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for he will resemble his father and his father’s family, as we
find in maseches Niddah (31a):“There are three partners in a
person’s formation – his father provides the white [matter]
from which comes his brain…” and if his brain is that of a
non-Jew, his way of thinking , as well as all his tendencies
and traits will be those of a non-Jew, for this phenome-
non – of the progenitor’s characteristics emerging in the
offspring – is encountered in animals, birds and plants as
well. There is no worse deception than having the bride’s
family believing that they are marrying their daughter off
to a boy from a family of distinguished lineage when in fact
he is of non-Jewish stock. This is a synopsis of the Bobover
Rebbe’s argument (from Kovetz Hameir).



Deception in Arranging Matches and the

Possibility of a Marriage being rendered Null and
Void

It should be pointed out that the Kehillas Yaakov (Yevamos, 44) has
previously discussed a similar case, of a man who was missing his left
testicle owing to disease, who had been permitted to marry a Jewess
based on Rabbenu Tam’s (Tosfos Yevamos 75a s.v. she’ain lo) and the
Sefer Haterumah’s view [who permit marriage to a Jewess if he still
has one testicle]. His lenient ruling is also based on the Rambam’s
view that if the damage [to the reproductive organs] was caused by
disease this is classed as kerus shufchah through Heaven’s agency [as
opposed to humanly inflicted mutilation], and he is allowed to marry
a Jewess [see Shulchan Aruch, Even Ha’ezer, 5 and Pis’chei Teshuvah
ibid.,107, quoting a response from Rav Chaim of Volozhin]. Although
the grounds for permitting this are not clear according to all opinions,
in a situation of dire need – for if we do not permit him to marry a

76 1 Medical-Halachic Responsa of Rav Zilberstein