Yerushalmi Kiddushin 3:12 ירושלמי קידושין ג׳:י״ב

MISHNAH: In any case of a not sinful preliminary marriage, the child follows the father²²⁸The child belongs to the same marriage class (detailed in Mishnah 4:1) as his father.. Who is this? A priestly, or Levitic, or Israel woman married to a Cohen, a Levite, or an Israel²²⁹As the Halakhah points out, this list is far from complete; it contains only those cases in which there is absolutely no controversy.. And in any case of a sinful preliminary marriage, the child follows the blemished part. Who is this? A widow [married to] a High priest, a divorcee or one who has received ḥalîṣah to a common priest²³⁰The divorcee is forbidden to any Cohen by biblical decree (Lev. 21:7); the woman having received ḥalîṣah is a divorcee only by common practice. The child is “desecrated” in the sense of Lev. 21:7; the marriage prohibition is transferred to future generations., a bastard²³¹Who is forbidden any endogamous marriage, Deut. 23:3. or a Gibeonite²³²Cf. Halakhah 4:1. Notes 46 – 71; Ketubot 3:1, Notes 16–19. to an Israel, the daughter of an Israel to a Gibeonite or a bastard.
In any case where a preliminary marriage with him is impossible but with others is possible, the child is a bastard. Who is this? This is one having sexual relations with any woman forbidden in the Torah because of incest or adultery²³³The child is a bastard in all cases of adultery; in cases of incest only those mentioned as deadly sins in Lev. 18,20; cf. Mishnah Yebamot 4:13.. And in any case where a preliminary marriage is impossible with anybody, the child follows the mother. Who is this? The child of a slave girl or a Gentile woman²³⁴Since preliminary marriage is a uniquely Jewish institution, Gentiles are automatically excluded since for them only definitive marriage exists (cf. Chapter 1, Notes 33–39.) The Jewish father cannot have any family relationship with his Gentile child: The widow of a man having only had a child with a Gentile woman is the widow of a childless man and subject to levirate marriage: Mishnah Yebamot2:5..

HALAKHAH: “In any case of a not sinful preliminary marriage,” etc. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish asked before Rebbi Joḥanan: If a proselyte married a bastard girl, there is no sinful preliminary marriage²³⁶Following the rabbis in Halakhah 4:1 (Yebamot 8:2, Note 151), whose opinion is that of R. Yose in the Babli, 72b; for R. Jehudah the marriage would be sinful but not punishable, not included in the list of Mishnah 14 (Maimonides, Issure Bi’ah 15:7)., but the child follows the blemished part? He answered, everywhere Rebbi taught, he explained: “Who is this? A priestly, or Levitic, or Israel woman married to a Cohen, a Levite, or an Israel.²³⁷He pointedly avoids taking a position about marriages permitted to proselytes.” Rebbi Abin understood this from the second part: (In any case of a not sinful preliminary marriage, the child follows the father.) [In any case of a sinful preliminary marriage, the child follows the blemished part.]²³⁸The text in parentheses is from L, the one in brackets from G. It is obvious that the G text is correct. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish asked before Rebbi Joḥanan: If a proselyte married a bastard girl, there is no sinful preliminary marriage, but the child follows the blemished part? He answered, everywhere Rebbi taught, he explained: “Who is this? A widow [married to] a High priest, a divorcee or one who has received ḥalîṣah to a common priest, a bastard or a Gibeonite to an Israel, the daughter of an Israel to a bastard or a Gibeonite.²³⁸The text in parentheses is from L, the one in brackets from G. It is obvious that the G text is correct.” Could he not have objected to him: In the case of a disqualified priest married to the daughter of an Israel there is no sinful marriage but the child follows the blemished part²³⁹Halakhah 4:6. The question is not answered since the case presents a genuine inconsistency in the Mishnah.? In the case of a man taking back his divorcee after she had been remarried, there is (no)²⁴⁰Text of L; the interpretation has to follow G. sinful marriage but the child is unblemished since Rebbi Ḥiyya said in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: The daughter of a man taking back his divorcee after she had been remarried is enabled for the priesthood. What is the reason? [For she is an abomination,]²⁴¹Deut. 24:4; quote missing in L; it is in Yebamot 4:13, Note 207. she is an abomination but her children are not an abomination²⁴²The marriage of the remarried divorcee is sinful but not incestuous; the formulation of the Mishnah correctly excludes this case..

