[Avodah] Vayichad Yisro - Disparaging Non-Jews

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Wed, Feb 10, 2016 at 01:41:24PM -0500, Zev Sero via Avodah wrote:
: None of this is necessary, since the halacha is clear that someone
: whose ancestors were all gerim is a ger, even if the family has been
: Jewish for centuries.

Of course knowing what chumash, Nakh, and the gemara mean is necessary.
And they seem to imply to me that the Qeini were a tribe of geirei toshav,
of whom Tzipporah, Rachav and Ya'el converted.

Notice this also means that the Qeini were a Midyan breakaway, as
Yisro's descendents end up in Judea, not Midyan.

 ----

As to whether someone whose ancestors are all geirim is a geir, that
appears to be the SA's position WRT who may marry a mamzer. And we are
machmir in not letting her marry a kohein (AhS 7:21) but the Pischei
Teshuvah 4:3 says that bedi'eved, staying married is the better choice.
Not only do we not recommend a gett, we disrecommend it. When it comes to
serarah, the NbY (qama CM 1) says that Rechav'am was not barred as
a ben geirim.

The answer seems more nuanced than a simple yes-or-no, we need to ask
"WRT which din?"

Meanwhile, I found an answer to the question in the OP -- Rambam, Issurei
Bi'ah 15:8 does not refer to 10 generations. He writes that anyone who
descends entirely from geirim may marry a mamseres "until the name of
his geirus lapse and it is not known that he is a geir".

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
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