[Avodah] Yebamoth and Megilath Ruth

[Zev Sero]

Zev Sero wrote:
> Daniel Israel wrote:

>> Also note that in the story of Yehudah and Tamar, there is clearly a 
>> concept of yibum, even though yibum through the father would not work 
>> (in fact would be assur) min ha'Torah.  And in this case we see that 
>> it really is yibum, since the yerusha is through Peretz.

> But in actual yibum the yevama's oldest son has no special status at
> all, despite the peshat of the pasuk.  According to the midrash halacha
> that we follow, "habechor asher teled" refers to the oldest brother of
> the niftar, and he is the yoresh.  After him the property goes to all
> his sons equally.

He'irani chacham echad that I should have been clearer: the "bechor
asher teled" only gets the property if he actually follows through on
his mitzvah of yibbum.  If he doesn't, then whoever marries the widow
gets the property, and if nobody does then it goes by the normal rules
of inheritance: first to the father and then to all the father's heirs,
their heirs, etc.

Nor is there a requirement to name the yevama's oldest son after her
late husband.  Though it seems to me that since the peshat does seem
to require it, it would be a nice gesture to do so.  It also seems to
me that this should be at least some evidence that there's nothing
wrong with naming a child after someone who died childless.



-- 
Zev Sero               Something has gone seriously awry with this Court's
zev at sero.name          interpretation of the Constitution.
                       	                          - Clarence Thomas