Yevamot 70 - May 16, 15 Iyar

Study Guide Yevamot 70

There is a second version of the debate between Rava and Abaye in how to understand the debate between Rav and Shmuel regarding an engaged woman who has a child. In what case do we assume it belongs to the husband and in what case would the child be a mamzer/shtuki? Rava holds that if the man admits that he had relations with his fiancé, then the child is considered his, even if she is rumored to have been with other men. But if she is not rumored to have been with him and only with other men, the child is a mamzer, according to Rav. Abaye disagrees and if she is suspected of being with him and other men, we have to assume the child is a mamzer. Only if there are no rumors about her at all, and the man admits the child is his, then we can assume he is the father. Sources are brought to explain from where we learn the laws regarding one who has a grandson who is a slave, mamzer or kohen gadol that were mentioned in the Mishna. The Mishna had mentioned a case where the offspring born from a union of a Jewish woman and a gentile/slave is a mamzer and the Gemara tries to establish according to whose opinion the Mishna was stated. An uncircumcised or impure kohen can’t eat truma but their wives and slaves can. One with crushed testicles or his organ is severed – he and his slaves can eat truma but his wife cannot as he is not permitted to marry. The Mishna discusses details of these categories. From where do we derive that an uncircumcised man can’t eat truma? These laws are derived from Pesach as the same words are used in each “toshav” and “sachir.” This only works as one of the mentions of these words are unnecessary. Why are these words used specifically to teach about someone uncircumcised and not other possible laws that could have been derived from here?