judaism_and_rome 2026-07-22T04:51:03+02:00 1 1619 Text https://heurist.huma-num.fr/heurist/?recID=1619&db=judaism_and_rome 2022-08-19 20:57:01 2023-10-10 14:02:45 public Mishnah Demai 6:10 200 200 220 220 5922 5962 Hebrew 3633 <p>This text addresses a situation where a convert is about to inherit problematic items from his recently deceased father, who was not Jewish: idols (or other objects related to idolatrous practices) or wine, which could be used for libations. According to rabbinic law, Jews are prohibited from deriving benefit from such items (whether from direct use or by profiting from their sale). This mishnah therefore allows the convert to ask his non-Jewish brother to divide their father’s estate so that he may receive only the property that is permitted to him as a Jew. However, if the convert has already taken possession of such items, he may not retroactively make such an arrangement nor can he derive benefit from them.</p> <p>This mishnah indicates that converts did not cut all ties with their non-Jewish family. In that regard, tannaitic literature seems to be inconsistent on this subject since a convert may not bequeath property to his non-Jewish children (<a href="https://heurist.huma-num.fr/judaism_and_rome/tpl/public-record/1630" target="_blank">Sifre Numbers 4</a>; Mishnah Bava Qamma 9:11). Moreover, even if these children had converted with their father, they are unable to inherit his assets. This asymmetry complicates our understanding of the relationships between a <em>ger</em> and his family of origin. It is unclear whether the rabbis had a systematic legal concept of the relationship between converts and their non-Jewish relatives. Gary G. Porton states that the sages did “not rule that converts were prohibited from inheriting from their gentile parents … because this could make conversion unappealing” (<em>The Stranger</em>, p. 24). According to this reasoning, the rabbis would have preferred for conversion to end these family relationships; however, they permitted <em>gerim</em> to inherit from their non-Jewish relatives to remove a potential barrier to conversion. Although no explanation for this proviso is included, a convert may receive an inheritance from his non-Jewish father.</p> convert idol idolatry wine libation inheritance gentile Mishnah 3rd CE 5831 1608 Converts and inheritance גר גוי ירש עבודה זרה יין Yael Wilfand Syria Palaestina Jewish Legal text Demai 6:10 Yes Yes Yes No Yes 1586 1597 1608 1