פירוש על קידושין 4:6

בת חלל זכר פסולה מן הכהונה לעולם – the daughter of his son or the daughter of his son’s son, until the end of all the generations, but the daughter of his daughter from an Israelite [father] is fit for [marriage into] the priesthood.

Introduction If a woman who is prohibited to a priest (a divorcee or a convert) has relations with a priest, she becomes a “halalah”, or a “profaned woman.” Her male child from such a union is a “halal”. A priest may not marry a “halalah”, as we learned in the first mishnah of this chapter. The word “halal” or “halalah” comes from Leviticus 21:7 where it states, “[He shall not take] a harlot (zonah) or a ‘halalah’”. While JPS translates this word as describing the harlot “a woman defiled by harlotry”, the rabbis understand the vav between harlot and halalah to be conjunctive. “Halalah” is not a description of the harlot but a woman of a different category. The final clause of the mishnah compares the rules for converts with those for the halal and halalah. A priest cannot marry a convert, as it says in Ezekiel 44:22, “They may marry only virgins of the stock of the House of Israel.”

בת גר זכר – even from an Israelites woman, is ineligible for [marriage into] the priesthood, just like the daughter of one unfit for the priesthood on account of his father’s illegitimate connection.

The daughter of a male halal is unfit for the priesthood for all time. The daughter of a male halal is a halalah. She may not marry a priest. Furthermore, the daughter of the son of a halal is also a halalah. The flaw of being a “halal” is passed down through the sons and therefore the daughter of any subsequent son of one of these halalim is herself a halalah and prohibited from marrying a priest.

If an Israelite marries a halalah, his daughter is fit for the priesthood. As stated above, being a halal is not passed down through the mother but through the father. Therefore the daughter of a marriage between an Israelite male and a halalah is permitted to marry a priest.

If a halal marries the daughter of an Israelite, his daughter is unfit for the priesthood. This section repeats the rule which we learned from section one. It serves as a contrast to section two and an intro to section four.

Rabbi Judah says: the daughter of a male convert is as the daughter of a male halal. Just as halalot (the plural of halalah) cannot marry priests, so too female converts may not marry priests. Rabbi Judah adds that just as the descent of halalot is determined by the father, so too is the descent of the convert. The daughter of a convert may not marry a priest. According to Rabbi Judah if an Israelite male married a female convert, their daughter could marry a priest. The next mishnah will continue to discuss this subject.