Yevamot 37: Mamzerim and Inheritance

We begin with babies that are born to yevamot seven months after their husbands have died; seven months after they have performed yibum and the yevama has married her yavam, her husband's brother.  Is that baby of her first or second marriage?  Without knowing who the baby's father is, we create a situation of uncertain lineage.  This can lead to the child being known as mamzer.  As such, the child is very limited in whom s/he can marry

As part of this discussion, the rabbis tell us about some women who carry for only seven months - one rabbi even uses his family as an example.  They speak of the changes that are visible and knowable in a woman's body after three months of pregnancy.  They tell us of many different categories of people who have uncertain lineage and thus which people will marry each other.  Notable are the three groups of people with uncertain lineage: shtukim (those with unknown parentage), kutim (Sameritans), and foundlings (found babies).

From here the rabbis tell us why it is so important to keep track of these categories.  If a man parents children in different places, for example (marrying more than one woman), then a brother could marry a sister and a  father could marry a daughter; the entire world could become filled with mamzerim (sic). 

But what about Rav Nachman and Rav who were known to travel to different lands, asking who wished to be their wives for a day?  The rabbis are very concerned about this story.  How could Sages break so many halachot - to marry with the intention of divorcing (as it would hurt another's feelings by breaking their trust)?  And to seclude themselves with women who might be so excited that they menstruated (even if they did not see or feel any blood)?

The rabbis go to great efforts attempting to justify the actions and words of these Sages.  They wonder if the Sages were hoping to have 'bread in the basket' so that they would not have forbidden thoughts while away from their wives.  They insist that the marriages were not consummated; they suggest that these "wives" were prepared in advance so that they would certainly be ready for consummation when the rabbis arrived.

If one marries and then divorces, giving the woman 'payment' for her trouble, how is that different from prostitution? And how is this benefiting the women, other than the amount of money through the transaction (and bragging rights)?  Our rabbis were rightly uncomfortable with this situation.

We end the daf with another discussion of inheritance.  Our Sages want to understand how the halachot of yevamot differ from those of inheritance.  One example is a man who has a land-locked field with a designated path through someone else's property.  If the man leaves the country for an extended period of time and the path has disappeared, can he reclaim a path?  The rabbis discuss this an teach that he can ask the owner, if it is the same owner, to help him find the shortest route across his property.  But if the land has been divided or it has a new owner, no change needs to be made.

In both cases, we are trying to determine how to create certainty in a case of uncertainty.  However, as our notes point out, the rabbis know that this is not an appropriate example.  Inheritance involves acquisition, which can be proven independently of witnesses.  Parentage requires people to know and then attest to  a relationship between two or more people.  Clearly the rabbis are concerned about creating too many leniencies.  They want to ensure that we do not lose the word to mamzerim.

What a different world.  It is difficult to imagine a circumstance where a child with unknown parentage would get any kind of negative treatment here in North America today.