To cut the connection between herself and her late husband's brothers, the widow performs a chalitzah: she reads Torah verses explaining what she is doing, unties and removes his shoe, and spits in his direction. Of these actions, only taking off the shoe is essential; the other two, while important, will not invalidate the chalitzah if they are not done.
Rabbi Yehudah the Prince recommended Levi for a Rabbinical post in a particular village. When Levy arrived, they put him on a platform and asked him the following questions. Can a woman with amputated hands do a chalitzah? If she spits blood instead of saliva, what is the law? Levy did not know. They asked him a non-legal question: when an angel tells Daniel, "I will tell you what is inscribed in truthful wording," can there be untruthful wording in Heaven?
Levy went to ask in the Academy. They told him, "Does it say that she shall remove the shoe with her hand? – No! So she can do it with her teeth. Furthermore, does it say that she spits with a spit? – No, it just says that she spits, in any manner." Regarding the last question, the wording is given the appellation of "truthful" when accompanied by an oath and cannot be changed. The Talmud then discusses when a Heavenly decree can be reversed and when it cannot.
Art: Shoes For Sale by Eugène-Alexis Girardet
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