MrMan wrote: ↑August 15th, 2022, 9:38 pm
WilliamSmith wrote: ↑August 15th, 2022, 4:27 pm
Transgenderism is endorsed in the Talmud (the so-called 6 genders of the Talmud), as is pedophilia including even with infants, which even the israeli jewish media outlets is a huge problem amongst orthodox religious jewish "communities."
The Talmud has quotes from various legal scholars, who they falsely call 'rabbis.' The opinions do not always agree. I read a quote from one of them about sex with three-year-olds that was quite shocking. But Jews don't usually go with all those opinions. Hillel is a popular one for them to follow.
Show me where the Talmud mentions six genders. What I know about Judaism's stance on that issue, aside from the Bible, and from roughly that time period is that first-century Philo thought that gays, effeminate eunuchs who slept with men, cross dresser types, etc. should be killed.
There are nonreligious Jews who are into all kinds of sexual perversion, cults, etc.
Re: the jewish and Talmudic roots of transgenderism and key role of jews in the globohomo movement, that is easy to substantiate:
I must have already posted irrefutable facts and details about this half a dozen times now in various other threads you were already a part of, but this is one subject that's very easy to substantiate again, since at the present time thousands and thousands of jews including rabbis are having a giant "coming out" party singing the praises of transgenderism and "LBTQ"-whatever they call it, as well as trying to legalize "adult-child sex" and treat "minor attracted persons" (pedophiles) as another "marginalized community." But as for the transgenderism and "gender fluidity," here they all explain it for you in great detail while directly citing the transgenderism in their own Talmud and other "holy" texts:
Note that you'll sometimes see references to six genders, sometimes to eight, as in this case where the "My Jewish Learning" site the jews spell it all out for you:
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/articl ... he-talmud/
If you view the footnotes, you'll not that they extensively footnoted and hyperlinked to substantiate and cite which jewish "holy" texts this perverted jewish garbage all came from:
The Eight Genders in the Talmud
Judaism has recognized nonbinary persons for millennia.
BY RACHEL SCHEINERMAN
Thought nonbinary gender was a modern concept? Think again. The ancient Jewish understanding of gender was far more nuanced than many assume.
The Talmud, a huge and authoritative compendium of Jewish legal traditions, contains in fact no less than eight gender designations including:
Zachar, male.
Nekevah, female.
Androgynos, having both male and female characteristics.
Tumtum, lacking sexual characteristics.
Aylonit hamah, identified female at birth but later naturally developing male characteristics.
Aylonit adam, identified female at birth but later developing male characteristics through human intervention.
Saris hamah, identified male at birth but later naturally developing female characteristics.
Saris adam, identified male at birth and later developing female characteristics through human intervention.
In fact, not only did the rabbis recognize six genders that were neither male nor female, they had a tradition that the first human being was both. Versions of this midrash are found throughout rabbinic literature, including in the Talmud:
Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar also said: Adam was first created with two faces (one male and the other female). As it is stated: “You have formed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.” (Psalms 139:5)
Eruvin 19a
Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar imagines that the first human was created both male and female — with two faces. Later, this original human being was separated and became two distinct people, Adam and Eve. According to this midrash then, the first human being was, to use contemporary parlance, nonbinary. Genesis Rabbah 8:1 offers a slightly different version of Rabbi Yirmeya’s teaching:
Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar: In the hour when the Holy One created the first human, He created him as an androgynos (one having both male and female sexual characteristics), as it is said, “male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
Said Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani: In the hour when the Holy One created the first human, He created for him a double face, and sawed him and made him backs, a back here and a back there, as it is said, “Behind and before, You formed me” (Psalms 139:5).
Genesis Rabbah 8:1
In this version of the teaching, Rabbi Yirmeya is not focusing on the first human’s face (or, rather, faces) but on their sex organs — they have both. The midrash imagines this original human looked something like a man and woman conjoined at the back so that one side has a women’s face and a woman’s sex organs and the other side has a man’s face and sex organs. Then God split this original person in half, creating the first man and woman. Ancient history buffs will recognize this image as similar to the character Aristophanes’ description of the first humans as both male and female, eventually sundered to create lone males and females forever madly seeking one another for the purposes of reuniting to experience that primordial state. (Plato, Symposium, 189ff)
For the rabbis, the androgynos wasn’t just a thing of the mythic past. The androgynos was in fact a recognized gender category in their present — though not with two heads, only both kinds of sex organs. The term appears no less than 32 times in the Mishnah and 283 times in the Talmud. Most of these citations are not variations on this myth, but rather discussions that consider how Jewish law (halakhah) applies to one who has both male and female sexual characteristics.
That the androgynos is, from a halakhic perspective, neither male nor female, is confirmed by Mishnah Bikkurim 4:1, which states this explicitly:
The androgynos is in some ways like men, and in other ways like women. In other ways he is like men and women, and in others he is like neither men nor women.
Mishnah Bikkurim 4:1
Because Hebrew has no gender neutral pronoun, the Mishnah uses a male pronoun for the androgynos, though this is obviously insufficient given the rabbinic descriptions of this person. Reading on we find that the androgynos is, for the rabbis, in many ways like a man — they dress like a man, they are obligated in all commandments like a man, they marry women and their “white emissions” lead to impurity. However, in other ways, the androgynos is like a woman — they do not share in inheritance like sons, they do not eat of sacrifices that are reserved only for men and their “red discharge” leads to impurity.
The Mishnah goes on to list ways in which an androgynos is just like any other person. Like any human being, “one who strikes him or curses him is liable.” (Bikkurim 4:3) Similarly, one who murders an androgynos is, well, a murderer. But the androgynos is also unlike a man or a woman in other important legal respects — for instance, such a person is not liable for entering the Temple in a state of impurity as both a man and woman would be.
As should now be clear, the rabbinic interest in these gender ambiguous categories is largely legal. Since halakhah was structured for a world in which most people were either male or female, applying the law to individuals who didn’t fall neatly into one of those two categories was challenging. As Rabbi Yose remarks in this same chapter of the Mishnah: “The androgynos is a unique creature, and the sages could not decide about him.” (Bikkurim 4:5)
In many cases, the androgynos is lumped together with other kinds of nonbinary persons as well as other marginalized populations, including women, slaves, the disabled and minors. For example, concerning participation in the three pilgrimage festivals (Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot) during which the Jews of antiquity would travel to the Temple in Jerusalem, the mishnah of Chagigah opens:
All are obligated on the three pilgrimage festivals to appear in the Temple and sacrifice an offering, except for a deaf-mute, an imbecile, and a minor; and a tumtum, an androgynos, women, and slaves who are not emancipated; and the lame, the blind, the sick, and the old, and one who is unable to ascend to Jerusalem on his own legs.
Chagigah 1:1
As this mishnah indicates, it is only healthy, free adult men who are obligated to appear at the Temple to observe the pilgrimage festivals. People who are not adult men, and men who are enslaved or too old or unwell to make the journey, are exempt.
As we have already stated, the androgynos was not the only person of ambiguous gender identified by the rabbis. Similarly, the rabbis recognized one whose sexual characteristics are lacking or difficult to determine, called a tumtum. In the mishnah from Bikkurim we cited earlier, Rabbi Yose, who said the androgynos was legally challenging for the sages, said the tumtum was much easier to figure out.
The rabbis also recognized that some people’s sexual characteristics can change with puberty — either naturally or through intervention. Less common than the androgynos and tumtum, but still found throughout rabbinic texts, are the aylonit, who is born with organs identified as female at birth but develops male characteristics at puberty or no sex characteristics at all, and the saris, who is born with male-identified organs and later develops features recognized as female (or no sex characteristics). These changes can happen naturally over time (saris hamah) or with human intervention (saris adam).
For the rabbis, what is most significant about the aylonit and the saris is that they are presumed infertile — the latter is sometimes translated as “eunuch.” Their inability to have offspring creates legal complications the rabbis address, for example:
A woman who is 20 years old who did not grow two pubic hairs shall bring proof that she is twenty years old, and from that point forward she assumes the status of an aylonit. If she marries and her husband dies childless, she neither performs halitzah nor does she enter into levirate marriage.
Mishnah Niddah 5:9
A woman who reaches the age of 20 without visible signs of puberty, in particular pubic hair, is deemed an aylonit who is infertile. According to this mishnah, she may still marry, but it is not expected that she will bear children. Therefore, if her husband dies and the couple is in fact childless, his brother is not obligated to marry her, as would normally be required by the law of levirate marriage.
A nonbinary person who does not have the same halakhic status as a male or female, but is something else that is best described as ambiguous or in between, presented a halakhic challenge that was not particularly foreign for the rabbis, who discuss analogs in the animal and plant kingdoms. For example, the rabbinic texts describe a koi as an animal that is somewhere between wild and domesticated (Mishnah Bikkurim 2:8) and an etrog — yes, that beautiful citron that is essential for Sukkot — as between a fruit and a vegetable (Mishnah Bikkurim 2:6, see also Rosh Hashanah 14). Because they don’t fit neatly into common categories, the koi and the etrog require special halakhic consideration. The rabbinic understanding of the world was that most categories — be they animal, vegetable or mineral — are imperfect descriptors of the world, either as it is or as it should be.
In recent decades, queer Jews and allies have sought to reinterpret these eight genders of the Talmud as a way of reclaiming a positive space for nonbinary Jews in the tradition. The starting point is that while it is true that the Talmud understands gender to largely operate on a binary axis, the rabbis clearly understood that not everyone fits these categories.
Here's some more:
I think this was the one I posted already in another thread after you asked about it, but then you just ignored the totally irrefutable proof (LOL), but let's do it again FBO any one who actually is curious about the subject:
https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/196414?lang=bi
Six Sexes of the Talmud
SF
ByShoshana Fendel
Androgynous: an intersex person (having some aspects of both male and female genitalia). 149 references in the Mishna and Talmud (1st-8th centuries CE); 350 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes (2nd-16th centuries CE).
Ay'lonit: literally "little ram"; a female who has not shown physical signs of typical sexual maturity by the age of 20 (some say 18); presumed infertile; often possessing masculine characteristics. 80 references in Mishna and Talmud; 40 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.
Ish: a man/eligible husband; one whose fertility is not in question and has shown some secondary sex characteristics by around age 13.
Ishah: a woman/eligible wife; one whose fertility is not in question and has shown some secondary sex characteristics by around age 12 and is clearly developing by age 12.5.
Saris: a male who has not shown signs of typical sexual maturity by the age of 20; a eunuch. 156 references in Mishna and Talmud; 379 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.
Saris Chama: congenital sterility in a male (e.g., atesticularity)
Saris Adam: a castrated male; one made sterile intentionally or via accidental injury.
Tumtum: a person of indeterminate gender; one whose genitals are obscured or not clearly male or female. 181 references in Mishna and talmud; 335 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.
(source)
יבמות ס״ד א:ט׳-ס״ד ב:א׳
א"ר יצחק מפני מה היו אבותינו עקורים מפני שהקב"ה מתאוה לתפלתן של צדיקים א"ר יצחק למה נמשלה תפלתן של צדיקים כעתר מה עתר זה מהפך התבואה ממקום למקום כך תפלתן של צדיקים מהפכת מדותיו של הקב"ה ממדת רגזנות למדת רחמנות אמר רבי אמי אברהם ושרה טומטמין היו שנאמר (ישעיהו נא, א) הביטו אל צור חוצבתם ואל מקבת בור נוקרתם וכתיב (ישעיהו נא, ב) הביטו אל אברהם אביכם ואל שרה תחוללכם
Yevamot 64a:9-64b:1
Rabbi Yitzḥak said: For what reason were our forefathers initially infertile? Rabbi Ami said: Abraham and Sarah were originally tumtumin, people whose sexual organs are concealed and not functional, as it is stated: “Look to the rock from where you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from where you were dug” (Isaiah 51:1), and it is written in the next verse: “Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you” (Isaiah 51:2), which indicates that sexual organs were fashioned for them, signified by the words hewn and dug, over the course of time.
יבמות ס״ד ב:ב׳
אמר רב נחמן אמר רבה בר אבוה שרה אמנו אילונית היתה שנאמר (בראשית יא, ל) ותהי שרי עקרה אין לה ולד אפי' בית ולד אין לה
Yevamot 64b:2
Rav Naḥman said that Rabba bar Avuh said: Our mother Sarah was initially a sexually underdeveloped woman [aylonit], as it is stated: “And Sarah was barren; she had no child” (Genesis 11:30). The superfluous words: “She had no child,” indicate that she did not have even a place, i.e., a womb, for a child.
This female jew here from "Jewniverse" via Jewish Telegraphic Agency originally had this up as the "6 genders" and then revised it to "8 genders," but I think the point should be very obvious even to the meanest intelligence at this point:
https://www.jta.org/jewniverse/2015/the ... the-talmud
The Jewish obligation to observe commandments is traditionally divided along male/female lines: men pray three times daily, while women don’t have to; men put on tefillin, while women do not. Some women’s recent efforts to observe the religious privileges they’re exempt from have made ripples in the Jewish world, and even the news.
But what if we told you that the foundation for all this was wrong? That Judaism recognized not two, but as many as eight genders? The Mishnah describes half a dozen categories that are between male and female, such as saris or ailonit — the terms refer to an non-reproductive version of the male or female body, respectively — and categories that refer to ambiguous or indeterminate gender.
Although these terms seem to provide the refreshing view that a binary view of gender in Judaism is relatively recent, a closer look shows that Mishnaic rabbis were apt to privilege maleness in the case of indeterminate or multiple genders. But contemporary scholars like Rabbi Elliot Kukla are repurposing that halakhic discourse to provide a road map for our recognition of non-binary people in today’s Judaism. Gender-neutral restrooms start to look like small potatoes.
Here's yet more:
https://www.keshetonline.org/resources/ ... tradition/
Gender Fluidity in the Jewish Tradition
This resource includes multiple examples of gender diversity within the Torah.
MAY 29, 2019
By Joseph Meszler
Gender Fluidity in the Jewish Tradition
Source Sheet by Joseph Meszler, with great thanks to Abby Stein
Jewish tradition understands the original creation of Adam to be both male and female and then split down the middle. The Hebrew word for “rib” is also a word for “side”:
Bereishit Rabbah 8:1
(1) God said: Let us make Adam in our image, in our shape: R’ Yirmiyah ben Elazar said, when the Eternal created Adam initially, he was created as both genders; thus is it written, “male and female did God create them.” R’ Shmuel bar Nachman said, when the Eternal created Adam initially, God created him with two faces, one on each side, and [when God made Chavah,] God split him along the middle, forming two backs. They challenged him: but it is written, “And God took one of his ribs!” He said to them, [“mitzalosav” doesn’t mean rib, it means] one of his sides, similar to that which is said, “and to the ‘tzela‘ of the Tent,” which is translated “the side of the Tent.”
ראשית רבה ח׳ א׳
וַיֹאמַר יְיָ’ נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ (בְּרֵאשִׁית א, כו). אָמַר רַבִּי יִרְמְיָה בָּן אֶלְעָזָר: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן, אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס בּרָאוֹ, הָדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב: זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בְּרָאָם. אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחֲמָן: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבָּרָא הקב”ה אֶת אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן, דִיוֹ פַּרְצוּפִים בְּרָאוֹ וּנְסָרוֹ וַעֲשָׂאוֹ גַּבַּיִּים, גַּב לְכָאן וְגַב לְכָאן. אַיְּתִיבוּן לֵיהּ, וְהכתִיב: וַיִּקַּח אַחַת מִצַּלְעוֹתָיו?! אָמַר להוֹן: מַתְרִין סטרוהִי, היךְ מָה דאת אָמַר: (שׁמות כו): וּלְצֶלַע הַמִּשְׁכָּן, דִּמְתַרְגְּמִינַן ולסטר מִשְׁכָּנָא וְגוֹ’
One passage in the Talmud claims that Abraham and Sarah were both tumtumin (of indeterminate sex) and later became male and female respectively:
Yevamot 64a-64b
Rabbi Yitzḥak said: For what reason were our ancestors initially infertile? … Rabbi Ami said: Abraham and Sarah were originally tumtumin, people whose sexual organs are concealed and not functional, as it is stated: “Look to the rock from where you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from where you were dug” (Isaiah 51:1), and it is written in the next verse: “Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you” (Isaiah 51:2), which indicates that sexual organs were fashioned for them, signified by the words hewn and dug, over the course of time.
יבמות ס״ד א:ט׳-ס״ד ב:א׳
א”ר יִצְחָק מִפְּנֵי מָה הָיוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ עֲקוּרִים…אָמַר רַבִּי אמי אַבְרָהָם וְשָׁרָה טוּמְטָמִין הָיוּ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיהוּ נא, א) הַבִּיטוּ אֶל צוּר חוצְבָתַּם וְאֶל מַקֶּבֶת בּוֹר נֻקַּרְתֶּם וּכְתִיב (ישעיהוּ נא, ב) הַבִּיטוּ אֶל אַבְרָהָם אֲבִיכֶם וְאֶל שָׁרָה תְּחוֹלֶלְכֶם.
In this passage, Moses compares himself to a nursing mother, showing no qualms about using a completely feminine metaphor:
Numbers 11:12 (12) Did I conceive all this people, did I bear them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them at your breast as a nurse carries an infant,’ to the land that You have promised on oath to their ancestors?
(יב)
הֶאָנֹכִי הָרִיתִי אֶת כָּל הָעָם הַזֶּה, אִם אָנֹכִי יְלִדְיתִהוּ כִּי תֹאמַר אֵלַי שָׂאֵהוּ
בְחֵיקֶךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר יִשָּׂא הָאֹמֶן אֶת הַיֹּנֵק עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתָּ לַאֲבֹתָיו:
The Rabbis recognized more than just the binary understanding of female and male. They used the term “androginus” to describe someone who exhibited both male and female biological characteristics. The term comes from Greek and relates to the English word, “androgyny.” A “tumtum” described a person whose biology was unclear. The Rabbis sought to accommodate this reality in the context of Jewish law:
Mishnah Bikkurim 4
An androginus is similar to men in some ways and to women in other ways, in some ways to both and in some ways to neither.
In what ways are they similar to men? Like men, they are considered unclean through semen; required to perform yibum (to marry the widow of a childless brother) like men; dress and cut their hair like men; marry others and are not married off like men; and are obliged to perform all the commandments in the Torah like men.
How are they similar to women? They impart ritual impurity through a red discharge like women, may not be secluded with men like women, if a brother dies childless, they do not marry the widow, they do not receive a portion of an inheritance, and they do not eat the sacrifices of the highest degree of sanctity (in the case of a kohein). After giving birth, their mother counts the number of unclean days that one does for a female. They may not serve as witnesses, and if they have a disqualifying sexual relationship, they may no longer eat terumah. How are they similar to women? They impart ritual impurity through a red discharge like women, may not be secluded with men like women, if a brother dies childless, they do not marry the widow, they do not receive a portion of an inheritance, and they do not eat the sacrifices of the highest degree of sanctity (in the case of a kohein). After giving birth, their mother counts the number of unclean days that one does for a female. They may not serve as witnesses, and if they have a disqualifying sexual relationship, they may no longer eat terumah. How are they similar to women? They impart ritual impurity through a red discharge like women, may not be secluded with men like women, if a brother dies childless, they do not marry the widow, they do not receive a portion of an inheritance, and they do not eat the sacrifices of the highest degree of sanctity (in the case of a kohein). After giving birth, their mother counts the number of unclean days that one does for a female. They may not serve as witnesses, and if they have a disqualifying sexual relationship, they may no longer eat terumah.
How are they like both men and women? A person is liable for striking or cursing them. If they are killed, the accidental manslaughterer is exiled and the intentional murderer is executed. After giving birth, their mother brings a sacrifice, they may eat sanctified things that can be eaten outside of Jerusalem, and they inherit as a sole heir.
How are they like neither men nor women? Terumah is not burned from impurity because of their discharge, nor does their discharge make them liable if they should enter the Temple. They cannot be indentured as a Hebrew servant and they cannot be valued like a man or a woman. If a person says, “I am a nazir,” as they are neither a man nor a woman,” they are not a nazir.Rabbi Yosi says an androginus is a unique creation, but the Sages say they are either a man or a woman but just don’t know which. A tumtum is not this way – some are men and some are women.
משנה ביכורים ד׳
אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס, יֶשׁ בּוֹ דְּרָכִים שָׁוֶה לָאֲנָשִׁים; וְיֶשׁ בּוֹ דְּרָכִים שָׁוֶה לַנָּשִׁים; וְיֶשׁ בּוֹ דְּרָכִים שָׁוֶה לָאֲנָשִׁים וְנָּשִׁים, וְיֶשׁ בּוֹ דְּרָכִים אֵינוֹ שָׁוֶה לא לָאֲנָשִׁים וְלא לַנָּשִׁים
כֵּיצַד שָׁוֶה לָאֲנָשִׁים? מְטַמֵּא בְּלֹבֶן כָּאֲנָשִׁים, וְזוֹקֵק לִיְבּוּם כַּאֲנָשִׁים וּמִתְעַטֵּף וּמִסְתַּפֵּר כַּאֲנָשִׁים, וְנוֹשֵֹא
אֲבָל לא נִשָֹּׂא כָּאֲנָשִׁים, וְחַיָּב בְּכָל מִּצְוֹת הָאֲמוּרוֹת בַּתּוֹרָה כָּאֲנָשִׁים
כֵּיצַד שָׁוֶה לַנָּשִׁים? ממְטַמֵּא בְּאֹדֶם כַּנָּשִׁים, וְאֵינוֹ מִתְיַחֵד עִם הָאֲנָשִׁים כַּנָּשִׁים, וְאֵינוֹ זוֹקֵק לְיִבּוּם כַּנָּשִׁים, וְאֵינוֹ חוֹלֵק עִם הַבָּנִים כַּנָּשִׁים, וְאֵין אוֹכֵל בְּקָדְשֵׁי הַמִּקְדָּשׁ כַּנָּשִׁים, וְאִמּוֹ יוֹשֶׁבֶת עָלָיו בְּדַם טָמֵא כַּנָּשִׁים, וּפָסוּל מִן הָעֵדוּת כַּנָּשִׁים, וְאִם נִבְעַל בַּעֲבֵרָה נִפְסַל מִן הַתְּרוּמָה כַּנָּשִׁים.
כֵּיצַד שָׁוֶה לַאֲנָשִׁים וְלַנָּשִׁים: חַיָּבִים עַל מַכָּתוֹ וְעַל קִלְלָתוֹ כַּאֲנָשִׁים וְכַנָּשִׁים, וְהַהוֹרְגוֹ שׁוֹגֵג גּוֹלֶה וּמֵזִיד נֶהֱרַג כַּאֲנָשִׁים וְנָשִׁים, וְיוֹשֶׁבֶת עָלָיו דָּם טָמֵא וְדָם טָהוֹר כַּאֲנָשִׁים וְכַנָּשִׁים, וְחוֹלֵק בְּקָדְשֵׁי קֳדָשִׁים כַּאֲנָשִׁים וְכַנָּשִׁים, וְנוֹחֵל לְכָל הַנַחַלוֹת כַּאֲנָשִׁים וְכַנָּשִׁים, וְאִם אָמַר “הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר שֶׁזֶּה אִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה” הֲרֵי זֶה נָזִיר
כֵּיצַד אֵינוֹ שָׁוֶה לֹא לַאֲנָשִׁים וְלֹא לַנָּשִׁים: אֵין חַיָּבִים לֹא עַל מַכָּתוֹ וְלֹא עַל קִלְלָתוֹ לֹא כַּאֲנָשִׁים וְלֹא כַּנָּשִׁים, וְאֵינוֹ נֶעֱרָךְ לֹא כַּאֲנָשִׁים וְלֹא כַּנָּשִׁים, וְאִם אָמַר “הֲרֵינִי נָזִיר שֶׁזֶּה לֹא אִישׁ וְלֹא אִשָּׁה” אֵינוֹ נָזִיר. רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס בְּרִיָּה בִּפְנֵי עַצְמָהּ הוּא וְלֹא יָכְלוּ חֲכָמִים לְהַכְרִיעַ עָלָיו אִם הוּא אִישׁ אוֹ אִשָּׁה. אֲבָל טֻמְטוּם אֵינוֹ כֵּן, פְּעָמִים שֶׁהוּא אִישׁ פְּעָמִים שֶׁהוּא אִשָּׁה
One midrash claims that Dina was originally going to be male, but due to the prayer of her mother Leah became a female:
Berakhot 60a
We learned in a mishna: One whose wife was pregnant and he said: May it be God’s will that my wife will give birth to a male child, it is a vain prayer. Is a prayer in that case ineffective? Rav Yosef raises an objection: It is stated: “And afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dina” (Genesis 30:21). What is meant by the addition of the word: Afterwards? Rav said: After Leah passed judgment on herself and said: Twelve tribes are destined to descend from Jacob, six came from me and four from the maidservants, that is ten, and if this fetus is male, my sister Rachel will not even be the equivalent of one the maidservants; immediately the fetus was transformed into a daughter, as it is stated: And she called her name Dina; meaning she named her after her judgment [din]. The Gemara rejects this concerning prayer: One does not mention miraculous acts to teach general conduct.
בְּרַכוֹת ס׳ א: י״א-י״ב
הָיְתָה אִשְׁתּוֹ מְעֻבֶּרֶת וְאָמַר יְהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁתֵּלֵד כּוּ’ הָרֵי זוֹ תִּפְלַת שָׁוְא: וְלֹא מהני רחמי מתיב רַב יוֹסֵף (בראשית א׳ כא,׳) ״וְאַחַר יָלְדָה בַּת וַתִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמָהּ דִּינָהּ״ מַאי וְאַחַר אָמַר רַב ״לְאַחַר שֶׁדָּנָה לֵאָה דִּין בְּעַצְמָהּ וְאָמְרָה: שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שְׁבָטִים עֲתִידִין לָצֵאת מִיַּעֲקֹב שִׁשָּׁה יֵצְאוּ מִמֶּנִּי וְאַרְבָּעָה מִן הַשְּׁפָחוֹת הֲרֵי עֲשָׂרָה אִם זֶה זָכָר לֹא תְּהֵא אֲחוֹתִי רָחֵל כְּאַחַת הַשְּׁפָחוֹת מִיָּד נֶהֶפְכָה לַבַּת שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְתִקָּרֵא אֶת שְׁמָה דִּינָהּ אֵין מַזְכִּירִין מַעֲשֶׂה נִסִּים
Even HaBohan is a book dated to 1322 authored by Rabbi Kalynomus ben Kalynomus. A prolific translator and author, this book often satirizes Jewish society. In this particular passage, he criticizes the blessing “for not having made me a woman.” However, beneath the feeling of parody, we might detect a heartfelt prayer that he truly would rather have been a woman. Referring to Dina in the Gemara above, the meaning of the text depends upon the tone in which it is read:
Even Bohan, Kalonymus ben Kalonymus,
What an awful fate for my mother / that she bore a son. What a loss of all benefit!… Cursed be the one who announced to my father: “It’s a boy! . . .
Woe to him who has male sons / Upon them a heavy yoke has been placed / restrictions and constraints. Some in private, some in public / some to avoid the mere appearance of violation / and some entering the most secret of places. Strong statutes and awesome commandments / six hundred and thirteen/ Who is the man who can do all that is written / so that he might be spared?
Oh, but had the artisan who made me created me instead—a fair woman.
Today I would be wise and insightful. We would weave, my friends and I / and in the moonlight spin our yarn / and tell our stories to one another / from dusk till midnight / We’d tell of the events of our day, silly things / matters of no consequence. But also I would grow very wise from the spinning / and I would say, “Happy is she who knows how to work with combed flax and weave it into fine white linen.” And at times, in the way of women, I would lie down on the kitchen floor, between the ovens, turn the coals, and taste the different dishes. On holidays I would put on my best jewelry. I would beat on the drum / and my clapping hands would ring. And when I was ready and the time was right / an excellent youth would be my fortune. He would love me, place me on a pedestal / dress me in jewels of gold / earrings, bracelets, necklaces. And on the appointed day, in the season of joy when brides are wed, for seven days would the boy increase my delight and gladness. Were I hungry, he would feed me well-kneaded bread. Were I thirsty, he would quench me with light and dark wine. He would not chastise nor harshly treat me, and my [sexual] pleasure he would not diminish / Every Sabbath, and each new moon / his head he would rest upon my breast. The three husbandly duties he would fulfill / rations, raiment, and regular intimacy. And three wifely duties would I also fulfill, [watching for menstrual] blood, [Sabbath candle] lights, and bread.
Father in heaven / who did miracles for our ancestors / with fire and water / You changed the fire of Chaldees so it would not burn hot / You changed Dina in the womb of her mother to a girl / You changed the staff to a snake before a million eyes / You changed [Moses’] hand to [leprous] white/ and the sea to dry land. In the desert you turned rock to water / hard flint to a fountain. Who would then turn me from a man to woman? Were I only to have merited this / being so graced by your goodness. . .
What shall I say? Why cry or be bitter? If my Father in heaven has decreed upon me / and has maimed me with an immutable deformity / then I do not wish to remove it. And the sorrow of the impossible / is a human pain that nothing will cure / and for which no comfort can be found. So, I will bear and suffer / until I die and wither in the ground. And since I have learned from the tradition / that we bless both the good and the bitter / I will bless in a voice / hushed / and weak / Blessed are you / O Lord / who has not made me a woman.
סֶפֶר אֶבֶן בּוֹחַן, רַבִּי קְלוֹנִימוּס בָּן קְלוֹנִימוּס
אוֹי לְמִי שֶׁבָּנָיו זְכָרִים: הוּטַל עֲלֵיהֶם עֹל כָּבֵד סִיגִים וּגְדַרִים…חקים חֻקִּים וּמִצְוֹת נוֹרָאוֹת, שְׁלֹשָׁה עָשָׂר וְשֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת: וּמִי הָאִישׁ הַלָּזֶה, שֶׁיְּקַיֵּם מַה שֶׁכָּתּב בּזֶה? אִלּוּ בְּרָאַנִי, אֻמָּן שֶׁעֲשָׂאָנִי, אִשָּׁה הֲגוּנָה – הַיּוֹם הָיִיתִי חַכְמַת לֵב וּבַעֲלַת בִּינָה. בְּיָדֶיהָ טָווּ אֲנִי וּרֵעָיוֹתַי מַחֲזִיקוֹת בְּפֶלֶךְ מוזרת לְבָנָה, מְסַפְּרוֹת זוֹ עִם זוֹ פַּעַם בְּאוֹר פַּעַם בַּאֲפֵלוֹת, דִּבְרִי הַיָּמִים וְהַבְלֵי טְפֵלוּת
וּלְעִתִּים מְזֻמָּנִים כְּדֶרֶךְ נָשִׂים כְּמִשְׁפַּט הַבָּנוֹת, בְּתוֹךְ הַאֶפֶר אֵשְׁכָּבָה בֵּין שְׁפַתִּים, מָקוֹם שֶׁפחת הַקַּדָּרוּת בֵּין תַּנּוּר וְכִּירָיִם, חוֹטֶבֶת עֵצִים וְחוֹתַה בַּגֶּחָלִים, וְטוֹעֶמֶת מִינֵי תַּבְשִׁילִים. וּלְמוֹעֵד ורְגָלִים, הֲנֶזֶם עַל אַפִּי וְהַעָגִּילִים
וּלְקֵץ יָמִים בְּהַגִּיעַ פִּרְקִי וּמַזָּלִי, בַּחוּר טוֹב יַעֲלֶה בְּגוֹרָלִי: יֶאֱהָבֵנִי אִישִׁי יוֹשִׁבֵנִי בְּקַתֶּדְרָא, יַעְדֶּה עֲדִי זָהָב עַל מְעִילִי, הַנְּטִיפוֹת וְהַשִּׁירוֹת וְגַם כָּל חָלִי. וּבְיוֹם מוֹעֵד, בַּעדן חֶדְוָה וְהַכְנָסַת כַּלָּה וּבַשָּׁבוּעַ הַבּן, תַּרְבֶּה שִׂמְחַתִּי וְגִילִי
חֹק וּמוּסַר לֹא יִפְרַע, וְעוֹנָתִי לֹא יִגְרַע: שָׁבַּת בְּשִׁבְתּוֹ וְחֹדֶשׁ בְּחֹדְּשׁוֹ, עָלַי יַנִּיחַ צַדִּיק רֹאשׁוֹ: שָׁלֹשׁ אֵלֶּה יַעֲשֶׂה לִי כְּמִצְוֹת שׁוֹכֵן מְעֹנָה: שְׁאָר כְּסוּת וְעוֹנָה. גַּם אֲנִי שָׁלֹשׁ כְּנֶגֶד שָׁלֹשׁ אֶשְׁמֹר וַאֲקַיֵּם, שְׁלֹשָׁה הֵמָּה לֹא נִפְלְאוּ מִמֶּנִּי וְלֹא רְחוֹקִים: דָּם וְאֵשׁ וְחָלַת לֶחֶם…עֲלֵיהֶם אֵין לְהוֹסִיף בַּמִּסְפָּר וּמִנְיָן, אֵין לִשְׁאוֹל אַחֲרֵיהֶן: הני נָשִׂים בְּמַאי זָכְיִין
אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם / שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ נִסִּים לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ / בָּאֵשׁ וּבַמַּיִם / הָפַכְתָּ אוּר כָּשְׂדִים לבל תִשְׂרוֹף בְּחוּמָה / וְהָפַכְתָּ דִּינָהּ בִּמְעֵי אִמָּהּ / וְהָפַכְתָּ הַמַּטֶּה נָחָשׁ לְעֵינֵי אַלְפֵי רִבְבָן / וְהָפַכְתָּ הַיָּד הַטְהוֹרָה לָבָן/ וְהָפַכְתָּ יָם סוּף לְיַבָּשָׁה / וְקַרְקַע הַיָּם אֶרֶץ נְגוּבָה וְקָשַׁה / הַהוֹפְכִי הַצּוֹר אֲגַם מָיִם / חַלָּמִישׁ לְמַעְיְנוֹ מָיִם / מִי יִתֵּן וְתַהַפְכֵנִי מְזַכַּר לִנְקָבָהּ! / אֵלוֹ זָכִיתִי לְכָךְ כַּמָּה חֲנַנְתַּנִי טוֹבָה / גְּבֶרֶת הַבַּיִת הָיִיתִי וְחָנִיתִי לְבֵיתִי מִצָּבָא / וּמָה אֲדַבֵּר וּמָה אֹמַר / לָמָּה אֶבְכֶּה וְלָמָּה אֶתְמַרְמַר / אִם אֲבִי שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם גָּזַר עָלַי / וְנָתַן בִּי מוּם קָבוּעַ אִי אֶפְשָׁר לַהֲסִירוֹ מְעָלַי / וְהַדְּאָגָה בְּמַה שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר כְּאֵב אָנושׁ וַחֶבֶל / וְלֹא יוֹעִילוּ בָּהּ תַּנְחוּמִין שֶׁל הֶבֶל / אָמַרְתִּי אֶשָּׂא וְאֶסְבֹּל / עַד אִֶגְוַע וְאֶבֹּל / וְאַחַר שֶׁכָּךְ לָמַדְתִּי מִפִּי הַשְּׁמוּעָה / שֶׁמְּבָרְכִין עַל הַטּוֹבָה וְעַל הָרָעָה / אֲבָרֵךְ בְּקוֹל נָמוּךְ בְּשָׂפָה חֲלוּשָׁה / בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ שֶׁלֹּא עָשַׂנִי אִשָּׁה
Translated by Rabbi Steve Greenberg
Rabbi Elliot Kukla has done groundbreaking research in the area of gender fluidity in Jewish tradition:
Terms for Gender Diversity in Classical Jewish Texts by Rabbi Elliot Kukla
Zachar: This term is derived from the word for a pointy sword and refers to a phallus. It is usually translated as “male” in English.
Nekevah: This term is derived from the word for a crevice and probably refers to a vaginal opening. It is usually translated as “female” in English.
Androgynos: A person who has both “male” and “female” sexual characteristics. 149 references in Mishna and Talmud (1st-8th Centuries CE); 350 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes (2nd -16th Centuries CE).
Tumtum: A person whose sexual characteristics are indeterminate or obscured. 181 references in Mishna and Talmud; 335 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.
Ay’lonit: A person who is identified as “female” at birth but develops “male” characteristics at puberty and is infertile. 80 references in Mishna and Talmud; 40 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.
Saris: A person who is identified as “male” at birth but develops “female” characteristics as puberty and/or is lacking a penis. A saris can be “naturally” a saris (saris hamah), or become one through human intervention (saris adam). 156 references in Mishna and Talmud; 379 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.
The Rabbis were always concerned about modesty. While they were concerned about an androginus being alone with a woman, they held back from saying this was a punishable offense. Maimonides is quoted word-for-word in the Shulchan Arukh:
Shulchan Arukh, Even HaEzer 22:12
A androginus may not be alone with women, but if they do seclude, there is no punishment [lit. lashes] because they have doubtful status [and there may not have been a transgression]. A man is permitted to be alone with an androginus or tumtum.
אֶבֶן הָעֵזֶר כ”ב:י”ב
אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס אֵינוֹ מִתְיַחֵד עִם הַנָּשִׁים וְאִם נִתְיַחֵד אֵין מֵכִין אוֹתוֹ מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא סָפֵק אַבַל הָאִישׁ מִתְיַחֵד עִם הָאַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס וְעִם הַטֻּמְטוּם
Many Kabbalistic texts use masculine and feminine imagery. Here, the idea is explored that sometimes a male soul winds up in a female body, and visa versa. Isaac is seen as having transitioned from female to male:
18th Century Hasidut
It is known that when Issac was born, he was born with the soul of a female, as it is written in Or Hachaim, and through the akeidah (binding of Issac) he got a male soul that can impregnate… But, this is known according to the Sod (Secret/Mysticism) of they cycling of souls – that at times, a female would be in a male body, because in the reasons of gilgal (the cycling of souls) the soul of a female would come to be in a male. … that is why it says by Issac that the Eternal answered to him and not to her (Rebecca), because he needed divine help to be able to have children.
Translation by Abby Stein, edited by Joseph Meszler
סֶפֶר רָזִין דְּאוֹרָיְתָא, בְּשֵׁם הָרַבִּי ר’ מִיכַל מזלאטשׁב
אוּלָם הַכַּוָּנָה, דְּנוֹדָע אֲשֶׁר יִצְחָק נוֹלָד בְּנִשְׁמַּת נוקבא, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַב בַּעַל אוֹר הַחַיִּים הַק’, וְעַל יְדֵי הָעֲקֵדָה הָיָה לוֹ נִשְׁמַת דכר לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ… רַק זֹאת נוֹדַע סֵדֶר הַגִּלְגּוּלִים. וְלִפְעָמִים נְקֵבָה תְּסוֹבֵב גֶּבֶר כִּי בְּסבת הַגִּלְגּוּל נִשְׁמַת נְקֵבָה תָּבוֹא בְּזָכָר, כּאשר י’תִּרְעַם ה’גלגל ו’יִתְרַעֵשׁ ה’חוֹזֵר לָבוֹא בְּגִלְגּוּל שֵׁנֵי וּשְׁלִישִׁי. וְאִם נְקֵבָה אֲשֶׁר תּסובב בַּגֶּבֶר, שְׁנֵי נְקֵבוֹת אֵינָם מוֹלִידִים, רַק על יְדֵי מַעֲשֵׂי הַטּוֹב מַחֲלִיפִין הַנְּשָׁמָה, וּלְיִצְחָק הֶחֱלִיפוּ הַנְּשָׁמָה. לְפִיכָךְ לוֹ וְלֹא לָהּ, כִּי יִצְחָק הָיָה צָרִיךְ לְאוֹתוֹ דָּבָר וְלֹא רִבְקָה
Here's several pieces by rabbis, the 2nd being an "Ask the Rabbis" session on trangenderism and homosexuality:
https://rac.org/blog/what-torah-teaches ... er-justice
https://momentmag.com/ask-rabbis-gender-identity/
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