1)

(a)Rav Sheshes proves Rav Chisda's interpretation of Rav (that one acquires a Chereshes only partially, but a Ketanah completely, only mi'Safek) from a Beraisa. The Tana says there that if two brothers are married to two orphan sisters, one a Ketanah, and the other, a Chereshes, and the husband of the Ketanah dies, he gives the Chereshes a Get (because of the Safek Zikah of the Ketanah) - and performs Chalitzah with the Ketanah after she grows-up.

(b)Should the husband of the Chereshes die, the Ketanah goes out with a Get (because she may be Achos Zekukaso) - the Chereshes remains forbidden to marry for the rest of her life. The Yavam cannot perform Yibum with her, a. in case he acquired the Ketanah completely, in which case she will be Achos Gerushaso, and b. because Chalitzah is not applicable by a Chereshes.

(c)If, in the latter case, he performed Yibum with the Chereshes - he gives her a Get and she is permitted to remarry.

(d)Rav Sheshes proves Rav Chisda's interpretation of Rav to be correct from the fact that, in the latter case, the Chereshes goes free with a Get. If we were to reverse the mechanics of a Ketanah and a Yevamah - then she would remain forbidden, because, since the Bi'ah with the Ketanah acquired only partially, the Bi'ah with the Chereshes would have been a Bi'ah Pesulah, which does not remove the Zikah. And since some of the Zikah remains and a Cheresh is not subject to Chalitzah, she should remain forbidden.

2)

(a)We try to rejfute Rav Sheshes' proof by establishing the Beraisa like Rebbi Nechemyah - who says that a Bi'ah Pesulah exempts the Yevamah from Chalitzah.

(b)The Seifa of the Beraisa states that if someone who is married to two orphans, one of them, a Ketanah, the other, a Chereshes, dies, and the Yavam performs Yibum first with the Ketanah and then he or his brother performs Yibum with the Chereshes, both Yevamos are now forbidden to him. The Ketanah is forbidden to the Yavam (despite the fact that he ought to acquire her mi'Mah Nafshach, either as a Yevamah or as a wife [as we explained earlier]) - due to a decree, in case he reverses the order.

(c)He must now give the Chereshes a Get - and wait for the Ketanah to grow-up before performing Chalitzah with her.

(d)According to the Rabanan, he cannot perform Bi'ah because of a decree in case he performs Bi'ah with the Yevamah first (as we just explained). The problem in establishing the Seifa of the Beraisa like Rebbi Nechemyah, and reversing the mechanics of a Ketanah and a Chereshes (like we tried to explain in the Reisha) is - that then, the Ketanah (whose Bi'ah was a Bi'ah Pesulah, because the Bi'ah with the Chereshes might have acquired her completely) should not require Chalitzah.

3)

(a)We have now proved from the Seifa of the Beraisa that the author cannot be Rebbi Nechemyah, in which case the Reisha is a proof for Rav Chisda's interpretation of Rav. In a further attempt to prove that the author must be the Rabanan, we try to extrapolate from the Reisha 'Im Ba al ha'Chereshes, Nosein Lah Get v'Hutrah' - whereas it does not say the same by Ketanah (ostensibly because since the author is the Rabanan, a Bi'ah Pesulah will not exempt the Ketanah from Chalitzah).

(b)We reject this proof however - on the grounds that the Tana only mentions it by a Chereshes because we have no other way out for her; whereas by a Ketanah, where she has the opportunity to go free with a Get, the Tana does feel inclined to mention the leniency of 'Ba Alehah'.

4)

(a)In a case where someone is married to two orphan Ketanos, who both die, and the Yavam first performs Yibum with one of them, and then he or his brother performs Yibum with the other one, our Mishnah permits the first Yavam to retain his Yevamah ...

(b)... because the two have exactly the same status (i.e. if the first one acquired his Yevamah, then the second is a Bi'as Zenus; whereas if he didn't, then both re strangers to him (seeing as his brother didn't acquire them either), and the 'Yibum' of the second one will not invalidate the first one.

(c)If, in the equivalent case ...

1. ... the two Yevamos were Charashos - the same ruling will apply.

2. ... the first Yevamah was a Ketanah and the second one, a Chereshes - then the Yibum with the Chereshes forbids the Ketanah on the Yavam (because of a decree, that one might apply the same Halachah in the reverse order, as we have already learned a number of times).

3. ... the first Yevamah was a Chereshes, and the second one, a Ketanah - then min ha'Din, the Ketanah forbids the Chereshes on the Yavam, in case one acquires a Ketanah completely, as we learned above, whereas one only partially acquires the Chereshes.

(d)In a parallel case where the first Yevamah is a Pikachas and the second one, a Chereshes, the latter does not forbid the former on the Yavam, whereas if the first Yevamah is the Chereshes, the subsequent Yibum of the Pikachas will forbid the Chereshes on the Yavam. And the same will apply if the two Yevamos are a Gedolah and a Ketanah, respectively. Rebbi Eliezer rules in the latter case - that we teach the Ketanah with whom he performed Yibum first, to perform Mi'un.

5)

(a)Rav Yehudah Amar Shmuel and Rebbi Elazar ben Pedas rule like Rebbi Eliezer (or Rebbi Elazar). Having ruled like him ...

