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Week 54 - Tuesday - 5 December 2000

YEVAMOT: CHAPTER 7: MISHNAH 4

The unborn child, and the yavam, and the erusin, and the deaf-mute, and a boy nine years and one day old -- disqualify but do not bestow the right to eat. If it is doubtful whether he is nine years and one day old, or not; if it is doubtful whether he has produced two hairs, or not. If the house fell on him and on his brother's daughter, and it is not known which one died first -- her rival performs halitzah and is not married by yibum.

Kehati

The unborn child -- as explained in the preceding mishnah, if the daughter of an Israelite was married to a priest, or the daughter of a priest to an Israelite, and her husband died and left her pregnant; and the yavam -- an Israelite, and the daughter of the priest is tied to him for yibum, and the erusin -- she was betrothed, but she had not yet been wed, and the deaf-mut -- she was wed to a deaf-mute, who cannot hear or speak, so the marriage is not binding by Torah law, but only by Rabbinic law;

And a boy nine years and one day old -- from which time onward his intercourse is legally valid. All these disqualify -- the daughter of the priest from eating terumah, but do not bestow -- on the daughter of the Israelite -- the right to eat -- terumah. The unborn child -- how so? If the daughter of a priest was married to an Israelite, and he died and left her pregnant, the unborn child disqualifies her from eating terumah in her father's house, as it is written, "But if a priest's daughter be a widow, or divorced, and has no child, and is returned to her father's house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father's bread" (Lev. 22:13), and the Sages explained: "as in her youth" -- excluding the pregnant one. And if the daughter of an Israelite was married to a priest, and he died and left her pregnant, the unborn child does not bestow on her the right to eat terumah, for the reason explained in the preceding mishnah: "the one who is born bestows the right to eat, the one who is not born does not bestow the right to eat." The yavam -- how so? If the daughter of a priest requires yibum from an Israelite, the yavam disqualifies her from eating terumah, as it is written, "and is returned to her father's house ...", exluding the shomeret yavam. The daughter of an Israelite who is tied to a priest for yibum, that yavam does not bestow on her the right to eat terumah, as it is written "But if a priest buy any soul, the purchase of his money, he may eat of it" (Lev. 22:11), and the woman awaiting yibum is not his purchase, but the acquisition of his brother. The erusin -- how so? If the daughter of a priest was betrothed to an Israelite, she is prohibited from eating terumah, for he has acquired her. If the daughter of an Israelite was betrothed to a priest, she may not eat terumah; for though by Torah law she is indeed permitted to eat terumah, since she is the purchase of his money, because he acquired her with the money of the betrothal, nonetheless, the Sages prohibited the betrothed woman from eating terumah before the marriage, lest she gives the terumah to her brother and to her sister to eat, since it is the custom for the betrothed woman to dwell in her father's house until the time of her marriage. The deaf-mute -- how so? If the daughter of a priest was married to an Israelite who is a deaf-mute, she is disqualified from eating terumah, for he contracted marriage with her by an enactment of the Sages. If the daughter of an Israelite was married to a priest who is a deaf-mute, she may not eat terumah, as it is written, "the purchase of his money," and, by Torah law, a deaf-mute cannot acquire, for he is not mentally competent. A boy nine years and one day old -- how so? If a woman has intercourse with a boy at least nine years and one day old, who is prohibited to her, e.g., he is a natin, or a halal, or a mamzer, she is disqualified from marrying a priest and she is prohibited frm eating terumah, because she has become a harlot or a halalah. And if the daughter of an Israelite was married to a priest who is at least nine years and one day old, even though his act of sexual intercourse is legally valid (to effect a marriage), he does not bestow on her the right to eat terumah, because his acquisition is not fully valid. And similarly, if it is doubtful whether he is nine years and one day old or not -- we rule stringently and treat him as a person nine years and one day; and even if he be thirteen years and one day old, but if it is doubtful whether he has produced two hairs, or not -- he disqualifies and does not bestow the right to eat, i.e., if he is an Israelite and betrothed the daughter of a priest, even though it is doubtful whether he has produced two hairs and his marriage is valid, she is disqualified from eating terumah. And if he is a priest and married the daughter of an Israelite, since there is doubt whether he had produced two hairs at the time of the marriage, she is prohibited from eating terumah.

If the house fell on him and on his brother's daughter -- who was his wife, and it is not known which one died first -- whether the husband died first, and his brother's daughter and her rival who came before his brother for yibum are both exempt from yibum on account of being an ervah and her rival, or his brother's daughter died first, and when her rival became eligible for yibum, she was not the rival of a woman prohibited due to ervah, and she is permitted to be married by yibum, as it is taught: "And all of them, if they died ... their rivals are permitted" (1:1, above) -- her rival performs halitzah and is not married by yibum -- because of the doubt.

