Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

A wide-ranging commentary on the daily page of Talmud.

Yevamot 35:Defining Paternity

jyungar April 11, 2022

For the source text click/tap here: Yevamot 35

To download, click/tap here: PDF

The new Perek begins with the following Mishnah: If a man dies and leaves a pregnant wife, the yet-to-be born fetus is still the seed of the father.

And if such a fetus survives thirty days, the woman is free to marry whomever she pleases, without the need for chalitzah; and the brother of the deceased is forbidden to marry her on the penalty of karet.

If the brother marries his pregnant sister-in-law--deliberately or unknowingly--whether such is a grievous sin, or the retroactive performance of a "mitzvah" will not be known for many months.

While our rabbis forbade such a marriage, the Sages of the Mishnah would allow the marriage to continue if and when the woman either miscarries or gives birth to a baby who dies within thirty days.

We explore the notion of paternity and the new technologies such as DNA and HLA testing and how the Israeli courts struggle with the halacha vs science when applying this to paternity.

How the World Trade Disaster and search for DNA remains (and developments in the science) to free women from being agunot has influenced the rabbinic t’shuvot.

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Julian Ungar-Sargon

This is Julian Ungar-Sargon's personal website. It contains poems, essays, and podcasts for the spiritual seeker and interdisciplinary aficionado.​