1. ... in an earlier Mishnah, they nevertheless find it necessary to repeat the ruling here - because here, the Yavam has already fulfilled the Mitzvah of Yibum with both women (which is not the case in the earlier Mishnah), and we would otherwise have thought that he is obligated to divorce them both.

2. ... here, they find it necessary to repeat the ruling there - despite the fact that, as things stand, the Gedolah (who is Achos Ishah) is not due to perform Yibum (which is not the case here).

6)

(a)If a Yavam Katan performed Yibum with a ...

1. ... Yevamah Ketanah - they must grow-up together.

2. ... Yevamah Gedolah - she must grow up with him ...

(b)... he cannot divorce her - since a Katan cannot divorce.

7)

(a)Our Mishnah rules that if a Yevamah claims within thirty days that the Yavam did not yet perform Yibum with her, we force him to perform Chalitzah. Despite the fact that she is believed during that period, we do not give him the option of performing Yibum - because the Tana is speaking when the Yavam already gave her a Get (which will be explained later).

(b)The Yavam claims - that he performed Yibum with her, and that the Get that he gave her will suffice.

(c)If she made the same claim after thirty days - she would not be believed ...

(d)... because of the Chazakah that up to thirty, a man will abstain from intimacy, but not for longer than that.

8)

(a)In spite of the fact that, in the latter case, we do not believe her anyway, we nevertheless ask the Yavam to perform Chalitzah with her - because, based on the principle 'Shavya Anafshah Chatichah d'Isurah' (meaning that whenever a person makes a statement forbidding something on himself, even though we know the claim to be incorrect, he is believed as if he had made a Neder to that effect), having said that the Yavam did not perform Yibum with her, she becomes forbidden to marry l'Shuk without it.

(b)We force the Yavam to perform Chalitzah even after twelve months - if he admits that he has not yet performed Yibum.

(c)If a woman makes a Neder during her husband's life-time not to have any benefit from her Yavam, then, when her husband dies, we force the Yavam to perform Chalitzah with her. The Tana rules that we only request this of him, but do not force him, if she made the Neder after her husband's death - or if we know that she specifically made it in order to avoid having to make Yibum with him.

9)

(a)According to Rebbi Meir, a Katan or a Katan and a Ketanah forbidden to perform Yibum with the Yevamah and the Yavam, respectively - in case the former turns out to be a Saris and the latter, an Aylonis.

(b)We initially try to reconcile Rebbi Meir with our Mishnah, which permits a Katan who performed Yibum with a Ketanah to remain with her - by differentiating between a Gedolah to a Katan or vice-versa (which Rebbi Meir forbids because one of them is a Gadol) and a Ketanah to a Katan (which our Mishnah permits - because of the principle 'Katan Ochel Neveilos , Ein Beis-Din Metzuvin Alav l'Hafrisho'.

(c)We then try and reconcile his opinion with the Seifa, which even permits a Yavam who performed Yibum with a Gedolah to remain with her - on the grounds that the Mishnah only permits this b'Di'eved, whereas Rebbi Meir speaks l'Chatchilah.

(d)We reject this contention however - on the grounds that the Tana says 'Tegadlenu', implying that they are permitted to continue living together as husband and wife (something which Rebbi Meir will certainly not permit, since, in his opinion, every Bi'ah is Asur).

10)

(a)We ask why the Yibum of a Katan with a Gedolah should not be forbidden because he cannot have children, and the Torah writes "Lehakim l'Achiv Shem" (see Maharsha). Abaye answers the Kashya by citing the Pasuk "Yevamah Yavo Alehah" - which teaches us that any Bi'ah is permitted (and does not need to be a Bi'ah which can produce children).

(b)Rava tries to answer the Kashya with the Sevara - that who has ever heard of something that is forbidden now and will be permitted later?!

(c)He bases his Sevara on a statement of Rav Yehudah Amar Rav - who says that any Yevamah who is unfit to perform Yibum at the time when she falls to Yibum, is, to all intents and purposes, considered Eshes Achiv, and forbidden. Similarly, if a Katan would be forbidden at the time when he falls to Yibum, how could he possibly become permitted later?!

(d)Rava finally answer the Kashya (from "Lehakim l'Achiv Shem") from the Pasuk "Ki Yeshvu Achim Yachdav" - which precludes a brother who is not yet born, but clearly includes one who is (even if he is only one day old).

11)

(a)Rebbi Yochanan cites a Beraisa where Rebbi Meir rules that up to thirty days, a man is believed with Ta'anas Besulim - the claim that his wife was not a Besulah when he married her, in which case, she loses her Kesubah.

(b)According to Rebbi Yosi - once they consummate the marriage, he must make his claim immediately, if he is to be believed; and if they did not, then even after many years he will still be believed.

(c)Rebbi Yochanan suggests that the author of our Mishnah is Rebbi Meir - who, like our Mishnah, gives a thirty day period before one is no longer believed.

(d)Rabah reconciles Rebbi Yosi with our Mishnah - by establishing Rebbi Yosi in the case of a woman with whom he was betrothed, and with whom, by the time they arrive at the time of their wedding, he is already familiar; whereas our Mishnah speaks about a Yevamah, with whom he is not familiar, and in whose company he feels embarrassed. There, even Rebbi Yosi will concede that a leeway of thirty days is required.