Mishnah Yevamot

Mishnah Yevamot 1:4 shows that disputes did not have to lead to an extreme sectarian separatism as long as differences were tolerated. Thus, even though the schools of Hillel and Shammai differed in declaring certain unions valid or invalid and certain items ritually pure or impure, the schools were able to manage their differences and live as one community. Mishnah Yevamot 6:6 illustrates that the rabbis also debated aspects of the obligation to procreate, including whether it fell upon both men and women. Mishnah Yevamot 16:7–10 responds to the concern that, according to the rabbinic interpretation of biblical law, only men were empowered to initiate a divorce. This created difficulties for women whose husbands disappeared. Without a writ of divorce or witness testimony to her husband’s death, a woman was not free to remarry (see Divorce). Mishnah Yevamot 16:7 indicates that in the face of such human suffering, the rabbis were often flexible and lenient.

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Mishnah Yevamot 1:4 shows that disputes did not have to lead to an extreme sectarian separatism as long as differences were tolerated. Thus, even though the schools of Hillel and Shammai differed in declaring certain unions valid or invalid and certain items ritually pure or impure, the schools were able to manage their differences and live as one community. Mishnah Yevamot 6:6 illustrates that the rabbis also debated aspects of the obligation to procreate, including whether it fell upon both men and women. Mishnah Yevamot 16:7–10 responds to the concern that, according to the rabbinic interpretation of biblical law, only men were empowered to initiate a divorce. This created difficulties for women whose husbands disappeared. Without a writ of divorce or witness testimony to her husband’s death, a woman was not free to remarry (see Divorce). Mishnah Yevamot 16:7 indicates that in the face of such human suffering, the rabbis were often flexible and lenient.

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