Yibbum (pronounced "yee-boom"), or Levirate Marriage, in Judaism, is one of the most complex types of marriages mandated by Torah law (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). According to the law, the brother of a man who died without children has an obligation to marry the widow.. However, if the one of the parties refuses to go through with the marriage, both are required to go through a ceremony known as halizah, involving a symbolic act of renunciation of their right to perform this marriage. Jewish law (halakha) has seen a gradual decline of yibbum in favor of halizah, to the point where in most contemporary Jewish communities the former is strongly discouraged. Not to be confused with Levite. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with marriage. ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ... Halizah or Chalitzah (Hebrew: חליצה) - Under the system of levirate marriage known as Yibbum described in the Hebrew Bible, was the ceremony by which a widow and her husbands brother could avoid the duty to marry after the husbands death. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה ; alternate transliterations include Halocho and Halacha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions. ...

The concept of yibbum is not unique to Judaism. Known as levirate marriage (when the marriage is to the deceased's brother) or widow inheritance (when it is to any surviving male relative), it has been practiced by other societies with a strong clan structure. It is or was known in societies including the Punjabis, Jats, Huns (Chinese "Xiongnu", "Hsiong-nu", etc.), Mongols, and Tibetans. Not to be confused with Levite. ... Widow inheritance, also known as bride inheritance, is a type of marriage in which a widow marries a kinsman of her late husband, often his brother. ... For other uses, see Clan (disambiguation). ... The Punjabi people (Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, پنجابی, also Panjabi people) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group from South Asia. ... About 8 million Jats live in the Indian state of Haryana. ... For other uses, see Hun (disambiguation). ... A Xiongnu belt buckle. ... A Xiongnu belt buckle. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... The Tibetan people are a people indigenous to Tibet and surrounding areas stretching from Central Asia in the West to Myanmar and China in the East. ...

In the Hebrew Bible

Among the Jews marriage with a brother's widow was forbidden (Leviticus 18,16; 10,21), except for the case of yibbum. The surviving brother had the choice of halizah. Such a choice was viewed with disfavor. The brother who agreed to marry his sister-in-law would be the sole benefactor of his brother's estate instead of splitting it with the family. If the levirate union resulted in male issue, the child would be named after the deceased brother. Levirate marriage was regarded as obligatory or even permissible only when the widow had no children of either sex.^[1] The Septuagint translates "ben" (son) in the passage of Deuteronomy by "child," and the Sadducees in the New Testament take it in this sense.^[2] Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ... Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). ... Halizah or Chalitzah (Hebrew: חליצה) - Under the system of levirate marriage known as Yibbum described in the Hebrew Bible, was the ceremony by which a widow and her husbands brother could avoid the duty to marry after the husbands death. ... The Septuagint: A column of uncial text from 1 Esdras in the Codex Vaticanus, the basis of Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brentons Greek edition and English translation. ... The sect of the Sadducees - possibly from Hebrew Tsdoki צדוקי [], whence Zadokites or other variants - was founded in the 2nd century BCE, possibly as a political party, and ceased to exist sometime after the 1st century CE. The Hebrew name, Tsdoki, indicates their claim that they are the followers of the... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ...

The most famous case of a levirate‑type marriage in the Hebrew Bible is the unusual union of the Hebrew patriarch Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar as recorded in the Book of Genesis chapter 38:8. While not strictly a case of yibbum (since Judah was Tamar's father-in-law), the motivation behind the marriage is seen in the same light. This article is about the term Hebrew Bible. For the Jewish scriptures see Tanakh. ... In Genesis (the first book of the Bible) Judah (יְהוּדָה Praise, Standard Hebrew YÉ™huda, Tiberian Hebrew YÉ™hûḏāh) is the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, born in Padan-aram (Genesis xxix. ... Tamar - תָּמָר Palm tree, Standard Hebrew Tamar, Tiberian Hebrew Tāmār The daughter-in-law of Judah, to whose eldest son, Er, she was married (Gen. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ...

