[2a - 7 lines; 2b - 25 lines]

1)[line 2]צרותיהןTZAROSEIHEM- their fellow wives

2)[line 3]חליצה... יבוםCHALITZAH... YIBUM

(a)Should a married man die without children, his widow is not then free to marry whomever she pleases. The brothers of her deceased husband have a Mitzvah to perform Yibum (levirate marriage); that is, they are obligated to marry her (Devarim 25:5-10). If the deceased has more than one brother, the oldest brother is offered the Mitzvah of Yibum first (Yevamos 24a).

(b)If the brother(s) does not wish to carry out this Mitzvah, he must perform Chalitzah. This is a procedure in Beis Din which dissolves the ties binding the widow to her brother(s)-in-law (known as "Zikah"), thus allowing her to marry anyone else. One of the brothers must appear together with his widowed sister-in-law before a Beis Din of three and state, "I do not wish to marry her." His sister-in-law then approaches him, removes his right sandal, and spits on the ground in front of him. She then declares, "This is what shall be done to the man who will not build his brother's family." After this she is free to marry whomever she wants.

3)[line 3]עד סוף העולםAD SOF HA'OLAM- and so on and so forth forever (the Mishnah explains the intent of this statement on 2b)

4a)[line 3]בתוBITO- his daughter [(a) born of a woman other than his wife (RASHI); (b) even if she was born of a woman other than his wife (RI quoted in TOSFOS DH Bito)]

b)[line 4]בת אשתוBAS ISHTO- his wife's daughter [(a) even if she is not his daughter (RASHI); (b) who is not his daughter (RI quoted in TOSFOS DH Bito)]

5a)[line 5]חמותוCHAMOSO- his mother-in-law (who remarried his brother; see Insights)

b)[line 6]חמיוCHAMIV- his father-in-law

2b----------------------------------------2b

6)[line 1]אשת אחיו שלא היה בעולמוESHES ACHIV SHE'LO HAYAH B'OLAMO- the wife of his brother who died before he was born [in which case Yibum does not apply, as the verse (Devarim 25:5) specifies that one must have dwelled together with his brother for the Mitzvah Yibum to apply]

7)[line 1]כלתוKALASO- his daughter-in-law (who subsequently married his brother)

8)[line 4]מיאנוMI'ANU (MI'UN)

(a)Until a girl reaches the age of physical maturity, her father may marry her off to a groom of his choosing. This marriage is as valid as one in which a woman who is of age consents to marry a man of her own choosing.

(b)If such a girl is subsequently divorced or widowed before she reaches the age of maturity, or if her father died before marrying her off, then the Chachamim allowed her mother and/or oldest brother to marry her off. Such a marriage, however, is valid only mid'Rabanan. In this case she must be ten years old, or at the very youngest six years old, if she understands the concept of marriage. The RAMBAM and the RA'AVAD maintain that if such a girl gets married on her own, it is also a valid marriage mid'Rabanan.

(c)When a young girl is married mid'Rabanan, she has the option of rejecting the marriage. At any point until she reaches Halachic maturity (i.e., until she becomes a Na'arah), she may declare in front of two witnesses, "I do not want him." This procedure is termed Mi'un (refusal), and through it her marriage is retroactively annulled. A Get (a bill of divorce) is unnecessary in Mi'un. A girl who was married off by her father cannot annul her marriage through Mi'un (RAMBAM Hilchos Ishus 4:7-8).

9)[line 5]אילוניתAILONIS- a woman lacking a womb, and therefore incapable of conception (the word "Ailonis" is derived from the word "Ayil" - a male ram [Kesuvos 11a])

10)[line 8]עריותARAYOS- those with whom one is forbidden to have relations (as specified in Vayikra 18:6-18)

11)[line 11]נשאתNIS'ES- got married [through the performance of the Mitzvah of Yibum]

12a)[line 18]חולצתCHOLETZES- she must go through the process of Chalitzah [since she was married to his brother]

b)[line 18]ולא מתייבמתV'LO MISYABEMES- but she may not go through the process of Yibum [since people will then assume that even a co-wife of an Ervah who is married to a brother mid'Oraisa may do so]

13)[line 19]כולהו מאחות אשה ילפינןKULHU ME'ACHOS ISHAH YALFINAN- [that which] every [Ervah exempts her co-wife from Yibum and Chalitzah] is derived from [the verse delineating the prohibition of marrying] the sister of one's wife

14)[line 20]חומרי חומרי נקטCHUMREI CHUMREI NAKAT- listed [the Arayos in the Mishnah] from that which deserves the most serious punishment to that which deserves the least serious punishment

15)[lines 21, 24]שריפה... סקילהSEREIFAH... SEKILAH (MISOS BEIS DIN)

(a)One who transgresses certain sins, after receiving a proper warning and in front of two witnesses, receives the death penalty from Beis Din. The four death penalties administered by Beis Din, in order of stringency, are:

1.SEKILAH - one who is convicted of an Aveirah punishable by stoning is led to the Beis ha'Sekilah, which is located outside of the settlement (Sanhedrin 42b). This is a structure twice the height of an average person. The convict is given wine to drink until he is inebriated, and he is then brought to the top of the Beis ha'Sekilah with his hands tied. The two witnesses whose testimony served to convict him accompany him, and one of them pushes him off of the top platform. Should he survive the fall, the witnesses roll a large stone heavy enough to require the two of them to lift it onto him from above. If he is still alive following this, then all those assembled pelt him with stones until he perishes (Sefer ha'Chinuch #555). Sins for which Sekilah is administered include Shabbos desecration, idol worship, cursing G-d, bestiality, sodomy, and certain illicit relations including incest with one's daughter-in-law (Sanhedrin 53a).

2.SEREIFAH - one who is convicted of an Aveirah punishable by burning is placed into refuse up to his knees. A scarf of hard material wrapped within a scarf of soft material is then wrapped around his neck. The witnesses to his crime pull on the ends of the double scarf until the convict opens his mouth, at which point molten lead is poured down his throat, burning his intestines (Sefer ha'Chinuch #26). Sereifah is administered for certain illicit relations, including incest with one's daughter, granddaughter, or wife's daughter or granddaughter (Sanhedrin 75a).

3.HEREG - one who is convicted of an Aveirah punishable by death by sword has his head severed in Beis Din by the witnesses to his crime (Sefer ha'Chinuch #50). Sins for which Hereg is administered include serving Avodah Zarah along with other inhabitants of an Ir ha'Nidachas, and murder (Sanhedrin 76b).

4.CHENEK - one who is convicted of an Aveirah punishable by strangulation is placed into refuse up to his knees. A scarf of hard material wrapped within a scarf of soft material is then wrapped around his neck. The witnesses to his crime pull on the ends of the double scarf until he expires (Sefer ha'Chinuch #47). Sins for which Chenek is administered include wounding one's parents, an elder who rules against Beis Din (a Zaken Mamrei), one who prophecies falsely, and certain illicit relations (Sanhedrin 84b).

(b)According to Rebbi Shimon, the order of stringency is Sereifah, Sekilah, Chenek, and Hereg (Mishnah Sanhedrin 9:3, Gemara Sanhedrin 49b).

(c)Beis Din is strongly encouraged to act leniently and find a loophole so as not to administer the death penalty (Devarim 13:15). A Beis Din that puts a sinner to death as often as once every seven years is considered a murderous Beis Din. According to Rebbi Elazar ben Azaryah, this applies to a Beis Din that puts a sinner to death as often as once in seventy years (Mishnah, Makos 7a).