What is Queer? (from PFLAG.org)
Think of queer as an umbrella term. It includes anyone who:
- wants to identify as queer and
- who feels somehow outside of the societal norms in regards to gender or sexuality
- inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, genderqueer, genderfluid, etc.
"Queer" is a very important identifier for some members of the LGBTQ community, but its use is not universal and many members within the LGBTQ community object to its use. It is important to remember that within this context, "queer" is an adjective, and its use as a noun is usually derogatory outside of academic queer theory settings. Just like in any other community, there are terms that some LGBTQ people may feel comfortable using themselves, but may prefer others avoid. When in doubt, ask!
Much of modern Jewish worship and expression has moved past a place of "acceptance" and into a world of celebration of various identities. As queer Jewish scholars and clergy, much of the Jewish LGBTQ community and its allies have begun embracing queerness through modern interpretation of text and ritual in the interest of inclusivity to embody the Jewish value of human dignity. This Jewish brand of queer theory goes one step further and seeks to uncover/reclaim fragments of queerness in Jewish text to open up dialogue about spirituality and the nature of G-d in Judaism.
It is important to remember that classical Jewish texts were written through a much different lens than that through which we understand LGBTQ identities today. For that reason, most of the texts on this sheet are "queer" in that they transgress notions of gender and sex. The debates surrounding their interpretations form the basis of queer spirituality and a lens through which our modern sexualities can be viewed.
וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם׃
So G-d created the human beings in [the divine] image, creating [them] in the image of G-d, creating them male and female.
... אמר רבי ירמיה בן אלעזר: בשעה שברא הקדוש ברוך הוא את אדם הראשון, אנדרוגינוס בראו, הדא הוא דכתיב: זכר ונקבה בראם...
R. Yirmiyah ben Elazar said, when Hashem created Adam HaRishon [the first human], he was created [as an] androgynos [אנדרוגינוס]; thus is it written, "male and female did He create them." R. Shmuel bar Nachman said, when Hashem created Adam HaRishon, He created him with two faces, one on each side, and [when He made Chavah,] He split him along the middle, forming two backs. [The other rabbis] challenged him: but it is written, "And He took one of his ribs!" [R. Nachman] said to them: "mitzalosav doesn't mean rib, it means one of his sides..."
(From Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible)
"Zachar u'nikeva" is, I believe, a merism, a common Biblical figure of speech in which a whole is alluded to by some of its parts. When the Biblical text says, "There was evening, there was morning, the first day," it means, of course, that there was evening, there was dawn, there was morning, there was noon time, there was afternoon, there was dusk all in the first day. "Evening and morning" are used to encompass all the times of day...
So too, in the case of Genesis 1.27b, the whole diverse panoply of genders and gender identities is encompassed by only two words, "male" and "female." Read not, therefore, "G-d created every human being as either male or female" but rather "G-d created human kind zachar u'nikevah male and female and every combination in between."
by Rabbi Elliot Kukla, 2006 (Adapted from TransTorah.org)
- Zachar (זכר): 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 (נקבה): 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 (אנדרוגינוס): A person who has both “male” and “female” sexual characteristics.
- Tumtum (טומטום): A person whose sexual characteristics are indeterminate or obscured.
- Ay’lonit (אילונית): A person who is identified as “female” at birth but develops “male” characteristics at puberty and is infertile.
- Saris (סריס): A person who is identified as “male” at birth but develops “female” characteristics at puberty and/or is lacking a penis. A saris can be “naturally” a saris (saris hamah), or become one through human intervention (saris adam).
(א) כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יי שִׁמְר֥וּ מִשְׁפָּ֖ט וַעֲשׂ֣וּ צְדָקָ֑ה כִּֽי־קְרוֹבָ֤ה יְשֽׁוּעָתִי֙ לָב֔וֹא וְצִדְקָתִ֖י לְהִגָּלֽוֹת׃ (ב) אַשְׁרֵ֤י אֱנוֹשׁ֙ יַעֲשֶׂה־זֹּ֔את וּבֶן־אָדָ֖ם יַחֲזִ֣יק בָּ֑הּ שֹׁמֵ֤ר שַׁבָּת֙ מֵֽחַלְּל֔וֹ וְשֹׁמֵ֥ר יָד֖וֹ מֵעֲשׂ֥וֹת כָּל־רָֽע׃ (ס) (ג) וְאַל־יֹאמַ֣ר בֶּן־הַנֵּכָ֗ר הַנִּלְוָ֤ה אֶל־יי לֵאמֹ֔ר הַבְדֵּ֧ל יַבְדִּילַ֛נִי יי מֵעַ֣ל עַמּ֑וֹ וְאַל־יֹאמַר֙ הַסָּרִ֔יס הֵ֥ן אֲנִ֖י עֵ֥ץ יָבֵֽשׁ׃ (ס) (ד) כִּי־כֹ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר יי לַסָּֽרִיסִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִשְׁמְרוּ֙ אֶת־שַׁבְּתוֹתַ֔י וּבָֽחֲר֖וּ בַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר חָפָ֑צְתִּי וּמַחֲזִיקִ֖ים בִּבְרִיתִֽי׃ (ה) וְנָתַתִּ֨י לָהֶ֜ם בְּבֵיתִ֤י וּבְחֽוֹמֹתַי֙ יָ֣ד וָשֵׁ֔ם ט֖וֹב מִבָּנִ֣ים וּמִבָּנ֑וֹת שֵׁ֤ם עוֹלָם֙ אֶתֶּן־ל֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֖ר לֹ֥א יִכָּרֵֽת׃ (ס)
Let not the foreigner say,
Who has attached himself to Adonai,
"G-d will keep me apart from G-d's people"
and let not the saris say,
"I am a dried tree."