A famous instance involving a case analogous to both halitzah and yibbum is recounted in the Book of Ruth when after the death of her husband, Ruth is rejected by an anonymous Ploni Almoni, and is noticed, welcomed and eventually turns to her husband's remaining kinsman Boaz (The Book of Ruth describes a custom involving a larger set of kin subject to levirate marriage, as both Ploni Almoni and Boaz would be considered insufficiently consanguinous to be subject to yibbum or chalitza under Talmudic or contemporary Jewish law). Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to the land of Moab by William Blake, 1795 Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld: Ruth in Boazs Field, 1828 The Book of Ruth (Hebrew: מגילת רות, Megilat Rut, the Scroll of Ruth) is one of the books of the Ketuvim (Writings) of the Tanakh (the... Boaz (Heb. ...

Laws of Yibbum and Halizah

Halakha (Jewish law) has a rich tradition around yibbum. These laws were first recorded in the Mishna and Talmud in Yevamot, and were later codified by Maimonides in the Mishneh Torah. The subject is considered one of the most intricate in Jewish law, partly because of the complication that arise from multiple brothers and multiple wives. Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה ; alternate transliterations include Halocho and Halacha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ...

According to halakha, when a married man dies without having any children, male or female, from any relationship (including premarital and extra marital), his widow and his brother must perform either yibbum or halizah. According to Biblical law, there is no need for a marriage ceremony between the widow and the deceased's brother as they are already bound by divine decree,^[3], nevertheless the Sages decreed that the couple perform a marriage-like ceremony of maamar,^[4] recite the marriage blessings (sheva brachot) and write a prenuptial agreement (ketubah).^[5] It is forbidden for the widow to remarry another until halizah has been performed.^[6] Therefore, if the brother is missing, or if he is still a child, the woman is required to wait until he is either located or has reached adolescence, so that he can perform the halizah ceremony. This can lead to a situation similar to an agunah. Sheva Brachot (Hebrew: שבע ברכות ) literally the seven blessings also known as brichot Nesuin (Hebrew: ברכות נישואים ), the wedding blessings in Halakha (Jewish religious law) are blessings that are recited for the bride and the groom in a Jewish Wedding ceremony under the chupah over a second cup of wine. ... An illustrated ketubah A ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract. ... Celebration of Bar Mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. ... Agunah (plural: agunot, literally anchored or chained women) is a Jewish halachic term for a woman who is chained to her marriage; either because her husbands whereabouts are unknown, or her husband refuses or is unable to grant her an official bill of divorce under Jewish law known as...

For the laws of yibbum only brothers that share a common father are considered brothers.^[7] While any brother can perform yibbum or halizah, the greater obligation is on the oldest brother first. If the deceased left multiple wives yibbum can only be performed with one of them. Likewise the halizah of one permits all of them to remarry.^[8] Because there is a general prohibition on a man marrying his brother's wife, anytime that a yibbum is not required (for example the deceased had a child) it is forbidden. Likewise, anytime that there is a doubt whether yibbum is required, it is also forbidden and halizah is required. ^[9]

The Samaritans followed a slightly different course, which may indicate an earlier custom among the Hebrews; the former practiced the levirate only when the woman was betrothed and the marriage had not been consummated.^[10] The Karaites appear to have followed the same practice, and Benjamin Nahawendi, as well as Elijah Bashyazi, favored it.^[11] For the ethnic group of this name, see Samaritan. ... Karaite Judaism is a Jewish denomination characterized by reliance on the Tanakh as the sole scripture, and rejection of the Oral Law (the Mishnah and the Talmuds) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ...

History of Yibbum

The rabbis in the time of the mishnah added formal marriage requirements such as a ketubah (marriage contract), but over the centuries yibbum waned in favor. The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... An illustrated ketubah A ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract. ...

By Talmudic times the practice of levirate marriage was deemed objectionable, ^[12] and was followed as a matter of duty only. To marry a brother's widow for her beauty was regarded by Abba Saul as equivalent to incest.^[13] Bar Kappara recommends halizah ^[14]. A difference of opinion appears among the later authorities, Alfasi, Maimonides, and the Spanish school generally upholding the custom, while Rabbeinu Tam and the Northern school prefer halizah^[15] The marriage was not necessary if the brother left a child by another marriage, even if such a child were on the point of death.^[16] A change of religion on the part of the surviving brother does not affect the obligation of the levirate, or its alternative, the halizah,^[17] yet the whole question has been profoundly affected by the change from polygamy to monogamy due to the takkanah of Gershom ben Judah. Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... Rabbeinu Tam (רבינו תם) (real name Rabbeinu Yaakov, or Jacob in English) was the son of Rabbeinu Meir and his wife Yochebed. ... Polygamy has been a feature of human culture since earliest history. ... Faithfulness redirects here. ... Gershom ben Judah best known as Rabbeinu Gershom (in Hebrew: Our teacher Gershom) (c. ...

