שולחן ערוך, יורה דעה, קפב:ו
אסור (לאיש) ללקט אפילו שער אחד לבן מתוך השחורות, משום לא ילבש גבר (דברים כב, ה) יד] וכן אסור לאיש לצבוע (<ז> שערות לבנות שיהיו) (ב"י) שחורות, אפילו שערה אחת
It is prohibited for a man to remove even a single white hair among the black hairs based upon “a man shall not wear a woman's garment” (Deuteronomy 22:5). Likewise it is prohibited for him to color even a single white hair black. And it is also prohibited for a man to look in a mirror.
[Translation by Rabbi Steve Greenberg]
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. Are there lines of gender behavior that you have crossed? What lines would you not cross and why? 2. How do you feel when you see someone else acting in non-gender conforming ways?
3. Maimonides includes these rules in the laws of idol worship and not with laws dealing with sexual relations. What might this mean?
4. Rashi, quoting a source from the Talmud (Nazir 59a), suggests that the addition of the word, abomination, toevah, in the verse in Deuteronomy, means that the aim of the cross dresser was for illicit sex. There could be many different reasons for a person to engage in cross dressing. How do you think motive might matter here?
Time Period: Medieval (Geonim through the 16th Century)