Commentary for Kiddushin 138:11
ולמאן דאמר מעלים מתרומה ליוחסין הני דאכול בתרומה אתו לאסוקינהו שאני התם דריע חזקתייהו
How do we know halalim? For it was taught: R'Jose said: A presumptive right [hazakah] is powerful, as it is said: And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name.
Daf Shevui to Kiddushin
The priests referred to in Ezra were allowed to eat terumah. But this could cause a problem if their eating terumah was evidence that they are proper priests and therefore can marry into priestly lineage and their children would be priests. So how could Ezra allow them to eat terumah?
The answer is that in this case, since their presumptive status was weakened and they could not eat sacrifices, everyone would know that the lineage of these priests is flawed. Thus they could eat terumah and their problematic lineage still be known.
[As an aside, this and many other passages, assumed that priests would marry daughters of other priests. The “lineage” referred to here would fit into that situation. However, according to halakhah, priests, Levites and Israelites can intermarry.]
The answer is that in this case, since their presumptive status was weakened and they could not eat sacrifices, everyone would know that the lineage of these priests is flawed. Thus they could eat terumah and their problematic lineage still be known.
[As an aside, this and many other passages, assumed that priests would marry daughters of other priests. The “lineage” referred to here would fit into that situation. However, according to halakhah, priests, Levites and Israelites can intermarry.]
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