some of these cases seem ridiculously far-fetched. Others seem ubiquitous. It is difficult to grasp when our rabbis were sharing stories of the people and when they were elaborating in order to prove a point. For readers like myself, who are less concerned with halachic decisions and more interested in the social structures in place two thousand years ago, such cases - though interesting - can be frustrating.
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