Orthodox Jews still observe it in all its details, and Conservative Judaism formally retains it. Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism have abolished it. Orthodox Judaism is one of the three major branches of Judaism. ... This article is about Conservative (Masorti) Judaism in the United States. ... Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest denomination of American Jews and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th-century Germany. ... Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement, based on the ideas of the late Mordecai Kaplan, that views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. ...

Critical approach

It has been suggested by Kalisch ("Leviticus," ii. 362-363) that the prohibition in Leviticus is of later date than the obligation under certain conditions in Deuteronomy, but it is equally possible that the Leviticus prohibition was a general one, and the permission in Deuteronomy only an exception when there was no male issue. J. F. Maclennan ("Studies in Ancient History," i. 109-114) suggested that the existence of levirate marriage was due to polyandry among the primitive Hebrews, and has been followed by Buhl ("Sociale Verhaltnisse," p. 34) and Barton ("Semitic Origins," pp. 66-67); but this is rather opposed to the Hebraic conditions, for it would be against the interests of the surviving brother to allow the estate to go out of his possession again. There is, besides, no evidence of polyandry among the Hebrews. In social anthropology and sociobiology, polyandry (Greek: poly- many, andros- man) means a female forming a sexual union with more than one male. ...

References

1. ^ Mishneh Torah Laws of Yibbum and Halizah 1:3; Shulchan Aruch, Eben ha-'Ezer, 156:2
2. ^ Mark 12:19; comp. Josephus, "Ant." iv. 8, § 23
3. ^ Mishneh Torah Laws of Yibbum and Halizah 1:1
4. ^ Mishneh Torah Laws of Yibbum and Halizah 2:1
5. ^ Shulchan Aruch, Eben ha-'Ezer, 166:2; Mishneh Torah Laws of Yibbum and Halizah 2:2
6. ^ Mishneh Torah Laws of Yibbum and Halizah 1:2
7. ^ Shulchan Aruch, Eben ha-'Ezer, 157:1; Mishneh Torah Laws of Yibbum and Halizah 1:8
8. ^ Shulchan Aruch, Eben ha-'Ezer, 161:1;Mishneh Torah Laws of Yibbum and Halizah 1:9
9. ^ Mishneh Torah Laws of Yibbum and Halizah 6:4
10. ^ Talmud Kiddushin 65b
11. ^ Adderet Eliyahu, "Nashim," p. 93a
12. ^ Talmud Bekhorot 13a
13. ^ Talmud Yevamot 39b
14. ^ Yevamot. 109a
15. ^ Shulchan Aruch, Eben ha-'Ezer, 165
16. ^ Shulchan Aruch, Eben ha-'Ezer, 157
17. ^ Isaac ben Sheshet, Responsa, i. 2)

The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ... The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ... The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ... The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ... The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ... The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ... The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ... The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ... The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ... Kodshim (קדשים, Holy Things in Hebrew) is the fifth order in the Mishna (also the Tosefta and Talmud). ... The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (1326-1408) (Hebrew: יצחק בר ששת) was a Spanish Talmudic authority, also know by his acronym, Rivash (ריבש). He was born at Valencia and settled early in life at Barcelona, where he studied under Perez ha-Kohen, under Hasdai ben Judah, and especially under R. Nissim ben Reuben (RaN), for...

See also

• Halizah, Jewish law
• Onan
• Yevamot, the tractate in the Talmud devoted to the subject of Yibbum
• Widow inheritance, for a discussion of similar practices in other cultures

Halizah or Chalitzah (Hebrew: חליצה) - Under the system of levirate marriage known as Yibbum described in the Hebrew Bible, was the ceremony by which a widow and her husbands brother could avoid the duty to marry after the husbands death. ... otheruses}} The story of Onan is found in the Bible in Genesis 38:1-10. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Widow inheritance, also known as bride inheritance, is a type of marriage in which a widow marries a kinsman of her late husband, often his brother. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.
• Levirate Marriage in the Jewish Encyclopedia.

The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ...

External links

• Levirate Marriage and Halizah
• Tamar -- the Wife of Yehudah
• Redemption in Megillat Ruth