Yevamos Chapter 3, Mishnah 7: Two Cases of Yibum with Sisters and Tzaros

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The Mishnah before us presents two cases of yibum involving two sisters and their co-wives, and from them a single principle emerges: everything is determined by the state of affairs at the moment the woman became subject to yibum.

The first case:

Reuven and Shimon - two of the brothers - are married to two sisters: Reuven to Rachel and Shimon to Leah.
Levi - the third brother - is married to Sarah, a woman who is not a relative (in the language of the Mishnah: "nosei nochris").

Reuven dies, and his widow Rachel becomes subject to yibum. Shimon cannot perform yibum with her, since she is the sister of his wife Leah, and therefore Levi performs yibum with her. After the yibum has already taken place, Leah, Shimon's wife, dies. The prohibition of a wife's sister applies only as long as the wife is alive, and once Leah has died Rachel is no longer forbidden to Shimon on that account. Afterward Levi dies, and Rachel becomes subject to yibum once again - this time before Shimon. Seemingly Shimon could perform yibum with her, since the prohibition of a wife's sister has already lapsed.

Yet the Mishnah rules that she remains forbidden to him. Why?

We must examine her status at the moment she first became subject to yibum: at that time Shimon's wife was still alive. True, the prohibition of a wife's sister has since passed, but at the moment of her first falling to yibum the prohibition of a brother's wife rested upon her - a prohibition that is normally set aside by the mitzvah of yibum. Here there was no mitzvah of yibum with respect to Shimon, because she was his wife's sister, and therefore the prohibition of a brother's wife remained in force. This prohibition stands even after the prohibition of a forbidden relative, a wife's sister, has been removed, for she was forbidden to him for one moment.

The second case:

Reuven and Shimon are married to two sisters: Reuven to Rachel and Shimon to Leah.
Levi is married to Sarah, a third woman who is not a relative.

"Gireish echad mi'ba'alei achayos es ishto" - Reuven divorces Rachel.
"U'meis nosei nochris" - Levi dies, and his widow Sarah becomes subject to yibum.
"V'chansah ha'megaresh" - Reuven, who divorced his wife, performs yibum with Sarah.
"U'meis" - Reuven dies, and Sarah becomes subject to yibum before Shimon.

Even though Reuven had previously been married to Rachel, the sister of Leah, Shimon's wife, at the time of the death and of Sarah's falling to yibum Sarah was not Rachel's co-wife. True, both of them had been married to the same man, but they were never married to him at one and the same time - and therefore there is no case here of the co-wife of a forbidden relative.

This is what the Sages said in the very first Mishnah of our tractate: "V'chulan she'meisu o nisgarshu - tzaroseihen mutaros" - in the case of any of the fifteen forbidden relatives who died or was divorced before the obligation of yibum took effect, her co-wife is permitted. The reason: the two of them never fell to yibum together, and at the moment the obligation of yibum took effect they were not co-wives of one another, so there is no prohibition of the co-wife of a forbidden relative.

In summary: in both cases the law is determined by the state of affairs at the moment of falling to yibum. In the first case the woman is forbidden forever, because at the moment of her first falling to yibum the prohibition of a brother's wife rested upon her and was not set aside by yibum - and so she was forbidden to him for one moment. In the second case the woman is permitted, because at the moment of her falling to yibum she was not the co-wife of a forbidden relative.

Original maamar

אות יבמות ג:ז

שְׁלֹשָׁה אַחִים, שְׁנַיִם מֵהֶן נְשׂוּאִים שְׁתֵּי אֲחָיוֹת, וְאֶחָד נָשׂוּי נָכְרִית, מֵת אֶחָד מִבַּעֲלֵי אֲחָיוֹת, וְכָנַס נָשׂוּי נָכְרִית אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ, וּמֵתָה אִשְׁתּוֹ שֶׁל שֵׁנִי, וְאַחַר כָּךְ מֵת נָשׂוּי נָכְרִית, הֲרֵי זוֹ אֲסוּרָה עָלָיו עוֹלָמִית, הוֹאִיל וְנֶאֶסְרָה עָלָיו שָׁעָה אֶחָת. שְׁלֹשָׁה אַחִים, שְׁנַיִם מֵהֶן נְשׂוּאִין שְׁתֵּי אֲחָיוֹת, וְאֶחָד נָשׂוּי נָכְרִית, גֵּרֵשׁ אֶחָד מִבַּעֲלֵי אֲחָיוֹת אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ, וּמֵת נָשׂוּי נָכְרִית, וּכְנָסָהּ הַמְּגָרֵשׁ, וָמֵת, זוֹ הִיא שֶׁאָמְרוּ, וְכֻלָּן שֶׁמֵּתוּ אוֹ נִתְגָּרְשׁוּ, צָרוֹתֵיהֶן מֻתָּרוֹת: In the case of three brothers, two of whom were married to two sisters and one who was married to an unrelated woman, the following occurred: One of the husbands of the sisters died, and he who was married to the unrelated woman married the deceased husband’s wife, and then the wife of the second brother, the other one of the sisters, died. Afterward, the brother who was married to the unrelated woman died, leaving two women for levirate marriage before the remaining brother: The unrelated woman and the woman who was previously prohibited as the sister of his deceased wife. In this case, the sister is forbidden to him forever. She is not forbidden due to her status as his wife’s sister, as his wife already died and one’s wife’s sister is permitted after the wife’s death. However, since she was already forbidden to him at one time, she is forbidden to him forever. When she first happened before the brothers for levirate marriage, before the third brother married her, she was forbidden to the second brother as his wife’s sister. Therefore, she is forbidden to him forever. In addition, she exempts her rival wife, the unrelated woman, from levirate marriage. In the case of three brothers, two of whom were married to two sisters and one who was married to an unrelated woman, the following occurred: Shimon, the husband of one of the sisters, divorced his wife, and then Levi, who was married to the unrelated woman, died, and Shimon, the man who divorced his wife, married, i.e., performed levirate marriage with, her, i.e., this unrelated woman. And then Shimon himself later died, so that the unrelated woman happened for levirate marriage before Reuven, the third brother, who is married to the second sister. In this scenario, Reuven is allowed to consummate the levirate marriage with the unrelated woman. This is the case that was referred to when they said: And with regard to all those fifteen forbidden relatives who died or were divorced, their rival wives are permitted to enter into levirate marriage. This is because at the time that they happened before the yavam for levirate marriage they were no longer the rival wives of a forbidden relative.