(ט) שלא עשני גוי... דכל התורה נאמרה בלשון זכר ואפ"ה אשה בכלל ...
For the entire Torah was said in masculine language, and even so a woman is included...
ומתר להכנס בציצית לבית הכסא ולבית המרחץ. נפסקו לו חוטי לבן או תכלת זורקו באשפה מפני שהיא מצוה שאין בגופה קדשה. ואסור למכר טלית מציצת לכותי עד שיתיר ציציותיה. לא מפני שיש בגופה קדשה אלא שמא יתעטף בה ויתלוה עמו ישראל וידמה שהוא ישראל ויהרגנו. נשים ועבדים וקטנים פטורין מן הציצית מן התורה. ומדברי סופרים שכל קטן שיודע להתעטף חיב בציצית כדי לחנכו במצות. ונשים ועבדים שרצו להתעטף בציצית מתעטפים בלא ברכה. וכן שאר מצות עשה שהנשים פטורות מהן אם רצו לעשות אותן בלא ברכה אין ממחין בידן. טמטום ואנדרוגינוס חיבין בכלן מספק לפיכך אין מברכין אלא עושין בלא ברכה:
Women and slaves and children are exempt from fringes from the Torah. But it is from the words of the [rabbis] that every child who knows how to wrap himself is obligated [to wear] fringes, in order to educate him in the commandments. And women and slaves that want to wrap themselves with fringes, may wrap themselves without a blessing. And so [too] other positive commandments that women are exempted from; if they want to do them without a blessing, we do not protest against them. A tumtum (a person with recessed sexual organs) and an androginos (a person with both male and female sexual organs) are obligated in all [of these commandments] because of a doubt. Therefore, they should not recite a blessing, but rather do them without a blessing.
Six Genders Addressed In the Talmud
http://www.sojourngsd.org/blog/sixgenders by Robbie Medwed, June 1, 2015
- Zachar (זָכָר): This term is derived from the word for memory and refers to the belief that the man carried the name and identity of the family. It is usually translated as “male” in English.
- Nekevah (נְקֵבָה): 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 (אנדרו:גינוס): A person who has both “male” and “female” physical 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 (טומטום): 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 (איילונית): A female who does not develop at puberty and is infertile. 80 references in Mishna and Talmud; 40 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.
- Saris (סָרִיס): A male who does not develop at puberty and/or subsequently has their sexual organs removed. 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.