Mishneh Torah, Forbidden Intercourse 18-20

Sugya Map

• Issue: Defining Zonah (the "harlot" forbidden to a Kohen) versus Challalah (the "profaned").
• Nafka Mina: Whether the disqualification stems from the act (forbidden relations) or the status of the partner, and the resulting eligibility of the offspring.
• Primary Sources: Leviticus 21:7; Yevamot 45a/77a; Mishneh Torah, Forbidden Intercourse 18:1-2.

Text Snapshot

• MT 18:1: "מפי השמועה למדנו שהזונה האמורה בתורה היא... שקרב לה אדם שהיא אסורה להנשא לו." (From the Oral Tradition, we learned that the Zonah mentioned in the Torah... is one who has relations with a man she is forbidden to marry.)
• Nuance: The Rambam emphasizes bi'ah (relations) as the catalyst for the Zonah status, distinguishing it from the inherent status of a Challalah.

Readings

• Maggid Mishneh (18:1): Defends Rambam’s inclusion of a woman who marries a Challal as a Zonah, even if the relations are technically permitted. The Chiddush is that Zonah is a legal "spiritual blemish" (pagam) independent of the immorality of the act.
• Ohr Sameach (18:1): Argues that for Rambam, a Zonah is created by relations with anyone forbidden to her, whereas a Challalah is created specifically by relations with a Kohen in a forbidden context.

Friction

• Kushya: If the Torah defines Zonah via illicit relations, why does the Rambam maintain that one who has relations with a Niddah or an animal is not a Zonah?
• Terutz: The Rambam qualifies the rule: only a partner with whom she is forbidden to marry (a lav of ishut) creates the Zonah status. A Niddah or animal does not create an ishut prohibition because they are not marriageable partners.

Intertext

• Sifra (Kedoshim 5:1): Explains that "a woman who is a Zonah" implies one who has been "profaned" by relations that contradict her status.
• SA Even HaEzer 6:8: Codifies the Rambam’s strict definition, confirming that the Zonah category is defined by the potential for prohibited marriage.

Psak/Practice

The category of Zonah is a functional, halachic status, not a moral judgment on the individual's history. A woman raped, or one who inadvertently violates a marriage prohibition, is nonetheless disqualified from marrying a Kohen because the "spiritual blemish" is incurred upon the act of penetration (he'arah).

Takeaway

Zonah is a technical disqualification: it is not the sin that disqualifies the woman, but the violation of the exclusionary nature of the priesthood via an incompatible union.