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פרק ד משנה יא
אשה נשאתי במדינת הים

[If one says] "I married a woman overseas,

הרי היא זו

this is her

ואלו בניה

and these are her children,"

מביא ראיה על האשה

he must bring evidence regarding [the genealogy of] the woman

ואינו מביא ראיה על הבנים

and he does not need to bring evidence regarding [the genealogy of] the children.

מתה ואלו בניה

[If he said] "She died, and these are her children,"

מביא ראיה על האשה

he must bring evidence regarding the woman

ועל הבנים

and regarding the children.

 

 

פרק ד משנה יב
לא יתיחד אדם

A man may not be secluded

עם שתי נשים

with two women

אבל אשה אחת

but one woman

מתיחדת עם שני אנשים

may be secluded with two men.

רבי שמעון אומר

Rabbi Shimon says

אף איש אחד

also one man

מתיחד עם שתי נשים

may be secluded with two women

בזמן שאשתו עימו

when his wife is with him,

ישן עימהן בפונדקי

and he may sleep with them in an inn

מפני שאשתו משמרתו

because his wife  guards him.

מתיחד אדם

A may may be secluded

עם אימו ועם בתו

with his mother and with his daughter

וישן עימהם

and he may sleep with them

בקרוב בשר

with physical contact

ואם הגדילו

and if grown up

זה ישנה בכסותה

this one sleeps in her clothing

וזה ישן בכסותו

and this one sleeps in his clothing.

 

 

NOTES

 

משנה יא

ואינו מביא ראיה על הבנים - As in the previous mishna, this is a case where the children were young, and clung to the wife, thus showing that she was their mother. 

 

משנה יב

The תנא of this mishna believed that women would be more likely to cover up for misdeeds then men, and so while a man would be too ashamed to act inappropriately when with another man, the same could not be said for a man with two women.  The  גמרא discusses this and rules that the same goes for men as for women, and one woman may not be secluded with two men.

 

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