[Avodah] Is it better to have one person do a vadai mitzva...

[Micha Berger]

On Fri, Sep 07, 2007 at 11:57:52AM +0300, saul mashbaum wrote:
: I believe that this is not to be taken entirely literally. "Eino
: mitzva" be "eino mitzva kol kach"; yibum is preferable to chalitza. The
: monei hamitzvot count chalitza as one of the taryag mitzvot, and I am
: unaware that there is a qualification "*only* if mitzvat yibum for some
: reason yibum cannot be done".

Yibum is a mitzvah chiyuvis, chalitzah is qiyumis / materes.

When yibum isn't an option -- either because she is his wife's sister,
cheirem deR' Gershom, or because we are chosheshim like Abba Shaul
of desires that make it ke'ein arayos -- that materes is a major
chessed. Chalitzah is thus mandatory today (even though yibum qodemes),
either an asei of chessed and/or a lav of hezeq.

...
: I do not think that we can deduce from asei doche lo taaseh by yibum
: that chalitza is not considered a mitzva if yibum could possibly be
: done. Asei doche lo taaseh even if one could somehow both do a mitzva
: and avoid the lo taaseh. Tzitzit is doche k'laim, and wollen tzitzit
: can be put on a linen garment, even if linen tzitzit (without t'chelet)
: could possibly be used, both performing a mitzva (in perhaps a lesser way)
: and avoiding the lav. Despite the wording of the principle, I think it's
: fair to say that the lo taaseh is hutra, not merely d'chuya, by the asei.

Here, there is nothing to matir if yibum is performed.

It's not asei docheh lav, a materes isn't a lav. Shechitah is counted
as an asei, and separate from the lav of tereifah. Similarly gittin and
eishes ish. It's a different mechanism for a chiyuv to eliminate the
existence of the issur and thus the need of a matir.

GCT!
-mi

-- 
Micha Berger             When memories exceed dreams,
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