Chalitzah
If a man dies, leaving his widow childless, his brother is commanded to marry the widow and thus perform the mitzvah of
yibum. If he refuses to do so, she has to remove his shoe, spit on the ground in front of him, and say, “This is what is done to the man who refuses to build up his brother’s home.” And then all the observers announce, “The shoe has been removed” (
Devarim 25:5–10). (Nowadays,
yibum is not an option and
chalitzah is always the required procedure.)
What is the significance of this unique ceremony?
The Malbim quotes a Talmudic teaching in explanation: “Riding a horse was the symbol of a king, riding a donkey was a sign of an independent person, and wearing shoes shows one is a human being” (Shabbos 152a).
The main difference between humans and animals is that people have the free will to choose how to behave. We wear shoes of leather to demonstrate that we are superior to the animals, who walk on the bare earth. The leather, made of animal hide, demonstrates our power to utilize animal parts for our needs. Shoes are symbolic of the dignity of man.
A person’s ability to differentiate right from wrong gives him the ability to decide to serve Hashem, and thus overcome his animalistic tendencies which attempt to persuade him otherwise. Thus, in this case where a person is refusing to follow the Torah’s ideal, the mitzvah of yibum, his sister-in-law removes his shoe to demonstrate that he is not utilizing his superiority and thus does not deserve to wear his shoe.
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