Why does Rashi throughout the mishnah omit kusi when describing all cases involving a safek?
Daniel Gray, Toronto Canada
Good question, two answers:
1) Since according to most opinions the problem with Kusim is that they are Safek mamzeirim, so by default they are included in "Mamzeirim".
2) On Daf 75B there is a Machlokes what the Issur of a Kusi is.
According to Rabi Yishmael, the Kusim are not Jews.
According to Rabi Akiva, they did not observe Yibum properly are therefore are Safek Mamzeirim.
According to Yesh Omrim, they either were not well versed in Dinei Kidushin or they intermarried with Mamzeirim, and they are all Safek Mamzeirim.
If Rashi was to include "Kusi" in the Mishna,he would either need to bring al of the opinions (too long for the Mishna), or commit to one specific opinion (misleading and/or makes the Gemora harder to understand). Therefore, he dropped all mention of Kusim.
Shimon Brodie