Ki Seitzei 21:11 · unit 4

TT #6 · Parashas Ki Seitzei · First aliya · Passuk 21:11

The Complete Passuk

וְרָאִ֙יתָ֙ בַּשִּׁבְיָ֔ה אֵ֖שֶׁת יְפַת־תֹּ֑אַר וְחָשַׁקְתָּ֣ בָ֔הּ וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ לְךָ֖ לְאִשָּֽׁה׃

And you see among the captives a woman of beautiful form, and you desire her, and you would take her for yourself as a wife.

Chabad.org — 21:11

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Kiddushin 22a (and Sifrei Devarim 211).

Sefaria — Kiddushin 22a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
וְחָשַׁקְתָּ בָהּ – אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינָהּ נָאָה.

English: “And you desire her” — even if she is not beautiful.

On the daf / in context: Sifrei already teaches that “yefas toar” is the ordinary case; the extra verb “ve-chashakta” extends the permission to a woman who is not outwardly beautiful, provided the soldier genuinely desires her. The Gemara distinguishes chashak (inner desire) from chamad (desire aroused by external beauty).

Type of Learning

Ribbui from the extra verb “ve-chashakta.”

What Is Learned

The captive-woman permission applies even when the woman is not outwardly beautiful, so long as the soldier truly desires her.