²⁴³As noted in G, this paragraph is quoted in Yebamot 9:1, explained there in Notes 10–14; a slightly different text. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun in the name of Rav: A proselyte, a freedman, and a disqualified priest are permitted priestly wives. What is the reason? Qualified men are warned against disqualified women and disqualified women against qualified men but not qualified women against disqualified men nor disqualified men against qualified women. Did we not state: “they should not take, should not take”, which teaches that the woman is warned through the man? They wanted to say, qualified women against disqualified men but it is only disqualified women against qualified men.

A proselyte came to Rebbi Yose and asked him, is it permitted to marry a bastard girl? He answered him, it is permitted. He continued and came to Rebbi Jehudah, who answered him, it is permitted²⁴⁴The language is somewhat difficult since for R. Jehudah proselytes are part of the “Congregation of the Eternal” (Deut. 23:3), to whom marriage with bastards is forbidden (Yebamot8:2, Note 151; Qiddušin Halakhah 4:1, Note 105). But even R. Jehudah will agree that marriage of a proselyte with a bastard is not punishable. but you should know that the children of such a man would be bastards before Heaven²⁴⁵From his point of view, he is obligated to point out the implicit punishment meted out by Heaven for such an illicit union.. He returned to Rebbi Yose and told him, since you knew that, why did you permit it to me at the start? He replied, I answered you what you asked me²⁴⁶Since he holds that proselytes are not part of the “Congregation of the Eternal”, he is not obligated to point out that the children of the proselyte will remain outside the congregation if he marries a bastard.. Rebbi Yose said, the proselyte can be compared to cotton²⁴⁷Which is neutral for the prohibition of ša‘aṭnez. While wool and linen cannot be mixed, either one may be mixed with cotton; cf. Introduction to Tractate Kilaim.. If one wants to use it with wool it is permitted, with linen it is permitted.

One understands “the daughter of an Israel to a bastard or a Gibeonite,” for it is written: “A bastard shall not come into the Eternal’s congregation.” Why does the verse say: “of his shall not come”? To disqualify²⁴⁸Marrying a bastard, while sinful, is not punishable. Therefore, one might assume the children of a bastard not to be bastards; they are not conceived in deadly sin. But Deut. 23:3 disqualifies the children from marrying in the congegration: “A bastard shall not come into the Eternal’s congregation, even the tenth generation of his shall not come into the Eternal’s congregation.”
It seems that G had here another derivation, of which no trace is left in L and editio princeps.. Rebbi Abbu said, what means ממזר? “A strange defect.”²⁴⁹The word for “bastard” has no etymology in the Pentateuch (following J. Barth, the root is مذر “to be dirty”). This disagrees with what Rebbi Jehudah ben Pazi²⁵⁰In Gen.rabba 65(2), this is attributed to the Tanna R. Jehudah (bar Ilai). said, “God installs singles²⁵¹A single person in God’s eyes cannot be a bachelor who could find mates all around him; he must be an intrinsic single who has no known marriage partner. This is the bastard who cannot marry a Jewish partner, and as a Jew is unable to contract marriage with a Gentile (but cf. Halakhah 15). as heads of families,” even if there is a male bastard at one end of the world and a female bastard at the other, the Holy One, praise to Him, brings them and copulates them with one another. Rav Huna said, a bastard does not live more than thirty days.²⁵²This sentence is missing in G; it is superfluous here but will be quoted later in a fitting context. In the days of Rebbi Berekhiah, a Babylonian immigrated here²⁵³When at the end of the Fourth Century, Jews usually emigrated from the hostile Christian Roman empire to the more welcoming Persian empire.; he was informed that this was a bastard. He²⁵⁴The bastard. said to him, support me²⁵⁵R. Berekhiah.. He²⁵⁵R. Berekhiah. told him, tomorrow you will stand up in the community and I shall look for an allowance for you. He came and sat during the sermon. When he²⁴⁵From his point of view, he is obligated to point out the implicit punishment meted out by Heaven for such an illicit union. finished the sermon, he said, our brothers, support this man for he is a bastard. After the congegration had left, he²⁵⁴The bastard. said to him, rabbi, I requested material support from you but you destroyed this man’s life. He²⁵⁵R. Berekhiah. answered, by your life, life²⁵⁶Following the reading of G. I gave you for Rebbi Abba, Rav Huna, said in the name of Rav: A bastard lives only thirty days. When? If he is not publicly known. But when he is publicly known, he survives.

²⁵⁷This is from Yebamot 8:3, Note 201; an addition to Rav Huna’s statement. The text is missing in G. When Rebbi Ze‘ira immigrated here, he heard voices call “he-bastard, she-bastard”. He said, what is this? There goes that of Rav Huna, since Rav Huna said, no bastard lives more than thirty days. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa said to him, I was with you when Rebbi Abba, Rav Huna said in the name of Rav: No bastard lives more than thirty days, when? If he is not publicly known. Therefore, if he is publicly known, he lives.

