Imagine that there are two brothers (Reuven and Shimon) married to two sisters. If Reuven dies, the laws of yibum would dictate that Shimon should now marry his wife. However, she is the sister of Shimon's own wife, and one cannot marry two sisters. Therefore, Reuven's widow needs neither yibum nor chalitzah and is free to remarry.
However, now Shimon's own wife dies, and he and his brother's widow are left alone. Nothing stands in the way of Shimon making yibum with his brother's widow – but this is not true. Since Reuven's widow was forbidden to Reuven at some point of time, this prohibition now stands forever, and he cannot marry her.
What if he married her, despite being told not to? – He is liable on two counts: she is his brother's wife, and she is his wife's sister. However, Rabbi Shimon disagrees and says that he is only liable because of the first prohibition, and some say – only because of the second. How can Rabbi Shimon hold two opinions at once? Actually, there is no contradiction. The second opinion applies when Shimon married his wife first (so that now the second sister is already forbidden to him as his wife's sister). Then Reuven married his wife (so that the second prohibition is not superimposed over the first one). The first opinion refers to the opposite chronological order.
Art: Sisters by Walter C. Strich Hutton
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