Work | Keritot 6b Page 78 Jebhammoth 61

| Aspect | Keritot 6b | Yevamot 61a-b | |--------|------------|----------------| | Subject | Sin offering for doubtful transgression | Levirate marriage for doubtful lineage | | Principle | Safeik la chatat – no definite offering | Safeik la yibbum – no valid levirate act | | Resolution | Bring asham talui (conditional guilt offering) | Perform only halitzah (not yibbum) in doubt | | Key term | Karet (excision) | Mamzerut (illegitimate status) |

Both tractates demand certainty for the core ritual work: either the sacrificial system’s atonement or the levirate marriage’s continuity of the deceased’s name. keritot 6b page 78 jebhammoth 61 work

Meanwhile, in Jebhammoth 61, the conversation turns to the laws of levirate marriage. This practice, also known as yibbum, comes into play when a woman's husband dies childless. According to Torah law, she is then to marry her husband's brother or, if there is no brother, the next closest male relative. | Aspect | Keritot 6b | Yevamot 61a-b

The levirate marriage serves both as a means to ensure the widow's well-being and to preserve the lineage of the deceased. The discussion here likely revolves around the conditions under which such a marriage is required or prohibited, reflecting on both the practical and ethical considerations of Jewish family law. The Tosafot commentary on Yevamot 61b (s

At the bottom of Yevamot 61b (which, in paginated editions, is indeed around page 78), the sages argue about ma’aseh — “work” or “action” — in two different senses:

The Tosafot commentary on Yevamot 61b (s.v. veha-netin) raises a stunning parallel: Just as in Keritot 6b an uncertain sin cannot produce a chatat sacrifice, so too an uncertain lineage (e.g., doubtful mamzer status) cannot produce a valid yibbum or halitzah. In both cases, the work — whether sacrificial or marital — is nullified by unresolved doubt.

Tosafot draw a direct link to Keritot 6b: “Just as in sacrifices doubt leads to a conditional offering, so in levirate marriage doubt leads to halitzah, which is like a conditional release.” The commentators note that halitzah — removing the shoe — is itself a form of “work” (physical action) that does not create a marital bond but dissolves a potential one.