Soncino English Talmud
Yevamot
Daf 42b
might conceive again, her milk would become turbid, and she might thereby cause the death of the child. If so, [this applies in the case] of the man's own child also! — His own child she would sustain with eggs and milk. Would she not sustain her own child also with eggs and with milk? — Her husband would not give her the means. Let her claim it from the heirs! — Abaye replied: A woman would shrink from going to court and would rather let her child die. WHETHER THEY WERE VIRGINS OR NON-VIRGINS. Who are the VIRGINS and who are the BETROTHED? Who are NON-VIRGINS and who are MARRIED women? — Rab Judah replied, It is this that was meant: WHETHER VIRGINS OR NON-VIRGINS who became widows or were divorced either after betrothal or after marriage. R. Eleazar did not go one day to the Beth Hamidrash. On meeting R. Assi he asked him, 'What did the Rabbis discourse at the Beth Hamidrash'? The other replied 'Thus said R. Johanan: The halachah is in agreement with R. Jose'. — Does this, then, imply that only individual opinion is against him? — Yes; and so it was taught: A [married woman] who was always anxious to spend her time at her paternal home, or who had some angry quarrel at her husband's home, or whose husband was in prison or was old or infirm, or who was herself infirm, or had miscarried after the death of her husband, or was barren, old, a minor, incapable of conception or in any other way incapacitated from procreation, must wait three months. These are the words of R. Meir. R. Judah permits immediate betrothal and marriage. R. Hiyya b. Abba said: R. Johanan retracted. Said R. Joseph: If he retracted, he did so on account of what has been taught at the Vineyard. For it was taught: R. Ishmael son of R. Johanan b. Beroka said: I heard from the mouth of the Sages in the Vineyard of Jabneh that all women must wait three months. Said R. Jeremiah to R. Zerika: When you visit R. Abbahu point out to him the following contradiction: Could R. Johanan have said, 'The halachah is in agreement with R. Jose' seeing that he stated elsewhere 'the halachah is in agreement with the anonymous Mishnah', and we learned, ALL OTHER WOMEN SHALL BE NEITHER MARRIED NOR BETROTHED BEFORE THREE MONTHS HAVE PASSED, WHETHER THEY WERE VIRGINS OR NON-VIRGINS! The other replied, 'The one who pointed out to you this contradiction did not care much for [the quality of] flour. This is an anonymous Mishnah that was followed by a dispute, where the halachah does not agree with the anonymous Mishnah; for R. Papa or, some say, R. Johanan stated: When a disputed ruling is followed by an anonymous one, the halachah is in agreement with the anonymous ruling; when, however, an anonymous ruling is followed by a dispute, the halachah is not in agreement with the anonymous ruling. R. Abbahu once walked leaning upon the shoulder of his attendant, R. Nahum, whilst gathering from him information as to traditional rulings. He inquired of him: What [is the halachah] where a dispute is followed by an anonymous statement? The other replied: The halachah is in agreement with the anonymous statement, 'What [is the halachah', the first enquired, 'when] an anonymous statement is followed by a dispute'? The other replied: The halachah is not in agreement with the anonymous statement. 'What if the anonymous statement occurs in a Mishnah and the dispute in a Baraitha'? The other replied: The halachah is in agreement with the anonymous statement. 'What if the dispute is in the Mishnah and the anonymous statement in the Baraitha'? The other replied: