The Torah commands in Parashat Va’et’hanan (Debarim 6:3), “Ve’lo Tit’haten Bam,” forbidding marrying a non-Jew. It is prohibited to have one’s son marry a non-Jewish woman, or have one’s daughter marry a non-Jewish man, and it is likewise prohibited to marry a non-Jewish spouse. Halacha draws a distinction with respect to this prohibition between the seven Canaanite nations, which populated Eretz Yisrael at the time when Beneh Yisrael entered the land, and other gentiles. It is forbidden to marry somebody from one of the seven nations even if they convert and become Halachically Jewish, whereas members of other nations are permissible for marriage after conversion, and it is only before they convert that one may not marry them. The Biblical prohibition of “Lo Tit’haten Bam” forbids only marriage with a non-Jew; a relationship with a non-Jew out of wedlock is forbidden only Mi’de’rabbanan (by force of Rabbinic enactment). However, it is clear that this is the most severe of all prohibitions enacted by the Rabbis. An exception to this rule is the case of a relationship with a non-Jewish woman in public. One who commits such an act may be killed by a genuine zealot – “Kanna’in Pog’in Bo” – as in the famous case of Zimri, who committed a public act with Kozbi, a woman from the nation of Midyan, and they were killed by Pinhas. If no zealot kills the violator, he is brought to Bet Din, who are to administer Malkut. If he is neither killed by a zealot nor punished with Malkut, he receives Karet for his grave misdeed. Torah law forbids relationships with four types of women, known by the acrostic “Nashgaz.” This refers to a Nidda (menstruating woman), a Shifha (gentile maidservant), a Goya (gentile woman whom one marries), and a Zona (Jewish harlot). The Sages forbade relationships with a gentile Zona as a safeguard against violations of the Biblical prohibition against relationships with a Jewish Zona. Regardless of these distinctions, the Zohar establishes that any relationship with a non-Jewish woman constitutes an especially grievous misdeed. The reason why the Torah forbade intermarriage, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, is because people are naturally influenced by their spouse. If a man marries a non-Jewish woman, he will likely be influenced to follow her idolatrous beliefs and practices. Moreover, children born to a non-Jewish woman are not Jewish, and thus marrying a non-Jewish woman has the effect of begetting non-Jewish children, who will most likely grow to become idolaters like their mother. And in the case of a Jewish woman who marries a non-Jewish man, too, she runs the risk of falling under his pagan influence, and her children, despite being Jewish, might likely follow the father’s beliefs and practices. This prohibition applies in all times and places, and is binding upon both men and women alike. If a person marries a woman from the seven Canaanite nations, even after she underwent conversion, or a woman from a different gentile nation who did not convert, he is liable to Malkut. If one gave a child to a gentile for marriage, he has violated this prohibition, but is not liable to Malkut, because this violation did not involve an action.