YEVAMOT: CHAPTER 7: MISHNAH 5

The violator, and the seducer, and the mentally defective person -- they do not disqualify and they do not bestow the right to eat. And if they are not fit to enter into Israel, then they disqualify. How so? If an Israelite had intercourse with a daughter of a priest, she may eat terumah. If she became pregnant -- she may not eat terumah. If the unborn child was cut up in her bowels -- she may eat. If a priest had intercourse with the daughter of an Israelite, she may not eat terumah. If she became pregnant -- she may not eat terumah. If she gave birth -- she may eat. Thus the power of the child is greater than that of the father. The slave disqualifies because of intercourse, but does nto disqualify because of the offspring. How so? The daughter of an Israelite to a priest, the daughter of a priest to an Israelite, and she bore by him a son, and the son went and had intercourse with (nikhbash) a bondwoman, and she bore a son by him -- then he is a slave. If his father's mother was the daughter of an Israelite to a priest, she may not eat terumah; the daughter of a priest to an Israelite, she may eat terumah. A mamzer disqualifies and betsows the right to eat. How so? The daughter of an Israelite to a priest, and the daughter of a priest to an Israelite, and she bore a daughter by him, and the daughter went and married a slave, or a non-Jew, and she bore a son by him -- he is a mamzer; if his mother's mother was the daughter of an Israelite to a priest, she may eat terumah; the daughter of a priest to an Israelite, she may not eat terumah.

Kehati

The violator, and the seducer, and the mentally defective person -- they do not disqualify and they do not bestow the right to eat -- if an Israelite raped or seduced the daughter of a priest, he does not disqualify her from eating terumah; and if a priest raped or seduced the daughter of an Israelite, he does not bestow on her the right to eat terumah. If a mentally defective Israelite married the daughter of a priest, he does not disqualify her from eating terumah, and a mentally defective priest who married the daughter of an Israelite, does not bestow on her the right to eat terumah, for his acquisition is not valid. And if they -- the violator, or the seducer, or the mentally defective person, are not fit to enter into Israel -- e.g., he is a mamzer, then these disqualify -- by their intercourse the priest's daughter from the priesthood, since she had intercourse with a person who is ineligible for her, and thus was rendered a harlot.

How so? If an Israelite had intercourse with the daughter of a priest -- by violation or by seduction, or if he is mentally defective, she may eat terumah -- for if an unmarried man has intercourse with an unmarried woman, he does not render her a harlot (Hameiri).

If she became pregnant -- she may not eat terumah -- for the unborn child disqualifies (as was taught in the preceding mishnah).

If the unborn child was cut up in her bowels -- or if she bore it and it died, she may eat -- immediately.

If a priest had intercourse with the daughter of an Israelite -- by vilation or by seduction, or if he is a mentally defective persion, she may not eat terumah -- because she has not become his acquisition.

If she became pregnant -- she may not eat terumah -- for the unborn child does not bestow the right to eat, as explained in the preceding mishnah. If she gave birth -- she may eat -- for the child is a priest, and he bestows on his mother the right to eat terumah.

Thus the power of a child is greater than that of the father -- for the father did not bestow on her the right to eat, because he did not have intercourse with her for the purpose of marriage, and she is not his acquisition, while the child, who was born from this intercourse, does bestow on her the right to eat.

The slave disqualifies because of intercourse -- if he had intercourse with a priest's daughter, he disqualifies her from the priesthood and from eating terumah, but does not disqualify because of the offspring -- as the mishnah explains in detail:

How so? The daughter of an Israelite who was married to a priest, or the daughter of a priest who was married to an Israelite, and she bore by him a son, and the son went and had intercourse with (nikhbash) a bondwoman (nikhbash is an expression of disdain -- Rashi), and she bore a son by him -- then he is a slave -- for the child of a bondwoman is like her, as explained above (2:5).

If his -- this slave's, father's mother was the daughter of an Israelite who was married, to a priest, -- and the husband and the son died, even though her son's son is alive, she may not eat terumah -- since her son's son is not a priest, but a slave. If this slave's father's mother is the daughter of a priest who was married to an Israelite -- and the husband and the son died, she may eat terumah -- of her father's house, because the slave does not disqualify her on account of being an offspring, because he is not her son's offspring.

A mamzer disqualifies and bestows the right to eat. How so? The daughter of an Israelite who was married to a priest, and -- or -- the daughter of a priest who was married to an Israelite, and she bore a daughter by him, and the daughter went and married a slave, or a non-Jew, and she bore a son by him -- he is a mamzer -- this mishnah follows the Tanna who says that if a slave or a non-Jew has intercourse with a daughter of an Israelite, the child is a mamzer. The halakhah, however, is that hte child is legitimate (see Yev. 45a; ,Kidd. 3:12; see also Tosefot Rabbi Akiva Eiger on this mishnah);

If his mother's mother was the daughter of an Israelite married to a priest -- even though her husband and her daughter died, she may eat terumah -- because of this grandson who was born to her daughter by teh non-Jew or by the slave, because the mamzer bestows the right to eat terumah; if his mother's mother is the daughter of a priest who was married to an Israelite -- and the husband and the daughter died, she may not eat terumah -- of her father's house, because her grandson, who is a mamzer, prevents her from eating terumah; this is the meaning of "the mamzer disqualifies."

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