The Torah tells us that “The people registered their ancestry by their clans and families” (Bamidbar 1:18). Rashi comments: “They brought their documents of lineage and witnesses to the status o
f their birth, each and every one of them, so as to trace his ancestry to the tribe.”
Even after these clarifications, some doubts remained in certain cases. For example, a divorcee or widow might have remarried immediately (without waiting the required three months after the death or divorce), in which case the paternity of her child born soon after was uncertain. Halachic literature discusses how to ascertain paternity in such cases.
According to the Talmud in Yoma 75a, the manna could be used to establish paternity. The Torah states that each person in a household was entitled to an omer of manna (Shemot 15:15). If the household members gathered more, it would rot. In the case of uncertain paternity, when either of two men might be the father, all that was necessary was to check which of the two households had enough manna for the extra child. That would be the father’s household.
May we really clarify someone’s lineage using heavenly signs? Tosefet Yom Ha-Kippurim explains that the rabbinic courts would establish parenthood using conventional halachic principles. The manna was used only to corroborate what they had already established, and to remove any lingering doubts that people may have harbored.
Sefer Chasidim describes another interesting method to establish paternity. There was once a question as to which of two boys was the biological son of a man who had died. The people took a bone from the dead man. They filled two cups with blood, one from each boy. They then dipped the bone into each cup of blood. Only the blood of the biological son was absorbed by the bone. Here too, some maintain that this was done only after the courts had already established the facts through conventional methods, and the bone test was used only to corroborate their conclusion and make people feel better about it.
Nowadays, we can determine paternity through a simple DNA test. Current decisors discuss the acceptability of this tests. Some write that it should not be relied upon unless classic halachic methods back it up. Others argue that a DNA test may be relied upon absolutely, as can any law of nature to which there are no exceptions. According to them, the test is so reliable that even if witnesses gave testimony which contradicted the DNA evidence, we would reject the testimony and declare them false witnesses.
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