For thus said Adonai:
"As for the sarisim who keep My sabbaths,
who have chosen what I desire and hold fast to my covenant--
I will give them, in My House
and within My walls,
a monument and a name
better than sons or daughters.
I will give them an everlasting name
which shall not perish."
(א) וַתֵּ֣רֶא רָחֵ֗ל כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יָֽלְדָה֙ לְיַעֲקֹ֔ב וַתְּקַנֵּ֥א רָחֵ֖ל בַּאֲחֹתָ֑הּ וַתֹּ֤אמֶר אֶֽל־יַעֲקֹב֙ הָֽבָה־לִּ֣י בָנִ֔ים וְאִם־אַ֖יִן מֵתָ֥ה אָנֹֽכִי׃
And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob: ‘Give me children, or else I die.’
מתה אנכי כענין הן אני עץ יבש:
מתה אנכי, a figure of speech, meaning the same as הן אני עץ יבש, “here I am a dried out tree,” in Isaiah 56:3.
וְהַֽנַּעֲרָ֗ טֹבַ֤ת מַרְאֶה֙ מְאֹ֔ד בְּתוּלָ֕ה וְאִ֖ישׁ לֹ֣א יְדָעָ֑הּ
She was an exceedingly beautiful girl, of marriageable age, whom no man had yet known.
(For more, see "When Gender Varies: A Curious Case of Kere and Ketiv" by Rachel Brodie)
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 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.
R. Ammi stated: Abraham and Sarah were originally tumtumin; for it is said, (Isaiah 51:1) "Look unto to the rock
whence you were hewn and to the hole of the pit whence you were dug," and this is followed by the text, Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bore you.
R. Nahman stated in the name of Rabbah b. Abbuha: Our mother Sarah was an aylonit; for it is said, And Sarai was barren; she had no child, she had not even a womb.
(א) פרק ד א. אדדוגינוס יש בו דרכים שוה לאנשים ויש בו דרכים שוה לנשים ויש בו דרכים שוה לאנשים ונשים ויש בו דרכים אינו שוה לא לאנישם ולא לנשים:
(ב) ב. כיצד שוה לאנשים מטמא בלובן כאנשים וזוקק ליבום כאנשים ומתעטף ומסתפר כאנשים ונושא אבל לא נישא כאנשים וחייב בכל מצות האמורות בתורה כאנשים:
(ג) ג. כיצד שוה לנשים מטמא באודם כנשים ואינו מתייחד עם האנשים כנשים ואינו עובר על בל תקיף ולא על בל תשחית ולא על בל תטמא למתים כנשים ופסול מן העדות כנשים ואינו נבעל בעבירה כנשים ונפסל מן הכהונה כנשים:
(ד) ד. כיצד שוה לאנשים ולנשים חייבים על מכתו ועל קללתו כאנשים וכנשים וההורגו שוגג גולה ומזיד נהרג כאנשים ונשים ויושבת עליו דם טמא ודם טהור כאנשים וכנשים וחולק בקדשי קדשים כאנשים וכנשים ונוחל לכל הנחלות כאנשים וכנשים ואם אמר הריני נזיר שזה איש ואשה הרי זה נזיר:
(ה) ה. כיצד אינו שוה לא לאנשים ולא לנשים אין חייבים לא על מכתו ולא על קללתו לא כאנשים ולא כנשים ואינו נערך לא כאנשים ולא כנשים ואם אמר הריני נזיר שזה לא איש ולא אשה אינו נזיר רבי מאיר אומר אנדרוגינוס בריה בפני עצמה הוא ולא יכלו חכמים להכריע עליו אם הוא איש או אשה אבל טומטום אינו כן פעמים שהוא איש פעמים שהוא אשה:
1. The androgynos is in some ways like men, and in other ways like women. In other things again ze is like men and women, and in others ze is like neither men nor women.
5. And wherein is ze likened to neither men nor women? Because of hir unclean issue, teruma is not to be burnt, neither is any penalty incurred by hir on entering the temple in an unclean state. Ze must not be sold as a Hebrew slave, unlike men or women, and ze cannot be evaluated, unlike men or women. If one says, "I will become a Nazirite, if ze is neither a man nor a woman," then ze becomes a Nazirite.
R. Yose says: "The androgynos is a creature by hirself, and the sages could not decide about hir. But this is not so with a tumtum, for such a one is, at times, a man, and at others, a woman.
אנדרוגינוס מוציא את מינו ואינו מוציא שאינו מינו טומטום אינו מוציא לא [מינו ולא] שאינו מינו.
