Kommentar zu Makhshirin 2:7
מָצָא בָהּ תִּינוֹק מֻשְׁלָךְ, אִם רֹב נָכְרִים, נָכְרִי. וְאִם רֹב יִשְׂרָאֵל, יִשְׂרָאֵל. מֶחֱצָה לְמֶחֱצָה, יִשְׂרָאֵל. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, הוֹלְכִין אַחַר רֹב הַמַּשְׁלִיכִין:
[Wenn] man dort [in der Stadt] ein verlassenes Kind gefunden hat: Wenn die meisten [der Bewohner] Nichtjuden sind, ist es ein Nichtjude; und wenn die meisten Juden sind, ist es ein Jude; [und wenn] es halb und halb ist, ist es ein Jude. Rabbi Yehudah sagt: Wir folgen der Mehrheit der Menschen, die [Kinder] verlassen.
Bartenura on Mishnah Makhshirin
אם רוב נכרים – and it is permitted to feed him (i.e., the baby) un-slaughtered carrion and torn animal flesh, forbidden animals and reptiles by hand (see Talmud Ketubot 15b).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makhshirin
If one found [an abandoned] child there: The mishnah continues to deal with a city composed of both non-Jews and Jews. A child is found, abandoned by his parents and we need to know whether to assume that the child is Jewish or not.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makhshirin
ואם רוב ישראל ישראל – and it incumbent [upon them] to restore to him his lost object like an Israelite. And by that change of expression (i.e., that the majority were Israelites), it was intended to add something new and unexpected here that we remove money from the hand of an Israelite that took possession of it, but we don’t say, establish that the money is in his possession from presumption that he had taken possession of it until he provides proof how that he is an Israelite.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makhshirin
If the majority [of the inhabitants] were non-Jews, it is considered a non-Jew; If the majority were non-Jews then in certain ways the child is treated as if s/he were non-Jewish. According to mishnaic commentaries based on the Talmud, we treat the child as non-Jewish and we are allowed to feed him/her non-kosher food.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makhshirin
מחצה על מחצה ישראל – regarding matters of damages, that if his ox gored the ox of an Israelites, he pays only one-half damages. But he does not pay full damages according to the law that an ox belonging to a heathen that gored the ox of an Israelite, that whether it is an innocent [ox]/תם or a warned/מועד [ox], it pays full damages, for he could say to him: “Bring proof that I am not an Israelite and pays. But to the remainder of all things here is doubt, and we judge him stringently. Whomever killed him, is not killed for him. If he betrothed a woman, she requires a Jewish bill of divorce from doubt. But he is not like a complete Israelite until he ritually immerses for the sake of conversion.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makhshirin
If the majority were Israelites, it is considered an Israelite; If the majority were Israelites, the child is treated like a Jew. According to commentaries this means that we are obligated to return lost objects to the child (when s/he grows up and owns things), which as we learned in Bava Metzia and we will see again in tomorrow's mishnah, is obligatory only to fellow Jews.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Makhshirin
אחרי רוב המשליכין – that is after the heathens and even though they are the minority. And even if there was only one heathen woman there, she is suspected of those who abandon. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makhshirin
If the majority were Israelites, it is considered an Israelite; If the town is evenly split, the child is considered Jewish. Again, the commentators limit this to a case of damages. If this child's ox damages a fellow Jew's ox, the child's ox only pays half damages, if it is an attested danger. Note that the ramifications of the child being considered Jewish were limited to monetary matters. The Talmud says that when it comes to matters of personal status, such as marital law, the child is considered to be a "doubtful Jew." If he marries a Jewish woman, she is potentially married and would require a divorce document to marry someone else. He/she is not fully considered an Israelite until conversion.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makhshirin
If they were half and half, it is also considered an Israelite. Rabbi Judah says that it is not logical to simply follow the majority of people in the city. We need to look at who most likely abandoned their kids. So if the majority of abandoners are Jews, then the kid is considered a Jew, even if the majority of the town is non-Jews.
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