[Avodah] timtum halev

[David Riceman]

David Riceman wrote:
> Tal Moshe Zwecker wrote:
>> From: Moshe Feldman <moshe.feld... at gmail.com>
>> a) SA Y.D. 91:7: a Jewish baby technically is allowed to nurse from a
>> non-Jewess, but should not do so because of timtum ha'lev.
> You mean 81:7.
>
> RMB:
> <<But if the people involved didn't know a Jew nursed form a 
> nachriah,this modified position would argue there is no timtum.>>
>
> But that's not what the Rama says.  Here's the Darkei Moshe s.k. 9 
> (which, incidentally, doesn't use the term "timtum"): "The Ran Perek 
> Ein Ma'amidin [7a] and the end of Perek Heresh in Yevamos wrote that 
> there are those who prohibit permitting a child to suckle from a 
> gentile when a Jewish wetnurse is available because the milk of a 
> gentile is <not kosher>.  In the absence of a Jewish wetnurse it is 
> permitted because [the absence of human] milk is dangerous for a 
> child.  The Rashba, however, wrote that there is no halachic 
> distinction between the milk of a Jew and a gentile, but because Jews 
> are by nature merciful and retiring (rahmanim ubayyshanim) their milk 
> has that same status, and hence it is an act of piety to refrain from 
> suckling from a gentile.  Hagahos Ashrei wrote in the second chapter 
> of AZ (#6) that one must warn the wetnurse not to eat carrion 
> (neveilos) and pork and a fortiori not to feed the infant impure 
> things, and he cites as evidence someone whose mother ate idolatrous 
> food (mimin a"z) and this caused him to stray (sheyatza l'tarbut 
> ra'ah) in his later years (Yerushalmi Hagigah 2:1)."
>
> I think it's clear that both the Rashba and the Hagahos Ashrei were 
> worried that milk of non-Jews is physically different than milk of 
> Jews, and endangers the character of those who drink it.  And don't 
> forget, we're talking about drinkers who are too young to study issur 
> vaheter.
>
> David Riceman
>
>
>