Daily Mitzvah (Rambam)

The 217th mitzvah is that in a case when a yavam1 will not marry his yevamah,2 she performs chalitzah3 on him.

The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement4 (exalted be He), "She shall remove his shoe from his foot."

The details of this mitzvah are found in the tractate devoted to this subject, tractate Yevamos.

You are already familiar with the statement of our Sages,5 "Performing the mitzvah of yibum [i.e., marrying the yevamah] is preferable to performing the mitzvah of chalitzah."6

For this same reason7 they called the tractate "Yevamos,"8 even though it gives equal coverage both to the laws of yibum and those of chalitzah.

Footnotes

1.

When a husband has died, and the couple had no children, the woman is known as a yevamah; the deceased man's surviving brother is known as a yavam; the mitzvah to marry her is called yibum. See P216.

When yibum is not performed, she is still not allowed to remarry unless chalitzah is performed, i.e., the yavam dons a specially made shoe on his right foot; then the yevamah removes it from the yavam's foot, spits on the ground, and makes a verbal statement.

2.

See note above.

3.

See note above.

4.

Deut. 25:9.

5.

Bechoros 1:7.

6.

From this expression, "the mitzvah of chalitzah," we see clearly that chalitzah counts as one of the mitzvos.

7.

That yibum is preferable to chalitzah.

8.

Rather than "Yevamos and Chalitzos," or something similar.