Ki Tetze 1st Portion
Marrying a Captive Woman
10 When
you go to war [an optional war (as opposed to an obligatory war)] against your
enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you
take captives [including Canaanites in their midst, even if they be of the
seven nations],
Rashi’s Commentary
When you go to war—Scripture is speaking here of a war that is not
obligatory upon the Israelites (Sifrei Devarim 211:1), for
in regard to a war that was waged against the inhabitants of the land of
Israel, Scripture could not possibly say, “and you take
captives,” since it has already been stated regarding them, (Deu
20:16) “from the cities of the nations . . . do not leave
alive anything that breathes.”
And you take captives—These apparently redundant words are intended to
include Canaanite people living in it (in a city outside Canaan), that it is
allowed to capture them although they belong to the seven nations (Sifrei
Devarim 211:4; Sotah 35b).
Sifrei Devarim 211:1
When you go to war—Scripture speaks of an optional war (as opposed to an obligatory
war).
Sotah 35b:13
In accordance with whose opinion is that which is taught in a baraita: The
verse states: “When you go to war against your enemies and
the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives”
(Deu 21:10), implying that there is no obligation to
destroy them, to include not only gentiles who are not Canaanites, but
even Canaanites that are living outside of the land of Israel, as,
if they repent, they are accepted and allowed to live in the land of Israel.
11 if
you notice among the captives a beautiful woman [even a married woman] and are
attracted to her, you may take her as your wife [Scripture here speaks
vis-à-vis the evil inclination. If the Lord did not permit her, he would marry
her illicitly. (But if he does marry her, he is destined to hate her and to
beget of her a rebellious son (see 14-18), for which reason these sections are
juxtaposed)].
Rashi’s Commentary
A . . . woman—Even if she be a married woman (Sifrei Devarim
211:7; Kiddushin 21b).
And are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife—Scripture is speaking (makes this concession) only in view of man’s
evil inclination (his carnal desires) (Kiddushin 21b). For
if the Holy One, blessed be he, would not permit her to him as a wife, he would
nevertheless marry her although she would then be forbidden to him. However, if
he does marry her, in the end he will hate her, for Scripture writes
immediately afterwards, (v. 15) “If a man has two wives, and he loves
one but not the other, etc.” and ultimately he will beget a
stubborn and rebellious son by her (v. 18). It is for this
reason that these sections are put in juxtaposition (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tetze 1).
12 Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her
nails [she shall trim them so that she becomes unsightly]
Kiddushin 22a:2
The phrase “you may take her” teaches:
You have the ability to take her, i.e., to marry her. “As your
wife” teaches that he may not take two women, one for him and one for
his father, or one for him and one for his son. The verse: “Bring
her into your home” (Deu 21:12), teaches that he should not pressure her
to engage in sexual intercourse during the war, but he should first take
her into his home.
Rashi’s Commentary
Trim her nails—Heb. וְעָשְׂתָה אֶת-צִפָּרְנֶיהָ. She must trim them, so that she should becomes
repulsive to her captor (cf. Sifrei Devarim 212:4; Yevamot 48a; see also
Rashi on Gen 1:7 and our Note thereon).
Sifrei Devarim 212:1
Bring her into your home—And not that of another.
13 and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured [the
gentile women adorning themselves in war to lure others to live with them].
After she has lived in your house [the house that he frequents, so that he see
her constantly in her weeping and in her unsightliness and she become repulsive
to him] and mourned her father and mother for a full month [all this, so that a
Jewish woman appear happy to him, and this one, sad; a Jewish woman, attractive,
and this one, repulsive], then you may go to her and be her husband and she
shall be your wife.
Kiddushin 68b:8
The Gemara answers: The verse states
with regard to a beautiful captive woman: “Then you may go to her and be her
husband and she shall be your wife” (Deu 21:13). One can derive from here by
inference that at the outset, before she became a Jew, betrothal would
not take effect with her, despite the fact that he had already brought her
into his house, and according to some opinions, had even engaged in sexual
intercourse with her.
Rashi’s Commentary
And put aside the clothes she was
wearing when captured—The reason is
because these are fine clothes, for the women of the heathen peoples adorned
themselves in time of war in order to lure others (the enemy) to unchastity
with them (Sifrei Devarim 213:1).
After she has lived in your house—Not in the women’s apartments, but in the house which he constantly uses: when he goes in he stumbles
upon her, when he leaves he stumbles upon her (i.e. he cannot avoid meeting her
constantly and the novelty of her beauty wears off); he sees her endless
crying, sees her neglected appearance—and all this in
order that she should become repulsive to him (Sifrei Devarim 213:2).
And mourned her father and mother—Why all this? In order to make a contrast—that while the Jewish woman (the captor’s Jewish wife) is gladsome, she
should be downhearted, while the Jewish woman adorns herself, this one should
bear a neglected appearance (Sifrei Devarim 213:5).
