Thursday, March 10, 2022

Yevamot 3 - Sleeping with one's daughter

Most people would agree that a man should not sleep with his daughter. However, this is not mentioned in the Torah directly. Instead, this prohibition is derived by connecting with another ban in two steps.

We are not talking about his legitimate daughter because she is "his wife's daughter," and it is indeed prohibited. Instead, we are talking about his out-of-the-wedlock daughter from his lover who is not his wife. Why can't he sleep with her? 

First, one should not marry a woman and her daughter because they are close relatives,  and it is a shame. Second, one should not sleep with his son or daughter's daughter because it is a shame. Since these two phrases include a similar word, "shame" or "heinnah" in Hebrew, we can combine the prohibitions and derive that sleeping with one's daughter, even born out of wedlock, is incest.

The teacher (Tanna) who taught this law loved involved logic. Since this law is a perfect example, the teacher has put one's daughter as the first in the list of the fifteen women who are automatically released from yibum or chalitzah.

Father and Daughter by Charles H. Moreau

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