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Riddle:

Chaim and Shprintza got engaged. They, their entire families, and their rabbis were all totally happy about the engagement. They didn't hide any information from one another. Chaim and Shprintza both know both his and her detailed halachic status.

A few days later, Chaim and Shprintza (and their families) still desperately want to marry each other, but halacha now requires them to break their engagement. There were no mistakes at the time of the engagement. Chaim is not a Cohen.

What happened?

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Shalom -- congratulations on reaching 10K! It's lonely at the top, ain't it? – Dave Oct 5 '10 at 15:58
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Thanks. (Though I suppose a collaborated effort to downvote me could take it away, but would hurt everyone else in the process. Tamos nafshi im plishtim?) – Shalom Oct 5 '10 at 16:02
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Just stay clear of those controversial theological questions, and you should be okay! :) – Dave Oct 5 '10 at 16:05
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closed as not a real question by Isaac Moses♦ Jun 16 '11 at 22:10

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.

1 Answer

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Shprintza's sister (let's call her Breindel) was married to Chaim's brother (we'll call him Zundel), who has died childless. Chaim and Zundel had no other brothers, so Chaim is required to perform either yibbum or chalitzah with Breindel. Either way, Shprintza will be forbidden to him, as his wife's sister or as his chalutzah's sister.

(Rambam, Hil. Yibbum Vachalitzah 7:8)

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