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in the natural way to have her artificially inseminated. The husband
emits semen, which is collected and inserted by syringe into his wife’s
uterus1. It is therefore relevant to ask: what is the halachah if the
husband emitted semen for injection into his wife but died without
leaving any children2 and his semen was posthumously injected into
his wife and she became pregnant from it and gave birth to a child? Is
she exempt from chalitzah?

The answer to this question apparently hinges on another issue
raised by the poskim: Is a child who was conceived in a bathtub [i.e.
the woman was inseminated without an act of intercourse] consid-
ered the offspring of his father [e.g. if the father is a kohen, is the child
also a kohen? Does he inherit his father?] Has the father fulfilled the
mitzvah of procreation with this child or not?3 Those authorities who
take the view that the child follows his father’s lineage, will also hold
that such a child exempts his mother from chalitzah, because the To-
rah opens the section dealing with yibum by stating,“When brothers
dwell together and one of them dies without a child…” (Devarim 25:5)
In this case, he has a son. Those who take the view that a child con-
ceived in a bathtub is not considered his father’s child, will obligate
his mother to undergo chalitzah, because the father died “without a
child.”

However, it seems that even according to the opinions that the son
follows his father’s lineage it is still questionable whether or not he

1. As explained at length earlier, siman 251 and the conclusion of siman 252.
2. Our response focuses principally on the woman’s status, in regard to whether

or not she is exempt from chalitzah. As to the practice of astronauts depositing
semen in a sperm bank, mentioned in the question, there are several reasons for
forbidding it. This does not fall within the purview of the lenient ruling given by
the poskim in regard to artificial insemination with the husband’s sperm, as will
be explained later, in siman 255. [We also explain there that a woman is under
no obligation to fulfill her husband’s wishes in this regard.] We have therefore
framed the question in regard to a case where the husband’s semen was obtained
in a permitted manner and with the woman’s consent but the husband died
before the procedure was carried out.
3. See our discussion of this question earlier, siman 250.

46 1 Medical-Halachic Responsa of Rav Zilberstein