Matrilineal Descent
From: Nathan
Dear Rabbi,
What is the source of matrilineal descent in Judaism?
Dear Nathan,
The Mishna (Kiddushin 66b) states that if a child’s mother is not Jewish, the child is not Jewish. The ensuing Gemara (Kidsushin 68b) explains that this is derived from a verse within the Torah’s prohibition of intermarriage: “And you shall not marry with the non-Jews. Do not give your daughters to his sons; and do not take his daughters for your sons. For he will turn your son away from me and they will worship other gods” (Deut. 7:1-5).
The Talmud notes that the initial prohibition of intermarriage mentions both possibilities, i.e. your daughter to his son, and his daughter to your son. But regarding “turning away”, only “your son” is mentioned, suggesting that “your daughter” is not a concern. But how can that be? Certainly
The explanation depends on who is “he” that will turn “your son” away, and what “son” is being referred to. It can’t mean “he”, your prospective gentile in-law, tuning away “your son”, his son-in-law, because if he can turn your son away, certainly his gentile son can turn your daughter away, which is equally unacceptable! Rather the Talmud thus explains that “he” is not referring to your in-law, but rather to his son, the gentile son-in-law married to your daughter, who will turn their children, referred to as “your son” away. However, since only this option is mentioned in the Torah, it reveals that only your grandchild of a gentile man and your Jewish daughter is considered “your son”, i.e. Jewish. But the offspring of a gentile woman from your Jewish son is not considered “your son” but hers, i.e. a gentile.
This explanation is according to the understanding of Rashi and Tosefot Ri Hazaken. The generic Tosefot (ad loc. “Amar krah”) offers other possible explanations of the verse, but all arrive to the same conclusion.
Another source in the Torah is the verse “The son of an Israelite woman went out; and he was the son of an Egyptian man” (Leviticus 24:10). Despite the fact that this person’s father is explicitly identified as a gentile, the person himself is referred to by the Torah as being “in the midst of the community of Israel”, i.e. Jewish. The reason is because his mother was Jewish, even though his father was not.
Yet an additional verse for matrilineal descent concerns certain Jews who, returning from the Babylonian exile, declare, “We have trespassed against our
This law is also found in another Mishna (Yevamot 21a): “One counts as a brother (meaning a fellow-Jew) in every respect (even if his father was a gentile) unless he was the son of an indentured, gentile maidservant or of a gentile woman.” Additional sources are found in Midrash Rabba (Numbers 19) and in the Jerusalem Talmud (Kiddushin 3:12).
And this in fact is the halacha codified in the Code of Jewish Law (Shulchan Aruch Even Haezer 8:5), and in Rambam’s Mishna Torah (Forbidden Relations 15:4). There, Rambam states, “This is the general rule: The status of an offspring from a gentile man or from a gentile woman is the same as the status of his mother; we disregard the status of the father.” Of course, once the mother is Jewish, and the father is also Jewish, then the specific affiliation of the children within the Jewish People is patrilineal regarding whether a person is a Kohen, Levi or Yisrael. When the mother is Jewish and the father is not, even though the children are Jewish, obviously they have no such special patrilineal status since the gentile father has none.
