Kiddushin 69: Escape from Mamzer Status; Who Can Marry Whom

Today we move into Perek IV and we learn two new Mishnayot.  The first Mishna, ending Perek III, teaches that there are ways to save one's children from being mamzerim for their entire lives.  To do this, a mamzer must marry a Canaanite maidservant so that the resulting offspring is a mamzer and a slave.  Then, later in life, this slave could be emancipated.  At that point this 'child' is permitted to marry any Jew.

The Gemara points out flaws in this Mishna.  Most obvious, these directions are about male children and not female children. In addition, this is dependent on the will of the slave owner.  The Gemara accept this leniency but not without significant arguments.

In Perek IV, we begin with a new Mishna.  This Mishna teaches us that there are ten categories of Jews, and each has it's own rule regarding marriage.  I will attach a chart that I will design to better explain this concept.
   

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Jewish Status	Permitted to Marry
Kohenim	Kohenim, Levites, Israelites
Levites	Kohenim, Levites, Israelites
Israelites	Kohenim, Levites, Israelites, Levites who are not priests, halalim, emancipated slaves, converts
Levites who are not priests	Israelites, Levites who are not priests, halalim, emancipated   slaves, converts
Halalim: kohenim whose parents were not permitted to marry	Israelites, Levites who are not priests, halalim, emancipated slaves, converts
Converts	Israelites, Levites who are not priests, halalim, emancipated slaves, converts, mamzerim, Gibeonites, shetuki, foundlings
Emancipated Slaves	Israelites, Levites who are not priests, halalim, emancipated slaves, converts, mamzerim, Gibeonites, shetuki, foundlings
Mamzerim	Israelites, Levites who are not priests, emancipated slaves, converts, mamzerim, Gibeonites, shetuki, foundlings
Gibeonites	mamzerim, Gibeonites, shetuki, foundlings
Shetuki: those who know their mother but not their father	mamzerim, Gibeonites, shetuki, foundlings
Foundlings: those who were found in the marketplace with no information about parentage	mamzerim, Gibeonites, shetuki, foundlings

        information is based on Steinsaltz: Masechet Kiddushin 69 

The Gemara discusses the ascension of Jews from Babylonia to HaAretz.  They note that moving to Israel is not a geographical 'moving up', and thus it must be a spiritual ascension.  We continue to use these words to describe our experience of Israel - to move to Israel is to make aliyah, or to make ourselves go up. In these cases, the rabbis note that different groups of people were kept away from other groups of people.  Sometimes this was done to avoid "polluting" one of those groups.

Another indication of the maintenance of or a change in status is teruma.  Who was partaking of teruma?  Who was not?  This could teach us about whether or not the superior status of kohen was maintained at different points in time.

Again, the focus on this stratification of society does not sit right in the context of modern society.