Q&A: A Child Born from the Egg of a Non-Jewish Woman
A Child Born from the Egg of a Non-Jewish Woman
Question
Have a good week, Rabbi,
Let us assume there is a religious couple who brought a child into the world through in vitro fertilization using an egg from a non-Jewish woman (the husband's sperm, the Jewish wife's womb).
A few fundamental questions come up, mainly according to the views that follow the maternal DNA and determine that the newborn would be considered a non-Jew:
- Is there an obligation to convert the child at some point? Or can they wait until he grows up and reaches an age of understanding, and then let him decide for himself?
- Does the prohibition of "your son resting" apply to the child?
- Does the prohibition of directly feeding him forbidden items apply here? Seemingly, both a minor and a non-Jew are exempt from the commandments, and the derashah from which we learn this prohibition warns adults regarding their children.
- Are the parents obligated to educate him in the commandments (the way one educates a Jewish child), out of the hope that he will grow up and convert?
- Does the child count for the commandment of procreation? Or perhaps only if he converts would he count retroactively?
- If the father is a kohen, is his son also a kohen?
Thanks in advance,
Answer
1. There is no obligation to convert anyone. But it is permitted to convert him on the basis of his parents' consent. In any case, he can refuse it when he grows up.
2. "Your son resting" applies to someone considered his son. And of course, if he is a non-Jew and was not converted, there is no such obligation.
3. Same as above.
4. As long as he is not Jewish, in my opinion on the halakhic level there is no obligation to educate him in the commandments.\
5. I didn't understand. A non-Jewish kohen?
Discussion on Answer
The commandment is incumbent on the father, but a son born to him from a non-Jewish woman is not genealogically attributed to him, and therefore is not considered his son for the purpose of procreation.
However, in the Shulchan Arukh, Even HaEzer sec. 1, it is written that a non-Jew who fathered children and then converted has fulfilled his obligation, and the halakhic decisors disagreed whether this is only when his children converted with him or even without that. But there he fulfilled it because when he fathered them they were indeed attributed to him (although this itself is debatable, since among non-Jews there is no presumption that most sexual relations are with the husband).
In our case, even if he is converted it would not help, since he still is not attributed to the Jewish father, because when he converts he is like a newborn child.
The discussion you raised here is according to the view that the son is considered the child of the genetic mother. If he is the child of the womb-owner, then of course there is no problem. But I tend toward the genetic view.
Thanks. What about the commandment of procreation? Does the child count for the commandment of procreation? Or perhaps only if he converts / is converted would he count retroactively?