משנה: אָמַר רִבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ שָּׁמַעְתִּי שָׁהַסָּרִיס חוֹלֵץ וְחוֹלְצִין אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ וְהַסָּרִיס לֹא חוֹלֵץ וְלֹא חוֹלְצִין אֵת אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֵין לִי לְפָרֵשּׁ. אָמַר רִבִּי עֲקִיבָה אֲנִי אֲפָרֵשׁ סְרִיס אָדָם חוֹלֵץ וְחוֹלְצִין אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָיְתָה לוֹ שְׁעַת הַכּוֹשֶׁר. סְרִיס חַמָּה לֹא חוֹלֵץ וְלֹא חוֹלְצִין אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ מִפְּנֵי שֶׁלֹּא הָיְתָה לוֹ שְׁעַת הַכּוֹשֶׁר. רִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר לֹא כִי אֶלָּא סְרִיס חַמָּה חוֹלֵץ וְחוֹלְצִין אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ מִפְּנֵי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ רְפוּאָה. סְרִיס אָדָם לֹא חוֹלֵץ וְלֹא חוֹלְצִין אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאֵין לוֹ רְפוּאָה. הֵעִיד רִבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן בְּתֵירָה עַל בֶּן מְגִיסָה שֶׁהָיָה בִירוּשָׁלַם סְרִיס אָדָם וְיִיבְּמוּ אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ לְקַיֵים דִּבְרֵי רִבִּי עֲקִיבָה.
MISHNAH: Rebbi Joshua said, I heard that the castrate performs ḥalîṣah and one performs ḥalîṣah for his wife, and that the castrate does not perform ḥalîṣah and one does not perform ḥalîṣah for his wife, and I cannot explain. Rebbi Aqiba said, I shall explain it. A castrate by human action performs ḥalîṣah and one performs ḥalîṣah for his wife since he had been qualified; a congenital castrate does not perform ḥalîṣah and one does not perform ḥalîṣah for his wife since he never had been qualified. Rebbi Eliezer said, it is not so, but a congenital castrate performs ḥalîṣah and one performs ḥalîṣah for his wife since he might be healed, a castrate by human action does not perform ḥalîṣah and one does not perform ḥalîṣah for his wife since he cannot be healed. Rebbi Joshua ben Bathyra testified about Ben Megisa in Jerusalem that he was a castrate by human action and they instructed that levirate be performed for his wife, to endorse the words of Rebbi Aqiba.