The passuk in Parshas Bamidbar states, “Count the heads of the entire community of Klal Yisroel to their families according to the house of their fathers.” The Mishnah in Kiddushin states that this is the source that one is a Kohen or a Levi depending on the status of his father. As the passuk says, “according to the house of thier fathers,” which excludes the mothers. As long as the mother is a kosher Jew, the children retain the status of their father.
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Rabbi Aharon Dovid Singer
Rosh Kollel, NMB Kollel
Director, South Florida Torah Initiative