Sifrei Devarim 213:1
And put aside the clothes she was wearing
when captured—We are hereby taught that he removes
her alluring clothing and dresses her in widows' weeds; for the Canaanites
would dress their daughters enticingly to cause others to stray after them.
14 If
you are not pleased with her [Scripture indicates that he is destined to hate
her], let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a
slave, since you have dishonored her.
Rashi’s Commentary
If you are not pleased with her—Scripture informs you that you will in the end hate
her (Sifrei Devarim 214:1).
You must not . . . treat her as a
slave—Heb. לֹא-תִתְעַמֵּר בָּהּ. This
means: “You must not use her as a slave.” In the Persian
language slavery and servitude is termed עִימְרָאָה. I learned this from the work of R. Moses the
Preacher.
The Right of the Firstborn
15 If a
man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons
but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love,
Kiddushin 68a:4
Rav Pappa says: It is written
explicitly in the Law that a man can betroth women with whom he is
liable for violating ordinary prohibitions of intercourse. The Law states
in a different context: “If a man has two wives, the one beloved and the one
hated” (Deu 21:15). Rav Pappa asks rhetorically: But is there one who is
hated before the Omnipresent and one who is beloved before the Omnipresent?
Rather, “beloved” means beloved in her marriage, i.e., her marriage
is permitted; “hated” means hated in her marriage, i.e., her
marriage involves the violation of a prohibition. And despite the fact
that the latter marriage is between a man and a woman who are forbidden to one
another, their union still has the status of a marriage, as the Merciful One
states: “If a man has two wives,” i.e., he is married to both of them.
16 when
he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn
to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son
of the wife he does not love.
Sifrei Devarim 216:1
Then it shall be on the day
that he causes his sons to inherit—Inheritances
are adjudicated in the daytime and not at night.
17 He
must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a
double share [i.e., the portion of two brothers] of all he has [at the time of
his death (and not what is destined to come to him after his death)]. That son
is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of the firstborn belongs
to him.
Kiddushin 29b:7
The Gemara answers that this ruling is
necessary lest you say that we should derive a verbal analogy
between “firstborn” stated here and “firstborn” from the verses
dealing with inheritance: Just as there, the verse describes a firstborn
who receives a double portion of the inheritance as: “The first sign of his
father’s strength” (Deu 21:17), i.e., he is the firstborn son to his
father, and not the first child born to his mother; so too here, with
regard to the redemption of the firstborn son, it is referring to the first
sign of his father’s strength, which would mean that the father need redeem
only his oldest child. Therefore, this baraita teaches us that
this is not the case. Rather, every firstborn son to his mother must be
redeemed.
Kiddushin 74a:4
The Gemara continues to discuss the
credibility of various people with regard to a firstborn. Rav Naḥman says:
Three are deemed credible with regard to stating that a child is a
firstborn, and they are: A midwife, his father, and his mother. A
midwife is deemed credible only immediately; his mother is deemed
credible all of the first seven days after his birth; his
father is deemed credible forever. As it is taught in a baraita:
Expounding the verse: “He must acknowledge the . . . firstborn” (Deu
21:17), the Sages said: The father must acknowledge him to others. In
other words, he is deemed credible to tell others that this is his firstborn.
Rashi’s Commentary
A double share—i.e. a portion equal to those of two brothers
together (SifreiDevarim 217:2-4).
A double share of all he has—Fromhere
the Rabbis derived the law that the firstborn does not receive a double share
of what is due to come after the death of the father (as, e.g., a debt or a
legacy that were payable to his father on a certain date, before which,
however, the father died, e.g., from an uncollected debt), as he does of what is actually held in possession by the father
(Bekhorot 51b; SifreiDevarim 217:6).
A Rebellious Son
18 If
someone has a stubborn [from the right path] and rebellious son who does not
obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him
[i.e., they warn him before three, and he receives stripes],
Rashi’s Commentary
Stubborn—Heb. סוֹרֵר,
deviating (סָר) means,
one who deviates from the proper path of life.
Sifrei Devarim 218:1
If someone has a . . . son
(who goes astray)—And not if a son (one who
has not reached the state of manhood) has a son.
19 his
father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the
gate of his town.
20 They
shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will
not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.”
21 Then
all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from
among you [The Law “probed to the end of the mind” of the rebellious son. In the
end he would exhaust his father's money. Lacking his accustomed fare, he would
become a highway man and would rob (and kill). The Law says: Let him die
unincriminated rather than incriminated]. All Israel will hear of it and be
afraid. [Proclamation is required, viz.: “This man was stoned for being a
rebellious son!”]
Rashi’s Commentary
All Israel will hear of it and be
afraid—From here we derive the law
that his execution requires public announcement by the court: “The man named
so-and-so is stoned because he was a stubborn and rebellious son”
(Sanhedrin 89a).
Sifrei Devarim 220:1
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