Talmud zu Jirmejahu 2:27

How is it with a woman of ‘goodly form’? [It is stated,] And thou hast a desire unto her, and wouldest take her to thee to wife; then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails.³⁰Deut. 21, 11f; cf. Yeb. 48a (Sonc. ed., p. 316). [This means that] she shall shave her head and cut her nails, so the view of R. Eliezer;³¹The text is so corrected by GRA and H in accordance with Yeb. loc. cit. The Heb. verb, the meaning of which is disputed, is lit. ‘do’. R. ‘Aḳiba [takes the meaning to be,] she lets the hair of her head grow long and lets her nails grow. R. Eliezer said: An act is mentioned in respect of the head³²She shall shave her head. and an act is mentioned in respect of her nails;³³And ‘do’ her nails. as the former signifies removal of the hair so the latter signifies removal of the nails. R. ‘Aḳiba said: An act is mentioned in respect of the head and an act is mentioned in respect of the nails; as disfigurement is the purpose of the former so is disfigurement the purpose of the latter. There is a support for R. Eliezer [in the verse], And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard.³⁴2 Sam. 19, 25, where the word for trimmed is lit. ‘done’. There is a support for R. ‘Aḳiba [in the verse], Till his hair was grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.³⁵Dan. 4, 30. The ‘support’ is here not the usage of the verb but the idea that letting the nails grow is a disfigurement.
And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her.³⁶Deut. 21, 13, i.e. waits before he may marry her. If she wore white garments and they were comely for her, black garments and they were comely for her,³⁷H reads: ‘If she wore beautiful garments she is clothed in black garments; if she had on … taken away from her to make her look ugly’. bracelets, nose-rings or rings, they are taken away from her so that she should sit and appear in her disfigurement. And she shall remain in thy house:³⁸Deut. ibid. so that while she remains in his house he enters and sees her in her disfigurement. And bewail her father and her mother:³⁹ibid. this means her actual father and mother, in the view of R. Eliezer; but R. ‘Aḳiba explains that her father and her mother refers to the idols [which she worshipped], as it is stated, Who say to a stock: ‘Thou art my father’, and to a stone: ‘Thou hast brought us forth’.⁴⁰Jer. 2, 27.
A month of days⁴¹Deut, ibid., E.V. a full month. The translation follows the emended text of GRA.—i.e. thirty days. R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: [It means] three months, as it is stated, And bewail her father and her mother a month, i.e. one month, of days signifies [with the former] two months, and after that [is added in the text] to include the third month, [the purpose being] that the holy seed shall not be mingled with that of other peoples. When does this apply? Only if she does not wish to become a proselyte; but if she is willing to become a proselyte, he has her immersed [in the ritual bath] and emancipates her, and is permitted to marry her forthwith. R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: Even if she is not willing⁴²Added by GRA. at first, he has her immersed as a handmaid, emancipates her and may marry her forthwith. Why all this [procedure]? In order that the holy seed should not be mingled with that of other peoples.⁴³The question and answer are deleted by GRA. It is better for Israelites to eat the flesh of animals about to die, yet ritually slaughtered, than the flesh of dying animals which definitely perished.⁴⁴And were not ritually slaughtered. The intention is that the procedure is based on the principle of the lesser evil. It is better for the man to be married to the woman rather than just cohabit with her (cf. Ḳid. 21b, 22a, Sonc. ed., p. 104). The last word of the sentence should be read as בודאי (definitely) instead of לבדה (alone).