war and women

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.

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)⁷³I.e., she converts., she immediately⁷⁴And she need not grow her fingernails long nor shave her head. 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 religion⁷⁵Which she can no longer practice.. 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.

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 her⁷⁶As a maidservant., 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.

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.

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.