Reliability of a Non-Jew Claiming He is a Non-Jew
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Question
Is a non-Jew reliable when claiming he is a non-Jew (for the purpose of selling him chametz)? And what is the source?
Answer
Hello,
Seemingly from the sugya (Yevamot 47a), a person who was established as a Jew and claims he is a non-Jew is considered reliable regarding himself.
And the Rosh there wrote that he is not reliable for selling, as he transgressed a prohibition in his coming, because a person does not make himself a wicked person.
And Shaarei Yosher, part 6, chapter 4, wrote that if he is a non-Jew, why is he considered 'wicked' and not reliable. He discusses the aspect that he might be considered wicked because he misled a daughter of Israel in relations with a non-Jew, and this is according to the opinion that a non-Jew has a prohibition of "before the blind."
And the later authorities (Chemdat Shlomo, Keren Ora, and others) explained in other ways why he is considered wicked.
In any case, it is explained that if not for the wickedness established there, he would be reliable regarding himself to say he is a non-Jew.