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his cup…and was like a daughter to him.” Of Mordechai Hatzaddik
it is written,“He raised Hadassah, that is Esther, daughter of his un-
cle… and when her father and mother died, Mordechai took her to
him as a daughter” (Esther 2:7). Chazal say that Mordechai merited
redeeming Yisrael on account of his having raised Esther, his uncle’s
daughter. It is certainly worthwhile an adoptive parent’s enduring the
vigilance necessary for avoiding yichud, in order to merit these great
consequences.3

According to basic halachah, an adopted child does not have to
recite Kaddish for an adoptive parent. However, he/she must show
gratitude and it is therefore good for him to make an effort to say
Kaddish if the adoptive parent did not leave any natural sons.

Now, there are adoptive parents who try to hide the fact that their
child is adopted. However, there are cases where the adoptive parent
must not hide the identity of the adopted child, as follows:

1. If the adoptive parent is a Kohen or a Levi, the adoption
must not be hidden, because an adopted son must not raise
his hands in Birkas Kohanim, redeem a firstborn or accept
terumos and maasros. Neither may he be called up for the
first [or second] aliyah to the Torah reading, since he is
neither a Kohen nor a Levi.

2. Even if there was no compelling reason to reveal the fact of
the child’s adoption while he/she was growing up, it must
be revealed when the adopted child gets married (Minchas
Yitzchak 5, 44), in order to avoid deceiving the other party
who will otherwise believe that he is the adoptive parents’
natural child. See Yevamos (45a): “Or go into exile,” which
Rashi explains as meaning, “Go into exile to a place where
they don’t know you and they will give you a Jewish daugh-
ter of regular lineage [to marry].” The Kehillos Yaakov
(Yevamos, 46) proves from here that a chasan is allowed

3. See further discussion of this topic, earlier, in siman 271, ‘Halachic Concerns in
regard to Adoption.’

500 1 Medical-Halachic Responsa of Rav Zilberstein