Shmuel says that an
*Arusah* who refuses to marry her husband is considered a rebellious wife
("Moredes"), and her Kesuvah is reduced until she agrees to marry him.
Shmuel says further that a *Shomeres Yavam* who refuses to have anything to
do with her Yavam is *not* considered a rebellious wife and we do not reduce
her Kesuvah.
The Gemara questions Shmuel's ruling from a Beraisa that states that even a
Shomeres Yavam is considered a rebellious wife if she refuses to have
anything to do with her Yavam. Rebbi Yochanan answers that Shmuel is
discussing a Yavam who wants to do *Chalitzah* and the Shomeres Yavam
refuses, while the Beraisa is discussing a Yavam who wants to do *Yibum* and
the Shomeres Yavam refuses. When the Yavam wants to do Chalitzah, then she
is considered a Moredes for refusing, but not if he wants to do Yibum and
she refuses.
RASHI explains the logic of Rebbi Yochanan's statement. Rebbi Yochanan is
following the Mishnah Acharonah that states that it is preferable to do
Chalitzah than to do Yibum, because a person might not have pure intentions
when doing Yibum.
The Gemara rejects Rebbi Yochanan's answer, saying that there should be no
difference between Yibum and Chalitzah. If the Yavam claims that no other
woman will marry him because he has not yet become exempt from marrying his
Yevamah, he should be able to force her to do either Yibum or Chalitzah with
him. If, on the other hand, the Yavam is able to find a different wife, then
he should *not* be able to force the Yevamah to do either Yibum or
Chalitzah!
Because of this question, the Gemara concludes that Shmuel and the Beraisa
are both discussing a Yavam who wants to do Yibum. The Beraisa does not
contradict Shmuel, because the Beraisa is following the Mishnah Rishonah
that says that Yibum is preferable to Chalitzah (and therefore the Yavam may
force the Yevamah to perform Yibum, while Shmuel is following the Mishnah
Acharonah that says Chalitzah is preferable because the Yavam might not have
pure intentions (and therefore we do not force the Yevamah to do Yibum just
because the Yavam wants to). It seems that the Gemara is rejecting Rebbi
Yochanan's difference between a Yavam who wants to do Yibum and a Yavam who
wants to do Chalitzah.
There are a number of problems with the way the Gemara deals with Rebbi
Yochanan's statement, according to the explanation of Rashi.
(a) Why does the Gemara say that in a case where the Yavam will be able to
find a different wife if he does not do Chalitzah with the Shomeres Yavam,
we should not force the Shomeres Yavam to do Chalitzah? Why should we not
force her? After all, there is a Mitzvah to do Chalitzah, and the Mishnah
Acharonah holds that doing the Mitzvah of Chalitzah is even more important
than doing the Mitzvah of Yibum! Just like we force her to do Yibum
according to the Mishnah Rishonah, we should force her to do Chalitzah
according to the Mishnah Acharonah! (RITVA in the name of RABEINU TAM)
Indeed, TOSFOS (DH Mai) is of the opinion that according to the Mishnah
Acharonah, we *do* force the Yevamah to do Chalitzah.
(b) Why does the Gemara say, according to Rebbi Yochanan, that we do not
force her to do Yibum "because the Yavam is able to find a different wife
without doing Yibum?" There is a better reason not to force her to do
Yibum -- Rashi says that Rebbi Yochanan is following the Mishnah Acharonah,
which says Yibum is to be avoided since the Yavam might have impure
intentions. If so, we certainly do not force someone to do Yibum! (TOSFOS DH
Mai)
ANSWERS: (a) Apparently, Rashi means that even though we force a person to
do Yibum according to the Mishnah Rishonah, because the Mitzvah of Yibum is
greater than the Mitzvah of Chalitzah, nevertheless according to the Mishnah
Acharonah -- which holds that Chalitzah is better than Yibum -- the Yavam
cannot force the Yevamah to do Chalitzah.
