אשת יפת תואר

(1) Those courageous soldiers (or front-line troops) who cross the borders into non-Jewish lands, capture them and take prisoners are permitted to eat non-Kosher meats, swine and so on, if they are hungry and could not find anything to eat except for these forbidden foods. They may also drink wine offered in the service of idolatry. By Tradition we have learned that “houses filled with all good” (Deut. 6:11) means beheaded boar, and the like.

(2) Similarly, one may have sexual intercourse with a non-Jewish woman if his lust gets the better of him. But, he must not just have intercourse with her and go. Rather, he must take her home, as it says, “and when you see a Woman of Beauty among the captives” (Deut. 21:11). He may not have intercourse with her a second time until he marries her.

(3) The Woman of Beauty is permitted only in the hour of capture, as it says, “and you see her among the captives” (Deut. 21:11). This is applicable whether or not she is a virgin. Even if she is a married woman this Law applies since there is no concept of forbidden interpersonal relationships among the non-Jews. From “And you desire her” (ibid.) we learn - even if she is not pretty; from “unto her” (ibid.) we learn - and not with her friend, for you may not have relations with a second one; from “and you shall take her as a wife” (ibid.) we learn - you may not take two and have relations with one and leave the other for your father or brother. From where do we know that we do not coerce her (to have relations) during the war, as it says, “and you shall bring her home” (Deut. 21:12). He must take her back to the city and only then he may have relations with her.

(4) A Kohen, too, is permitted to have this one-time intercourse with a Woman of Beauty, for the Torah only permitted this to appease the (Evil) Inclination. But he may not marry her afterwards because she will then be a convert.

(5) What are the details of the Jewish Law of the Woman of Beauty? (Even) after he has had the first intercourse with her, she still remains a non-Jewess. Now, if she accepts upon herself the Wings of the Shechinoh (Holy Presence), she immediately immerses in a Mikveh for purposes of conversion. If she does not wish to do accept this, she sits in his house for thirty days, as it says, “and she cries for her father and mother, for a month of days” (Deut. 21:13). He does not prevent her from weeping for her religion. She grows her fingernails long and shaves her head so that she will appear despicable in his eyes. She is to remain in the house with him. When he comes in, he sees her, and when he leaves, he sees her. This is done so that he will come to loathe her. He discusses matters with her in order to induce her to convert for thirty days. If she accepts and he still wants her, she converts and immerses, as do all converts.

(6) In all, she must wait three months: one month of wailing, and two months thereafter. He then may marry her with a Kesuba (marriage contract) and Kiddushin (sanctification). If he does not want her, he releases her on her own. If he sells her, he violates the Negative Commandment “and you may not sell her for money, you shall not deal with her as a slave, because you have humbled her” (Deut. 21:14). The sale is invalid and he must return the money. If he first had relations with her and then seized her for the purposes of making her a maidservant, once he uses her as such, he violates a Negative Precept, as it says, “you shall not deal with her as a slave” (Deut. 21:14), that is, he must not have her serve him.

(7) If (at first) she does not want to convert, (we) talk with her repeatedly for twelve months. If she still doesn’t want to (fully) convert, she may accept the Seven Noahide commandments, and he sends her away on her own. She then has the same status as any other Resident Convert. He cannot marry her, for we cannot marry anyone who has not fully converted.

(8) If she became pregnant from their first intercourse, the child is a convert. However, it is not the father’s child in every respect, since the mother was a non-Jewess. However, the Court immerses the child with (without?) their consent. Tamar was born from a first intercourse with a Woman of Beauty, while Avshalom was born after the wedding. Thus Tamar was (Halochically) Avshalom’s sister on their mother’s side (only) and she was permitted to marry Amnon, as it says, “now speak with the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” (II Samuel 13:13).

(9) A Woman of Beauty who does not want to forsake (her) idolatry after the twelve months is executed. Similarly, we do not make a treaty with a city which came and made peace with us until they completely relinquish their idolatry, destroy its places, and accept the rest of the Commandments commanded of the Sons of Noah. For any non-Jew who is under our jurisdiction and fails to accept the Noahide Commandments is executed.

