Commentary for Kiddushin 3:13
רַבִּי טַרְפוֹן אוֹמֵר, יְכוֹלִין מַמְזֵרִים לִטַּהֵר. כֵּיצַד. מַמְזֵר שֶׁנָּשָׂא שִׁפְחָה, הַוָּלָד עֶבֶד. שִׁחְרְרוֹ, נִמְצָא הַבֵּן בֶּן חוֹרִין. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, הֲרֵי זֶה עֶבֶד מַמְזֵר:
R. Tarfon says: Mamzerim can cleanse themselves. How so? If a mamzer weds a bondswoman, the child is a bondsman. If he (his father) frees him, the son is a freed-man, (who may marry an Israelite). [Even ab initio a mamzer may marry a bondswoman to cleanse his children.] R. Eliezer says: He (the son) is a mamzer-bondsman. [the halachah is in accordance with R. Tarfon. And R. Tarfon concedes that if a bondsman marries a mamzereth, the child is a mamzer, for a bondsman has no pedigree.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Kiddushin
ממזר שנשא שפחה – and even ab initio, a Mamzer can marry a maid-servant in order to purify his children. And the Halakah is according to Rabbi Tarfon. But Rabbi Tarfon admits that a slave who married a Mamzeret, the child is a Mamzer, for the slave has no pedigree
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kiddushin
Introduction
This mishnah continues to discuss personal status and lineage. The specific issue is whether or not a mamzer can purify his lineage.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kiddushin
Rabbi Tarfon says: mamzerim can be purified. How is this so? If a mamzer marries a slave woman, her son is a slave; if he frees him, it is found that the son is a free man. Rabbi Eliezer says: behold, he is a slave mamzer. Rabbi Tarfon uses the rules in the previous mishnah to find a means by which a mamzer can have a child that is not a mamzer. A mamzer is allowed to marry a slave woman, even though a non-mamzer cannot. If the mamzer owns the slave woman, then he owns the child. If he frees the child the child loses his mamzer status and becomes a regular Israelite. Rabbi Eliezer, however, holds that such a “trick” does not work. The status of the child is “slave mamzer.” When his father/master frees him, he is no longer a slave but he is still a mamzer.
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