[13a - 32 lines; 13b - 50 lines]

1)[line 1]ונבדוקV'NIVDOK- (Even though giving birth signals that the girl probably grew pubic hairs, it does not guarantee it. Therefore, the Gemara suggests checking for the hairs, to be certain that she is a Gedolah. -TOSFOS)

2)[line 17]תבראTAVRA- (a) there is a contradiction (between our Mishnah and the Mishnah on Daf 30a) (RASHI); (b) a word used as an oath (TOSFOS Kesuvos 75b DH Tavra, citing RABEINU CHANANEL)

3)[line 18]מיתה מפלתMISAH MAPELES / NISU'IN MAPILIN

(a)When a man dies without children, a bond termed "Zikah" forms between his wife (or wives) and his brother (or brothers). The Zikah does not allow her to marry anyone other than one of her Yevamim (brothers-in-law), and it exists until one of them has performed either Yibum or Chalitzah (see Background to 1:2).

(b)Tana'im disagree over the point at which the suitability of the Yevamah for Yibum is assessed. Some Tana'im understand that it is determined at the time of her husband's death, when the Zikah is forged. This opinion is referred to as "Misah Mapeles" (the bond between a Yavam and Yevamah is formed at the time of her first husband's death). Others maintain that a Yevamah falls to Yibum only when she was suitable all throughout her marriage. This opinion is referred to as "Nisu'in ha'Rishonim Mapilim" (the bond between a Yavam and Yevamah is formed at the time of her first marriage).

(c)All of the above opinions agree that whether or not there is an obligation of Yibum depends on whether the dead husband was childless at the time of his death. All agree, as well, that only if the husband dies childless does "Zikah" take effect, and not if he divorces his wives. They argue over a number of specific Halachos in Yibum.

(d)In our Sugya, the Gemara explains that the question of Misah Mapeles/Nisu'in Mapilim affects the Halachah stated at the end of the Mishnah (Yevamos 2b). The Mishnah (Daf 2b) states that if one of the wives of the childless brother was a close relative to the Yavam, she and her Tzaros (co-wives) are exempt from Zikah, and do not need Yibum or Chalitzah. If the wife who was a relative of the Yavam dies or is divorced before the death of the childless brother, the Yavam is permitted to marry the Tzarah (co-wife) of the close relative. According to those who hold "Misah Mapeles," the marital status of the relative at the time of her husband's death establishes whether the Yavam may marry the Tzarah or not; if she was divorced a moment before the death, the Tzarah must do Yibum. According to those who maintain that "Nisu'in ha'Rishonim Mapilim," the entire history of the marriage of the deceased brother is taken into account in order to establish whether the Yavam may marry the Tzarah. If the relative of the Yavam was married to the childless brother together with the co-wife at any point during their marriage, the co-wife is exempt from Yibum. It makes no difference whether or not the relative was married to the childless brother at the time of his death or not.

4)[line 23]ממאנת למאמרו ואינה ממאנת לזיקתוMEMA'ENES L'MA'AMARO V'EINAH MEMA'ENES L'ZIKASO- a girl less than twelve years of age may refuse to undergo Yibum by exercising her right of Mi'un (refusal - see Background to Yevamos 12:1) in order to annul the Ma'amar (see Background to Yevamos 17:18) of the Yavam who has given her money or a Shtar to effect Ma'amar (the equivalent of Kidushin with respect to Yibum). However, she may not annul her original marriage (to the now-deceased brother) along with the Zikah to the surviving brother through exercising Mi'un on the Yavam; she or her Tzarah (co-wife) must undergo Chalitzah before she is free to marry whomever she chooses.

13b----------------------------------------13b

5)[line 21]"[ודוד בא] מחנימה [ואבשלום עבר את הירדן הוא וכל איש ישראל עמו]""[V'DAVID BA] MACHANAIMAH, [V'AVSHALOM AVAR ES HA'YARDEN HU V'CHOL ISH YISRAEL IMO]" - "[And David arrived] in Machanayim, [and Avshalom crossed the Yarden, he and all the men of Yisrael with him.]" (Shmuel II 17:24) (AVSHALOM'S REBELLION)