(10) Moses our Teacher did not bequeath the Torah and the Commandments to anyone but to Israel, as it says, “the Heritage of the Congregation of Jacob” (Deut. 33:4), and to anyone from the other nations who wishes to convert, as it says, “as you, as a convert” (Numbers 15:15). However, no one who does not want to convert is forced to accept the Torah and the Commandments. Moses our Teacher was commanded by the Almighty to compel the world to accept the Commandments of the Sons of Noah. Anyone who fails to accept them is executed. Anyone who does accept them upon himself is called a Convert Who May Reside Anywhere. He must accept them in front of three wise and learned Jews. However, anyone who agrees to be circumcised and twelve months have elapsed and he was not as yet circumcised is no different than any other member of the nations of the world.

(11) Anyone who accepts upon himself and carefully observes the Seven Commandments is of the Righteous of the Nations of the World and has a portion in the World to Come. This is as long as he accepts and performs them because (he truly believes that) it was the Holy One, Blessed Be He, Who commanded them in the Torah, and that is was through Moses our Teacher we were informed that the Sons of Noah had already been commanded to observe them. But if he observes them because he convinced himself logically, then he is not considered a Resident Convert and is not of the Righteous of the Nations of the World, but merely one of their wise.

(1) To execute the law of the one of beautiful form (yefat toar) as is written in the Torah: That we were commanded about the woman of beautiful form to do to her like the statute that is written in this section, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 21:11), "And you shall see among the captives a woman of beautiful form" - meaning to say that she be beautiful in his eyes (see Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings and Wars 8:3). And the content of the command about her is that the Israelite bring her to his home and command her to shave her head, to grow her nails, to remove from upon her the fine garment that she brought from her home - as such was the custom of the nations, that their daughters would adorn themselves in war for harlotry - and to allow her to cry for her father and mother a month of days, as per her desire. These are the things that are explicit in Scripture about the law of a woman of beautiful form. And it would seem that the obligation of a positive commandment comes on all of these [things].

(2) From the roots of the commandment [is that which] they, may their memory be blessed, said (Kiddushin 21b), [it is] because the Torah only permitted the one of beautiful form of the captives in view of the evil impulse. As if Scripture had not permitted her, he would marry her [even though it is] forbidden, due to the power of the evil impulse of the heart of man regarding desire. And so, Scripture shut the door in front of him to make her repulsive in his eyes: It commanded to shave her head so as to destroy the form of her fine hair; and to grow her nails so as to distort the form of her hands; and it permitted her to cry for the first month so as to distort her face and to consume her eyes with her tears. Scripture also commanded that she should sit with him in his house while she is doing all of this in the first month. And it is all to make her disgusting in his eyes, that he come in and go out [from his house] and see her in her distortion. And among the commentators, [some] said (Rabbenu Tam in Tosafot on Kiddushin 22a s.v. shelo) that the permissibility of the first intercourse of the woman of beautiful form is in her being a gentile (immediately). And their words are likely, since her permissibility is because of the power of the evil impulse. But [there are others] among them that said that she is not permissible at all until after all of these acts that we mentioned. And from the simple understanding of the verses, it appears like this. And also in Talmud Yerushalmi Makkot 2:6, they disagreed about this.

(3) The laws of the commandment: That which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Kiddushin 21b) that [the law of] a woman of beautiful form [applies] whether she is a virgin or [is not] or [even if she is] the wife of a man. But it is not permitted to take two, as it is stated, "her" - not "her and her friend." And [also] that which they said (Kiddushin 22a) to not pressure her in the war, but rather he must isolate himself with her in a house - that he not think that the Torah permitted her in any fashion, and even publicly. And she must convert before he marries her as a wife. And after the conversion, he marries her with a marriage contract and betrothal, and the law that pertains to her is like the law of [all] the daughters of Israel. But if she does not want to convert, he puts up with her twelve months and sends her away. And after the month of crying, he waits for her two more months. And (Sanhedrin 21a) if she becomes pregnant from the first intercourse, the offspring is a gentile and not his son for any matter of all the matters - and like the Sages, may their memory be blessed, said (Kiddushin 68b), "Your son that comes from a gentile woman is not your son, but rather her son." And Tamar, the sister of Avshalom, was from the first intercourse of a woman of beautiful form, whereas Avsahlaom was born after the marriage. And it comes out that Tamar was the sister of Avshalom from [the side of] his mother, and [so] permissible to be married to Amnon. And so did it state (II Samuel 13:13), "please speak to the king, as he will not prevent me from you." [These] and the rest of the details of the commandment are in the first chapter of Kiddushin and in Sanhedrin.

(4) And this commandment is practiced at the time that Israel is on its land, as then did they have the power and the ability in their hand to fight wars. And one who transgresses it and does not do the actions that we mentioned has violated this positive commandment.