Who is credible when they claim a person's status? The midwife is credible while she is with the baby. The mother is credible for the seven days following the baby's birth, for she does not leave the baby at all during that time. From the eighth day forward, the father is credible. Is a judge credible? A judge is deemed credible while the people in question are before him. The rabbis tell us about the judge's discretion, where a judge might make an idiosyncratic decision that would not be repeated.
The rabbis question the credibility of women. If she is pregnant, unmarried, and saying that the father is a priest, is she believed? That depends on where she lives - is more than half of the population made up of priests? If so, she could be credible. Further, is she credible when it comes to the status of her fetus? Can she be taken seriously enough to justify her daughter's marriage to a priest?
A new Mishna elucidates a disagreement between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Eliezer. Anyone who is permitted to enter the congregation of the Lord is permitted to marry a Jew of unflawed lineage. Who else are people allowed to marry? Are mamzerim permitted to marry only other mamzerot? Does the same rule apply for those with flaws that result from an uncertainty? Or are those with flawed lineage able to marry each other across flawed lines?
The Gemara questions who exactly is permitted to enter the congregation of the Lord, and each status is questioned regarding who they should be allowed to marry. And their children - the offspring of people of different statuses - who are they permitted to marry?
Even writing the word 'flawed' is difficult to do without adding quotation marks. A flaw is a mark that renders something less than perfect. Thus we are all flawed. Even our lineage is flawed. But the hierarchical nature of this line of commentary means that those with flaws are less than those who are 'unflawed'.
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