LifeCycle Events: Marriage and Sexuality: The Child of an Unmarried Jewish Woman:
If an unmarried Jewish woman has a child, is the child illegitimate (a MAMZER)?
A child born out of wedlock to a single Jewish woman is not usually
a MAMZER. A child is not a MAMZER unless it is born as a result of a
Biblically forbidden union; for the details see Mishnah Yevamos 4:13.
"MAMZER" is a technical term; it's not equivalent to "bastard". Note
that if a married Jewish woman has a child by a man other than her
husband, that child IS a MAMZER, because a woman is Biblically
forbidden to have more than one husband.
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