[Avodah] Donor Kids and Adoption

[Chana Luntz]

> On Wed, May 12, 2010 at 10:42:04PM +0100, I  wrote:
> : Isn't this precisely where the Ben Sira midrash is usually brought
> into the
> : discussion? ...

And RMB replied

> That's about the child not being a mamzer, since there was no bi'ah
> asurah. RMF invokes it in that context, but the Satmar Rav holds the
> child would be as much a mamzer as if the union were bederekh bi'ah.
...

> But here we're talking now about the child happening to meet another
> child of that donor and marrying a genetic sibling. Would *their* child
> (produced in the traditional way) be a mamzeir?

Sorry, I obviously wasn't clear.  While the focus of much of the discussion
on the Ben Sira midrash is on the child not being a mamzer, there is a
second point that appears to me to be clearly learnt out of this, which is
that Ben Sira is indeed considered the seed of Yirmiyahu, him being referred
to as ben Yirmiyahu throughout.  That, it would seem to me, suggests that he
was considered the full fledged descendent of Yirmiyahu, and subject to the
same rules vis a vis relations with others that any other child would (not
that it would presumably make that much difference in Ben Sira's case, as
pretty much anybody forbidden to him because of his father would also be
forbidden to him because of his mother).

> If the donor isn't Jewish, then they aren't halachic siblings anyway.
> But it's possible that if the donor is Jewish, even RMF would say the
> grandchild is a mamzeir.

Agreed, that it seems to me is the consequence of accepting the Ben Sira
midrash as a basis of psak, if one accepts the first part of it, one ends up
accepting his valid relationship with Yirmiyahu.

> Tir'u baTov!
> -Micha

Regards

Chana