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Can a woman whose father's father isn't Jewish, but whose father's mother is a regular Jew, and whose mother is the child of two converts marry a Cohen?

On the one hand she isn't purely from converts, on the other hand the side that purifies her from that would also forbid her to a Cohen?

Would the answer be different if the Father and Mother's situation were reversed?

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    See: chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/468267/jewish/…
    – Seth J
    May 24, 2012 at 22:31
  • IIRC, there is a mishnah somewhere (perhaps in seder zera'im?) that says a woman whose can trace her maternal lineage back until a convert is not allowed to marry a kohein. However, the halacha does not go according to this AFAICR.
    – Adam Mosheh
    May 25, 2012 at 5:59
  • If one of her parents is a mamzer, she is forbidden.
    – Noach MiFrankfurt
    Aug 25, 2014 at 21:01
  • @NoachmiFrankfurt, who mentioned a mamzer? And anyway, that isn't Kohen specific.
    – Yishai
    Aug 25, 2014 at 21:03
  • @Yishai, I was commenting on the title, and some are meikil for a non-kohen and a mamzer (likely due to a safek).
    – Noach MiFrankfurt
    Aug 25, 2014 at 21:05

3 Answers 3

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Shemesh U'magen Volume 3 Even Haezer 58 says that they may even get married Lchatchila according to the Rambam, and Bdieved according to the Rif and the Ramban.

Rabbi Ovadya Yosef Zatzal in Yabia Omer 9 Even Haezer 5 and Rabbi Shlomo Amar Shlita in Shema Shlomo 5 Even Haezer 8 agree with this ruling.

Thanks to the Bais Din of Ashkelon and Rabbi Eliyahu Ariel Aderi Shlita for this answer.

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  • What ruling are they agreeing with? It sounds like Shemesh U'magen is just citing earlier disagreements. Are they agreeing that ShUM understood those Rishonim correctly?
    – Double AA ♦
    Nov 6, 2014 at 17:45
  • ענין זה כבר עלה על שלחן מלכים וראש המדברים בענין הוא כמו"ר הגר"ש משאש זצ"ל שהתיר לכהן לשאת בת ישראלית מגוי כאשר נתקשרו בעבותות אהבה כמו שכתב בשו"ת שמ"ש ומגן ח"ג אה"ע סימן נ"ח, וסימן ע"ג וח"ד סימן נ"ט, סימן ס', סימן ס"א, סימן ס"ח, סימן ע', סימן ע"ג, סימן ע"ד ועוד. והסכימו איתו גדולי הדור הלא הם הראשון לציון הגר"ע יוסף שליט"א הובאו דבריו בשו"ת שמ"ש ומגן ח"ג אה"ע סימן ע"ג ובשו"ת יביע אומר ח"ט אה"ע סימן ה', ח"ז אה"ע סי' ט, ח"י אה"ע סי' י"ד וכן פסק הראשון לציון הגרש"מ עמאר שליט"א בספרו שמע שלמה ח"ה אה"ע סי' ח'
    – Gershon Gold
    Nov 6, 2014 at 17:46
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    This isn't the case I am asking about, exactly. It is just generally permitting a woman with a non-Jewish father to a Kohen. That isn't what I was asking. Although, obviously, if that were permitted, then this case isn't a problem. But it is asking according to the opinions that forbid it.
    – Yishai
    Nov 6, 2014 at 18:09
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Her father was born Jewish. We don't care about her grandfather.

Furthermore, her mother was born Jewish. Again, we don't care about her grandparents.

Source: The questions that you linked in yours.

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  • I don't see how those sources support the answer. If the issue is a churmah about yichus above the Torah requirement, I'm not clear why you can just ignore the lack of Yichus.
    – Yishai
    May 25, 2012 at 13:50
  • @Yishai, It's not even a standard Humrah, though. A standard Humrah is generally taking a more stringent approach because of some lone opinion that you want to account for. This more like Gebrokts - Minhag out of a desire to be more stringent, but with recognized boundaries. The boundary in this case, if I'm not mistaken, is the first generation. Once someone has been "born into Kedushah" as one of the sources says, there's no more reason to extend the stringency. In both cases, there is no prohibition, per se, on the marriage.
    – Seth J
    May 25, 2012 at 14:34
  • I'm not really sure about that. Just like the need to not have a pure line of converts goes to children, why wouldn't this.
    – Yishai
    Jun 4, 2012 at 19:27
  • BTW, when you say "we don't care about the grandparents" that is wrong. We do care - if they were all gerim, then the shidduch would be inappropriate.
    – Yishai
    Nov 6, 2014 at 18:38
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Yes. If all ancestry was converts, she shouldn't marry a Cohen but if she did so we don't stop them.

But we prefer mizera bet yisrael -- which is interpreted by the Gemara as the need to have some amount of mainstream Jewish blood.

Yes if someone's father is a non-Jew they shouldn't marry a Cohen, but I see no reason why that should carry on to future generations.

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