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Week 91 - Tuesday - 21 August 2001

KIDDUSHIN: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 7

Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says, If an Israelite married a female convert, his daughter is permitted to priests, and if a convert married the daughter of an Israelite, his daughter is permitted to priests, but if a male convert married a female convert, his daughter is forbidden to priests. Whether a convert, whether freed servants, even unto ten generations - until his mother is from an Israelite. Rabbi Yose says. Even if a male convert married a female convert, his daughter is permitted to priests.

Kehati

Our mishnah is a continuation of the last section of the preceding mishnah. It cites Tannaim who disagree with Rabbi Yehudah regarding the daughter of a male convert.

Rabbi Eliezer says, If an Israelite married a female convert, his daughter is permitted to priests, and if a convert married the daughter of an Israelite, his daughter is permitted to priests. - Rabbi Eliezer holds that the phrase, "but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel" (Ezek 44:22) applies to even part of the "seed" - the daughter of any person in whom the seed of Israel is mixed is fit to marry a priest, but if a male convert married a female convert, his daughter - born to him from the female convert, is forbidden to priests - because she does not have any "of the seed of Israel". Whether a convert, whether freed - Canaanite - servants, even unto ten generations - their daughters are not fit to marry priests - until his mother - the mother of the son of the convert or the freed servant, is from an Israelite - according to another version, "until their (the daughters') mother is from an Israelite, i.e., the mother of the daughters of the convert or freed servant, and certainly in the case of the father being an Israelite, for even Rabbi Yehudah holds that the daughter of a female convert and an Israelite is fit to marry a priest, as was mentioned at the end of the preceding mishnah.

Rabbi Yose says. Even if a male convert married a female convert, his daughter is permitted to priests - Rabbi Yose learns "of the seed of the house of Israel" - when she was impregnated "in Israel,'' i.e., she conceived in purity. (Rashi) The Gemara concludes by ruling that when a priest asks the advice of the Court, they should instruct him ab initio, in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov, not to marry the daughter of a male convert and a female convert, but after the fact, if he had already married her, the law is in accordance with Rabbi Yose, and he is not required to divorce her and her sons are fit, even to be High Priests (Rambam; Bartenura, Bik. 1:5), since she conceived and gave birth in purity.

KIDDUSHIN: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 8

If a person says, "This son of mine is a mamzer" - he is not believed. And even if they both say about the fetus in her womb, "He is a mamzer" - they are not believed, Rabbi Yehudah says, They are believed.

Kehati

Our mishnah discusses whether a person is believed to disqualify his child.

If a person says, "This son of mine is a mamzer"- the father admits that this is his son, but claims that he is a mamzer because he was born to him from a forbidden union, he is not believed - because he is related to his son and a relative is disqualified from testifying (Rashi); Harneiri explains that he is not believed because a person will not vilify himself.

And even if they both - the husband and his wife - say about the fetus in her womb, "He is a mamzer" - she was not impregnated by her husband, but by another man, even though the woman knows for a certainty who impregnated her, nevertheless - they are not believed - for the reasons explained above.

Rabbi Yehudah says, They are believed - Rabbi Yehudah disagrees with the First Tanna in both the first and last parts of the mishnah and holds that the father is believed when he says, "This son of mine is a mamzer" and when he says that the fetus in his wife's womb is a mamzer, The Gemara explains that Rabbi Yehudah derives this from that which is written regarding the firstborn, "But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion" ("he shall acknowledge" him to others). Rabbi Yehudah derives from this that a person is believed when he says, "This son of mine is a firstborn," i.e., if the Court does not know him, the father is believed and the son receives a double portion of inheritance and in the same way as a person is believed when he says that his son is the firstborn, he is also believed when he says. "This one is the son of a divorced woman" or of "a woman who underwent halitzah," and when he says, "This son of mine is a mamzer." Even though a person does not vilify himself, the Torah here decrees that he be believed, as it is written, "he shall acknowledge" (Hameiri) According to the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah, the father is only believed to disqualify his son, when the son has no children of his own, but when the son has children, even Rabbi Yehudah concedes that the father is not believed to disqualify his grandchildren ("he shall acknowledge'' applies only to a son!) and since he is not believed to disqualify his grandchildren, he is therefore not believed to disqualify his son, because it is not logical for his son to be disqualified and the son of his son to qualify, (Tosafot. Yev. 47a). The law is in accordance with Rabbi Yehudah.

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