It was stated: “If a Gentile or a slave had intercourse with a Jewish woman, the child is a bastard²⁵⁸Yebamot 7:6 (Note 129), Ketubot3:1 (Note 22), Giṭṭin (Note 123); Babli Yebamot 45a. The entire baraita in Tosephta 4:15.; Rebbi Simeon ben Jehudah says in the name of Rebbi Simeon, the child is not a bastard, for a bastard is only from a woman forbidden to him by an incest prohibition for which the penalty is extirpation²⁵⁹Mishnah Yebamot 4:14..” ²⁶⁰In G, the following is a statement by R. Abbahu in the name of R. Joḥanan. Both of them explained the same verse, “nobody may take his father’s wife, etc.”²⁶¹A parallel discussion, among different Tannaïm, is reported in Yebamot 4:15 (Notes 211–218). The prohibition of the father’s wife (who is not the mother) is repeated in Deut. 23:1 from Lev. 18:8, 20:11, to be connected with the exclusion of the bastard from endogamous marriage. Deut. 23:3. It is understood that a man’s child from his father’s wife is a bastard. The problem is to discern the legal principle which implies that the child is a bastard. Rebbi Meïr explains: Since his father’s wife is special in that he cannot have preliminary marriage with her, but she could have preliminary marriage with others, and the child is a bastard, so in all cases in which she cannot have preliminary marriage with him, the child is a bastard²⁶²This text, adopted by the editio princeps, is the corrector’s text. The second clause and a logical connection are missing from the scribe’s original text which makes no sense as it stands:
רְבִּי מֵאִיר דָּרַשׁ. מָה אֵשֶׁת אָבִיו מְיוּחֶדֶת שֶׁאֵין לוֹ עָלֶיהָ קִידוּשִׁין. אֲבָל אִם הָיָה לָהּ עָלָיו קִידוּשִׁין הַוְלָד מַמְזֶר.
Rebbi Meir explains: Since his father's wife is special in that he cannot have preliminary marriage with her, but if she could have preliminary marriage with him, the child is a bastard.
Reading of G (lacunae in the text filled in brackets):
רְבִּי מֵאִיר דָּרַשׁ. מָה אֵשֶׁת אָב מְיוּחֶדֶת שֶׁאֵין לוֹ עָלֶיהָ [קִידוּשִׁין הַוְלַד מִמְזֵר. אֲבָל] כָּל־שֶׁאֵין לָהּ עָלָיו קִידוּשִׁין הַוְלָד מַמְזֶר.
Rebbi Meïr explains: Since his father's wife is special in that he cannot have preliminary marriage with her, so in any case in which she cannot have preliminary marriage with him, the child is a bastard.
It seems that the original text underlying L was the text of G.. Rebbi Simeon ben Jehudah explains: Since his father’s wife is special in that she cannot have preliminary marriage with him, but she could have preliminary marriage with others, and the child is a bastard; this excludes the Gentile and the slave who cannot contract preliminary marriage with her or with others²⁴⁴The language is somewhat difficult since for R. Jehudah proselytes are part of the “Congregation of the Eternal” (Deut. 23:3), to whom marriage with bastards is forbidden (Yebamot8:2, Note 151; Qiddušin Halakhah 4:1, Note 105). But even R. Jehudah will agree that marriage of a proselyte with a bastard is not punishable.. Rebbi Samuel bar Abba questions that first Tanna: The sister-in-law who whored cannot have preliminary marriage with him or with others²⁶³Yebamot 1:1, Notes 93–94. The widow of the childless man is obligated to definitively marry his brother in levirate; by biblical standards this requires no preliminary marriage. By the same token, she is unable to contract preliminary marriage with any other man before being released by ḥalîṣah (cf. Halakhah 5, Note 166). Any sexual relations she might have during the time she is waiting for her levir are sinful but neither adulterous nor punishable., but the child is qualified²⁶⁴To contract marriage “in the Eternal’s congregation.”! Rebbi Yannai in the name of Rebbi: If a Gentile or a slave had intercourse with a Jewish woman, the child is a bastard. Rebbi Joḥanan and Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish both say, the child is a bastard. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa, Rebbi Simeon bar Abba, Rebbi Joshua ben Levi, in the name of Rebbi (Yannai ben)²⁶⁵There is no R. Yannai ben Rebbi. Later the statement is quoted in the name of R. Gamliel (IV) ben Rebbi. G is illegible at this point. Rebbi: The child is neither qualified nor disqualified but dirtied²⁶⁶If the child is female, she is not eligible as marriage partner of a Cohen.. Rebbi Jonathan went with Rebbi Jehudah Neśia to the hot springs of Gadara. There, he instructed: The child is qualified²⁶⁷Even for a Cohen.. Rebbi Ze‘ira said, this child improves as time goes by. Rebbi declared the child dirtied, his grandson declared him qualified. Rebbi Abba bar Zavda instructed in the name of all rabbis: The child is qualified. Rebbi Bevai said before Rebbi Ze‘ira in the name of Rebbi Ḥanina: The child is qualified. Rebbi Ze‘ira said, if it is from that, one does not learn from a declaration. Rebbi Ḥizqiah said, I know the story from beginning to end. Rebbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina went up to the hot springs of Gadara. He visited his father who said to him: Be careful, because there are those who are disqualified²⁶⁸Children of Jewish women from Gentile fathers., lest you injure them.