The reason why he cannot force her to do Chalitzah is due to the way Rashi
understands the Mitzvah of Chalitzah. Rashi learns that Chalitzah, in
contrast to Yibum, is not a Mitzvas Aseh that is incumbent upon the Yavam to
do. Rather, it is merely a way to permit the Yevamah to get married when
Yibum is not being performed. It is done solely for the benefit of the
Yevamah. Therefore, if the Yevamah does not want to perform Chalitzah and
she is prepared to remain an Agunah and never remarry, she cannot be forced
to perform Chalitzah. In such a case, there indeed is no reason to perform
Chalitzah at all!
Even though the Mishnah in Bechoros (13a) says that the "*Mitzvah* of
Chalitzah is greater than the Mitzvah of Yibum," seemingly comparing the two
and calling both of them Mitzvos Aseh, Rashi learns that the Gemara calls
Chalitzah a Mitzvah only because it is an act which the Torah prescribes in
order to make a Yevamah permitted to remarry. Since she is *required* to do
Chalitzah in order to remarry (if she does not do Yibum), it is called a
Mitzvah. (That is, Chalitzah is a Mitzvah in the same sense the Gerushin is
counted in the list of Mitzvos.) When the Mishnah there says that Chalitzah
is greater than Yibum, it means that it is greater in the sense that it
avoids the problem that arises if the Yavam performs Yibum with impure
intentions.
Tosfos, who says that we do force the Yevamah to do Chalitzah according to
the Mishnah Acharonah, seems to maintain that Chalitzah is a positive
Mitzvah like Yibum, and therefore we may force her to do Chalitzah.
According to this explanation, Rashi is following his own opinion elsewhere.
The Mishnah in Sanhedrin (18a) teaches us that a king does not perform
Chalitzah if a Yevamah falls to him, nor does his wife to Chalitzah if the
king dies with no children. Similarly, a king does not perform Yibum with
his brother's wife, nor does a king's wife perform Yibum with her husband's
brother.
It is clear why the king does not do Yibum or Chalitzah with his brother's
wife; there is a Mitzvah to uphold the honor of a king, and doing Yibum with
his brother's wife to "build the house of his brother, or having his
brother's wife spit before him in the performance of Chalitzah, would be a
disgrace to the honor of the king (Rashi). Similarly, it is clear why a
king's wife cannot do Yibum with her husband's brother. The king's brother
is a Hedyot (a non-king), and a Hedyot is prohibited from marrying the wife
of a king after the king dies. However, why does the Mishnah there say that
*Chalitzah* may not be done with a king's wife after the king dies? There is
nothing shameful with the king's brother doing Chalitzah with the king's
wife!
RASHI in Sanhedrin (19b, DH v'Lo Choltzin) explains that Chalitzah is not
performed with the wife of a king because she is prohibited from remarrying.
It seems from Rashi that there is no point in performing Chalitzah if it
will not enable the woman to remarry! Rashi in our Sugya is following that
approach as well. (The TIFERES YISRAEL in Sanhedrin suggests that Rashi
might not mean that there is no point in doing Chalitzah if the woman will
not be getting married. Rather, Rashi means that the *Chachamim instituted*
that she not perform Chalitzah lest she *think* that she is permitted to
remarry, when she is really prohibited from remarrying because she is the
widow of a king. However, taken at face value, Rashi seems to be saying that
a woman who does not intend to remarry has no Mitzvah to perform Chalitzah,
as we have explained. The question of whether Chalitzah is a Mitzvah in its
own right may be related to the Yerushalmi, Yevamos 1:1, that discusses
whether Chalitzah is "an exemption from Yibum, or a type of Kinyan.")
(b) Regarding why the Gemara does not say that in a case where the Yavam
wants to do Yibum, the woman is not considered a Moredes (and we do not
force her to do Yibum) because Yibum is looked upon unfavorably according to
the Mishnah Acharonah, the answer appears to be as follows. The Gemara means
that if the Yavam insists on doing Yibum and she refuses to do either Yibum
or Chalitzah, then we force her to do *Chalitzah* in order to enable him to
marry another wife. Even though he is demanding to do Yibum, since his
purpose is to be able to marry another wife, we force her to do Chalitzah so
that he can get married. (See Tosfos DH Mai Shena, who rejects this
approach.)