The final lines of today’s daf (Yevamot 106b) elaborate upon Devarim 25:10 which informs us, concerning the Yavam who refuses to fulfil the mitzvah of Yibum and instead chooses Halitzah, that וְנִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל בֵּית חֲלוּץ הַנָּעַל – ‘and his name shall be called in Israel, “The house of the one whose shoe was removed…
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Today I would like to elaborate on my commentary to Rosh Hashanah 18a (see https://rabbijohnnysolomon.com/rosh-hashanah-18/) and address the teaching found both there and in today’s daf (Yevamot 105a) about the role of Torah study and acts of kindness (chessed) in bringing atonement to the world. Moreover, I would like to discuss how – in the…
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A review of Yevamot 103-104 informs us that the Halitzah ceremony must involve the removal of a shoe from the right foot, while if – for whatever reason – the right foot is wearing a left shoe, the ceremony is valid ex post facto.The question, of course, is why do these specific details matter? To…
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Six months ago in my commentary to Megillah 16a (see https://rabbijohnnysolomon.com/megillah-16/) I spoke about the importance of us being prepared to cut our losses and walk away from bad situations. In fact, I even quoted Annie Duke who has written an entire book on the subject (‘Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away’).…
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A few weeks ago the Jewish world mourned the death of Rabbi Nota Greenblatt (1925-2022) who, aside from being the Rav and Av Beis Din of the Vaad HaKehillot of Memphis and the founder of the Margolin Hebrew Academy, was a tremendous Torah scholar and a Rabbi’s Rabbi who often travelled to smaller Jewish communities…
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We are taught in today’s daf (Yevamot 100a) how Rava changed his Beit Din prioritisation policy in response to hearing a Beraita discussing the laws of Ma’aser Ani. Specifically, Rava explains that until this point, ‘when both a man and woman would come before me for litigation [each being a plaintiff in their own respective…
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Sometimes all it takes is a few words to help make sense of what seems to be an unnecessarily confusing case. The Mishna (Yevamot 11:4) in today’s daf (Yevamot 99a) tells us about a case of ‘a woman whose son became mixed up with the son of her daughter-in-law, and these mixed-up sons then matured…
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I would like to share what I believe to be an original reading of a cryptic story in today’s daf (Yevamot 98a).We are told a Beraita that Ben Yasiyan said: ‘When I travelled overseas I encountered a convert who married his maternal brother’s wife. I said to him: “My son, who permitted this to you?”…
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