²⁶⁹This paragraph is from Yebamot4:15, Notes 215–218. G only refers to that source. Even though Rebbi Simeon ben Jehudah said in the name of Rebbi Simeon: If a Gentile or a slave came to a daughter of Israel, the child is acceptable; they agree that if she was female, she is blemished for the priesthood. Even though Rebbi Joshua said, the child of him who sleeps with his sister is acceptable, he agrees that if the child was female she would be blemished for the priesthood. A man came to Rav and said, since the children of this man’s mother are from an Aramean? He said, acceptable. Rav Ḥama bar Guria said to him, let your feet carry you away before Samuel comes and declares you blemished. Even though Rav said, if a Gentile or a slave came to a daughter of Israel, the child is acceptable, he agrees that if it was a female, she would be blemished for the priesthood.

Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa said: There²⁷⁰In Babylonia; Babli Yebamot45b., they state that the one who disqualifies, disqualifies from an unmarried woman, and the one who qualifies, qualifies even from a married woman²⁷¹R. Meïr who declares the child of a Gentile and a Jewish woman a bastard, does so even if the woman was single. R. Simeon ben Jehudah who declares the child qualified does so even if the mother was a Jewish woman married to a Jew. Practice in the Babli is decided according to R. Simeon ben Jehudah.. Rebbi Tanḥum bar Pappus sent and asked Rebbi Yose about two cases from Alexandria, one involving an unmarried woman, the other a married woman. About the married woman, he wrote him: “A bastard shall not come into the Eternal’s congregation.²⁷²Deut. 23:1. He decided against the Babylonian practice.” About the unmarried woman he wrote, be inventive²⁷³The expression מבדין is a hapax legomenon. It can be derived from Aramaic בדי “to invent a story”, or from a multiplicity of Arabic roots. In G one reads “you should recognize that”, meaning that both the girl and her child can marry in the congregation. The only argument one has for the text of L is that it is lectio difficilior., for your are not forewarned about the holy daughters of Israel. He²⁷⁴Rebbi Yose (the Babli, Yebamot45b, is undecided whether it was R. Yose bar Abin or R. Yose bar Zavida) who declared the child of the married woman a bastard and that of the single woman qualified. He collected signatures from the members of his Academy to stress the importance of his decision. said to Rebbi Mana, take and sign; he signed. He said to Rebbi Berekhiah, take and sign, but he did not agree. After they ended the session Rebbi Mana was standing with Rebbi Berekhiah and asked him, why did you not sign? He answered, did not Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa say that there, they state that the one who disqualifies, disqualifies from an unmarried woman, and the one who qualifies, qualifies even from a married woman²⁷⁵How can you qualify the child of the unmarried woman if the child of the married woman is a bastard?? He said, praised be the Merciful that I had not heard this doctrine, for if I had heard this doctrine I would not have signed and people would have said that the student²⁷⁶R. Mana, the student of R. Yose. disagrees with his teacher. Mar Uqban said, here, you say that the one who disqualifies, disqualifies from an unmarried woman, and the one who qualifies, qualifies from an unmarried woman, but about a married woman, nothing was said. The next morning he²⁷⁷R. Berekhiah, who had heard from Mar Uqban that R. Yose decided correctly according to the Galilean tradition. came and wanted to sign. He²⁷⁸R. Yose, who apparently was offended by R. Berekhiah’s behavior. R. Berekhiah was a great preacher but no great authority in law. said to him, there is no space.

Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba went to Tyre. When he came before Rebbi Joḥanan, he asked him, what case did you handle? He said to him, a proselyte who had been circumcised but had not immersed himself²⁷⁹From the context it seems clear that the proselyte had married a Jewish wife and R. Ḥiyya bar Abba declared the child qualified to marry in the congregation even though his teacher R. Joḥanan held that the child of a Gentile and a Jewish mother was a bastard.. He asked him, why did you not injure him²⁸⁰And declare the child a bastard since the father did not complete the process of conversion.? Rebbi Joshua ben Levi²⁸¹Of the generation of R. Joḥanan’s teachers. told him, leave him alone, he acted correctly not to injure him. The argument of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi seems inverted. There, Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa, Rebbi Simeon bar Abba, Rebbi Joshua ben Levi, in the name of Rebbi Gamliel ben Rebbi²⁵⁵R. Berekhiah.: The child is neither qualified nor disqualified but dirtied²⁸²Then at least R. Ḥiyya bar Abba should have declared any female child ineligible for the priesthood.. And here, he says so? Did we not state²⁸³The statement of the baraita is missing in G.: If a proselyte was circumcised but not immersed, immersed but not circumcised, everything depends on circumcision, the words of Rebbi Eliezer²⁸⁴Circumcision is mentioned in Ex. 12:48 as formal requirement for conversion, but nothing else.. Rebbi Joshua says, immersion also is necessary²⁸⁵Since all the Childen of Israel, when they were converted to the Jewish faith at Mount Sinai, had to immerse themselves, Ex. 19:10.. But Rebbi Joshua ben Levi follows what Bar Qappara stated, as Bar Qappara stated: A proselyte who was circumcised but not immersed is qualified since there is no proselyte who did not immerse himself for his emission of semen²⁸⁶Which is required even for lawful intercourse, Lev. 15:16,18.. Is that not difficult? The cleansing from a minor impurity is counted for him for a major impurity²⁸⁷The essence of immersion in water is not the fact of immersion but the intent of the action. The impurity of an emission is minor since it can be remedied immediately. The entrance of a proselyte into the Jewish system of impurity is a major undertaking. How can a routine immersion be the equivalent of a major ceremony?? Rebbi Yose ben Abun said, since either one is for the holiness of Israel, it is counted for him²⁸⁸The argument is quoted in the Babli, Yebamot 45b, in the name of R. Joshua ben Levi; a similar principle is promulgated by Rav Assi for a woman proselyte who follows the rules of family purity..

“Who is this? The child of a slave girl or a Gentile²³⁴Since preliminary marriage is a uniquely Jewish institution, Gentiles are automatically excluded since for them only definitive marriage exists (cf. Chapter 1, Notes 33–39.) The Jewish father cannot have any family relationship with his Gentile child: The widow of a man having only had a child with a Gentile woman is the widow of a childless man and subject to levirate marriage: Mishnah Yebamot2:5..” There²⁸⁹Mishnah Yebamot 2:6. As long as the mother is Jewish, there is no difference between legitimate and illegitimate children; but children from a Gentile or servile mother are not their father’s children., we have stated: “Except what he has from a slave girl or a Gentile.”

²⁹⁰From here to the end of the Halakhah, the text is from Yebamot 2:6 (ב), Notes 140–146. G only has a note to continue the text in Yebamot, Chapter 2. The story about Jacob from Kefar Naboraia is also in Gen.rabba7(2), Num.rabba 19, Pesiqta rabbati 14 ed. M. Friedmann 62b, Pesiqta dR.Cahana (Buber) Parah Note 99, Tanḥuma Ḥuqqat 6, Tanḥuma Buber Ḥuqqat 15; Eccl.rabbati 7(44). A slave woman: “The woman and her children shall belong to her owner.” A Gentile woman. Rebbi Joḥanan [said] in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Ioḥai, it is written: “You shall not conclude marriage with them, your daughter you shall not give to his son”. And it is written: “For he will divert your son from following Me.” Your son from a Jewish woman is called your son; but your son from a Gentile woman is not called your son but her son.

Jacob from Kefar Naboraia went to Tyre. They came to ask him, may one circumcise the son of a Gentile woman on the Sabbath? He wanted to permit it from the verse: “They determined their genealogies for their families according to their fathers’ houses.” Rebbi Ḥaggai heard it and said, he shall come and be whipped. He said to him, for what reason do you whip me? He said, from what is written: “Now we shall make a covenant to send away all foreign women and those born to them, etc”. He said, you want to whip me based on tradition? He said, “and it should be done according to the Torah.” He said to him, from which teaching? He said, from that which Rebbi Joḥanan said in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Ioḥai, it is written: “You shall not conclude marriage with them,” etc.²⁹¹Quoted in the preceding paragraph. He said to him, whip your whipping, because it is good to impress.