[Avodah] Yebamoth and Megilath Ruth

[Arie Folger]

RZS wrote:
> 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.

See Ramban who answers many of our questions. He shows that yaqum 'al shem 
hamet is a matter of soul, not naming conventions. This matter of soul can 
even happen through more distant relatives, as in Megillat Rut. However, in 
the case of a brother of the deceased marrying the widow, the Torah saw fit 
to regulate the matter. The mitzvah of yibum thus limits yibum, rather than 
enacting it.

-- 
Arie Folger
http://www.ariefolger.googlepages.com