(a)David flees from his own son, Avshalom, who staged a rebellion against him in an attempt to wrest the throne from his grasp. David, who was seventy years old and had lost much of his strength, had been forced to flee from Yerushalayim with his small contingent of followers. He prepared to rest for the night and to proceed the following morning. Achitofel, who was the head of the Beis Din as well as a brilliant strategist, joined the ranks of Avshalom. Sizing up the situation, he volunteered to take 12,000 troops and attack David while he was still tired from his initial escape from Yerushalayim. When David heard that Achitofel was Avshalom's advisor, he was not satisfied with praying to HaSh-m to prevent Achitofel's plans from succeeding; he also sent Chushai ha'Arki, one of his loyal friends, to join Avshalom as a spy, with instructions to neutralize Achitofel by opposing any plan that he presented to Avshalom. Sure enough, he countered Achitofel's proposal, arguing that David was far too wise to be caught napping, and that even at that moment, David must be planning against such a surprise attack and would be ready for them when they would come. Avshalom accepted Chushai's plan, enabling David to escape the next morning, after a good night's rest.

(b)Dividing his army into three groups, David ha'Melech placed them under the command of Yo'av, his brother Avishai, and Itai ha'Giti, whom he issued with strict instructions not to kill Avshalom under any circumstances.

(c)Avshalom's army, despite its superiority in numbers, was soundly defeated. Avshalom fled the battlefield, riding a mule, and was suddenly left suspended in the air as his hair became entangled in an oak-tree and the mule moved on without him. When Yo'av was told about Avshalom's predicament, he took three darts, and, despite David's instructions, he stuck them into the helpless man's heart.

6)[line 22]"[וישלח תבנית יד ויקחני בציצית ראשי ותשא אתי רוח בין הארץ ובין השמים ותבא אתי] ירושלמה [במראות אלקים אל פתח שער הפנימית הפונה צפונה אשר שם מושב סמל הקנאה המקנה]""... YERUSHALAIMAH..." - "[And He sent the shape of a hand, which took me by the hairs of my head, and a wind carried me between the earth and the heavens, and brought me] to Yerushalayim [in a Divine vision, to the entrance of the inner-gate which faced the north, to the location of the image of jealousy that angered HaSh-m." (Yechezkel 8:3) (YECHEZKEL SEES A VISION IN THE BEIS HA'MIKDASH)

(a)A little over a year after his vision of the Merkavah, six years after Galus Yechonyah, Yechezkel is shown a vision of the Beis ha'Mikdash. In it, he sees the idolatrous image that Menasheh placed there, as well innumerable scenes of the idolatrous practices that the men and women of Yerushalayim practiced there, with the express intention of angering HaSh-m. Under the circumstances, HaSh-m's response was hardly surprising. They acted in this way to make Him angry, so He would respond with fury, without pity, without mercy. They would cry out to Him, but He would not answer. Sure enough, five years later, the Beis ha'Mikdash was left in ruins and the people were exiled to Bavel.

(b)See Background to Sanhedrin 92:76.

7)[line 28]דאין איסור חל על איסורEIN ISUR CHAL AL ISUR

(a)An object that is already prohibited by one Isur Torah cannot become prohibited by a second one (Ein Isur Chal Al Isur). However, there are a number of possible exceptions to this rule which are debated by the Tana'im (Chulin 101a):

1.Isur b'Vas Achas - Two Isurim may take effect at the same instant to prohibit the same object.

2.Isur Kollel - The second Isur may take effect if it includes objects that the first Isur did not (e.g. Yom ha'Kipurim prohibits not only the eating of Neveilos, but Kosher foods as well).

3.Isur Mosif - The second Isur may take effect if it adds a new dimension of Isur to the first (e.g. it prohibits the object to people who were not included in the first Isur, or it makes the object Asur b'Hana'ah and not just Asur to be eaten).

4.Isur Chamur (according to Rebbi Yehudah) - A more stringent Isur can take effect on an object that is already prohibited by a less stringent Isur (e.g. the prohibition of Gid ha'Nasheh is more stringent than the prohibition of non-Kosher animals, since it applied to Bnei Yakov when they were still permitted to eat non-Kosher animals).

(b)According to Rebbi Shimon, an object that is already prohibited can never become prohibited by another Isur, even if the second Isur is Kolel, Mosif, or Chamur.

8)[line 41]לא תעשו אגודות אגודותLO SA'ASU AGUDOS AGUDOS- do not create factions [among Bnei Yisrael]