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Chasam Sofer there is still room to question whether Yemuel can
marry a Jewess and no longer be considered a mamzer, and the case
still needs further study.

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Tissue-Typing for a Woman who Expresses

Doubt as to whether her Daughter is really Hers

Question: There was a case involving a woman who expressed doubt
as to whether her daughter was really hers. She was concerned that
the child might have been exchanged for another newborn in the hos-
pital, since the bracelets bearing the family name [which are attached
to mothers and newborns] had been torn off. She therefore wanted
her daughter to undergo tissue typing so as to clarify whether she was
indeed her daughter. [In the opinion of the nurses and the medical
staff the child was hers.] Should her request be granted?

Response: In light of the Rashash’s comments (above) that Rabbi
Banaah was reluctant to publicize and reveal the identity of the
mamzerim, my father-in-law Rav Y.S. Elyashiv zt”l, ruled that the
same logic is applicable to our case. Perhaps the tissue typing will
yield uncertainty and lead us to assume that the child is not hers,
render her a foundling i.e. a child of unknown parentage. We have no
license to reveal that a girl – who has a presumption of kashrus and
whose parents are known – is a foundling of unknown parentage. It
is therefore inappropriate to carry out tissue typing.



ɳ Summary and Conclusions

1. It is sufficient if there is any possible explanation whatso-
ever for the child’s blood type differing from that of the

120 1 Medical-Halachic Responsa of Rav Zilberstein