[51a - 41 lines; 51b - 33 lines]
1)[last line]אין זיקהEIN ZIKAH
(a)A woman whose husband dies without children is "Zekukah," that is, connected or bound to the brothers of her husband for the purpose of performing the Mitzvah of Yibum. She is prohibited to marry whomever she wants until one of the brothers performs Chalitzah or Yibum with her.
(b)The Tana'im and the Amora'im argue with regard to the strength of the bond of Zikah. Those who are of the opinion Yesh Zikah rule that the bond is similar to the bond of a man with his betrothed or with his wife (even though the prohibition against the Yevamah marrying a non-brother is only a Lav and is not punishable with Kares or Chenek, as in the prohibition against living with a married woman.) This comparison has certain ramifications:
1.Those who rule Yesh Zikah rule that just as a man is prohibited from marrying his wife's sister, daughter, daughter's daughter, mother or mother's mother, so, too, the Yavam is prohibited from marrying these relatives of the Yevamah, while she is his Zekukah.
2.Another outcome of the opinion Yesh Zikah is that one Zekukah may become classified as the Tzarah (co-wife) of an Ervah when there exists a Zikah bond between the Ervah and the dead brother.
3.Some maintain that since the Zikah causes us to consider that the living brother has already married his Yevamah, if a third brother is born before the second one performs Yibum, this third brother is considered to have been born after the Yibum of the second brother. (This applies only according to Rebbi Shimon, who rules that if the third brother is born after the Yibum of the second brother, the Yevamah is not considered an Eshes Achiv she'Lo Hayah b'Olamo with regard to the third brother - Yevamos 18b-20a.)
4.Finally, according to those who maintain Yesh Zikah, the Yavam may annul (Hafarah) the vows of his Yevamah just as he may annul the vows of his wife (Yevamos 29b).
(c)Those who rule Ein Zikah argue with the above reasoning and claim that the bond of Zikah is not like the bond of betrothal or marriage; therefore, the brothers-in-law are not prohibited from marrying the close relatives of the Yevamah, etc. (However, the brothers-in-law may be prohibited from marrying the close relatives of the Yevamah for another reason, namely, because it is prohibited to avert the Mitzvah of Yibum and Chalitzah by marrying a relative of the Yevamah and thereby exempting her from the need for Yibum ("Asur l'Vatel Mitzvas Yevamin" - see Background to Yevamos 26:5).
(d)Some opinions distinguish between the Zikah to one brother-in-law and the Zikah to two or more brothers-in-law. That is, even if we rule Yesh Zikah in the case of one surviving brother, when there are two or more brothers we rule Ein Zikah (since a woman cannot be bonded through Zikah to more than one husband). Similarly, there is a discussion in the Gemara if Zikah prohibits the Yavam from marrying the close relatives of the Yevamah even after she dies (Yevamos 17b). Even if we hold Yesh Zikah, though, when one brother performs Chalitzah or Yibum to one of the Zekukos, the Zikah is entirely removed from the others brothers and from the Tzaros retroactively (RASHI 23b DH Ein Motzi'in) permitting them to marry each other's close relatives (MISHNAH Yevamos 23b, 40b).
(e)Even those who maintain Yesh Zikah, and who prohibit the relatives of the Yevamah to the Yavam, agree that this prohibition is only mid'Rabanan (Rashi 28b DH Mitzvah Avud; Rishonim 17b - this is self-evident since even Achos Chalutzah is only prohibited mid'Rabanan). There is one opinion, though, who maintains Yesh Zikah min ha'Torah (Rebbi Shimon according to Rebbi Oshiya, 18b).
51b----------------------------------------51b
2)[line 4]חליצה פסולה צריכה לחזור על כל האחיןCHALITZAH PESULAH TZERICHAH LACHZOR AL KOL HA'ACHIN
(a)If the brother-in-law of a man who dies childless is prohibited from performing Yibum, the Chalitzah that he performs is called a Chalitzah Pesulah, a marred, incomplete Chalitzah. According to those who maintain "Yesh Zikah," Chalitzah Pesulah may not be sufficient by itself to permit the Yevamah to marry whomever she wants, and to remove the bond of Zikah. Rather, if a Yevamah receives a Chalitzah Pesulah, she and her Tzaros must all receive Chalitzah from all of the other brothers-in-law.
(b)According to TOSFOS (Yevamos 26b DH v'Chalitzah), a Chalitzah is termed "Chalitzah Pesulah" only if the brother-in-law who performs Chalitzah is prohibited to the Yevamah because of the Isur of Achos Chalutzaso, or Achos Zekukaso, since these prohibitions (that are Isurei Kurvah mid'Rabanan) diffuse or weaken the Zikah of the Choletz. (See Insights to 27a.)
3)[line 24]ביאת בן תשעBI'AS BEN TESHA
(a)A male less than nine years of age is not considered to be capable of having marital relations. When he reaches the age of nine, he is considered able to have relations for all Halachic considerations.
(b)The ramifications of this are:
1.He acquires his Yevamah as his wife through marital relations (according to some Rishonim, mid'Oraisa; according to others, only mid'Rabanan - see Insights to Yevamos 39:2);
2.He obtains the status of a Bo'el Nidah (see Background to Moed Katan 15:15) if he has relations with a Nidah;
3.If he is a Mamzer or a Nesin, he invalidates the daughter or wife of a Kohen from eating Terumah by rendering her a "Zonah";
4.If he has relations with an animal or an Ervah, they are put to death because of him (MISHNAH and RASHI, Nidah 45a).