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THE DAFYOMI DISCUSSION LIST
brought to you by Kollel Iyun Hadaf of Yerushalayim
Rosh Kollel Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld
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Sanhedrin 085b: The Geirus of the Kutim
David Goldman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> asked:
Hi. I never understood how Chazal ever had a hava amina about the Kusim
being kosher for any purpose when they both had a safek geyrus (the geyrus
with the lions according to what I saw in Meam Loez was only for 7 mitzvos
Bnai Noach) and in any case they did not keep halacha properly. What is the
answer to this puzzle? Even if some were megayer le-halacha, if they
thereafter did not keep halacha properly, and were kofer in Torah she-be-al
Peh, then why should there ever be such a hava amina?
Thank you,
David Goldman
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The Kollel replies:
I am not sure what the context of the Me'am Lo'ez was, but it seems that he
is explaining the opinion who maintains that Kutim are "Gerei Arayos," i.e.
their Geirus was not acceptable. According to the opinion that they were
Gerei Emes, they accepted all of the Mitzvos.
Even if they did not observe some of the Mitzvos, since they accepted the
Mitzvos (and at the time they accepted them, they intended to observe
them), they and all of their decendants are considered Geirim.
An interesting point, though, is that the Rambam (in Perush ha'Mishnah and
Mishnah Torah in countless places) observes that because later generations
of Kutim were observed to serve idols, we indeed can consider them
mid'Oraisa as *non* converts, and their conversion is (retroactively?) not
valid, as you suggested.
M. Kornfeld
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