An androgynos can absolve his own kind (i.e. say it for another androgynos) of his obligation [of saying grace after meals], but he cannot absolve [another person] who is not his own kind (i.e. a man, a woman or a tumtum). A tumtum cannot absolve either his own kind nor [another person] who is not his own kind (i.e. a man, a woman or androgynos).
(יא) וַיְהִ֗י הֵ֣מָּה הֹלְכִ֤ים הָלוֹךְ֙ וְדַבֵּ֔ר וְהִנֵּ֤ה רֶֽכֶב־אֵשׁ֙ וְס֣וּסֵי אֵ֔שׁ וַיַּפְרִ֖דוּ בֵּ֣ין שְׁנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיַּ֙עַל֙ אֵ֣לִיָּ֔הוּ בַּֽסְעָרָ֖ה הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ (יב) וֶאֱלִישָׁ֣ע רֹאֶ֗ה וְה֤וּא מְצַעֵק֙ אָבִ֣י ׀ אָבִ֗י רֶ֤כֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וּפָ֣רָשָׁ֔יו וְלֹ֥א רָאָ֖הוּ ע֑וֹד וַֽיַּחֲזֵק֙ בִּבְגָדָ֔יו וַיִּקְרָעֵ֖ם לִשְׁנַ֥יִם קְרָעִֽים׃
(11) And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both assunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (12) And Elisha saw it, and he cried: ‘My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof! ’ And he saw him no more; and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
Dana International, Israel's most famous transgender popstar, was the subject of halachic debate in Israel following her rise to fame, particularly as to what her role in Orthodox Jewish worship would be. Note: the language in this Orthodox circle is not trans-affirming.
Although there are some responsa about transsexual surgery, most do not deal directly with the case of Dana International (formerly Yaron Cohen). Instead, they speak about how halakhically there's no such thing as a "sex change" but rather gender is reified at birth. Rabbi J. David Bleich has the best list of references to responsa, in his Contemporary Halakhic Problems (NY: Ktav/YU, 1977), vol. 1, pp. 100-105. (In his later book, Judaism and Healing, he leaves out some references.) In a more recent opinion, Rabbi Yigal Shafran in Techumin 21 (2001), pp. 117-120 reinforces the strict opinion.
The lone dissenter is Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg, who thinks that transsexual surgery can effect a halakhic gender change. See his Tzitz Eliezer, vol. 10, #25, chapter 26, section 6, and vol. 22, #2. He wrote the first responsum in 1967 and the second in 1997.
According to The Jerusalem Report (July 6, 1998, p. 5), it was a Rabbi Eliyahu Abergil who ruled that since Dana is still Yaron, he could count in a minyan.
The Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, supposedly ruled that since Dana is still Yaron, a man may listen to his singing voice as long as he's aware that the singer is a man. This was reported in Ma'ariv, May 5, 1998, Mussaf Shabbat, p. 16.
In his large collection of responsa on Jewish law called Tzitz Eliezer, Rabbi Waldenberg (who served on Israel's supreme rabbinical courts) addressed some specifics regarding transgender people and halachah, the last of which is considered a particularly important and controversial statement.
I also saw in a book called Yosef Et Achiv (by Rav Yossi Plaggi, z”l), (3:5) that asks… if there’s a case of a woman who led a normal life for years and then became a man, does he need a get [divorce document] because when he got married she was a woman, or is there no get because he isn’t a woman? … It seems to me in this question that there is no need for a get because he’s a man and not a woman.
***
And as I said, as for a man like this—who was a woman who changed to a man—when he says morning blessings, he does not say, “who did not make me a woman,” because although he came out of his mother’s womb and into the world as a woman, he should say, “Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, Ruler of the Universe, who has changed me into a man.”
***
The identity and birthright of a human is not expressed by the separate organ parts of his body—and this will be the most important—but by the spirit and the soul which are within them. The Chatam Sofer got it right when he wrote that the body is not the human; rather the body is a bag made of dust and within that bag is inner wisdom, knowledge, and thoughts, which are the true definitions of personality.
כל מזונותיו של אדם קצובים לו מראש השנה ועד יום הכפורים חוץ מהוצאת שבתות והוצאת י"ט והוצאת בניו לתלמוד תורה שאם פחת פוחתין לו ואם הוסיף מוסיפין לו א"ר אבהו מאי קראה (תהלים פא, ד) תקעו בחדש שופר (בכסא) ליום חגנו איזהו חג שהחדש מתכסה בו הוי אומר זה ראש השנה וכתיב (תהלים פא, ה) כי חק לישראל הוא משפט לאלהי יעקב מאי משמע דהאי חק לישנא דמזוני הוא דכתיב (בראשית מז, כב) ואכלו את חקם אשר נתן להם פרעה מר זוטרא אמר מהכא (משלי ל, ח) הטריפני לחם חקי תניא אמרו עליו על שמאי הזקן כל ימיו היה אוכל לכבוד שבת מצא בהמה נאה אומר זו לשבת מצא אחרת נאה הימנה מניח את השניה ואוכל את הראשונה אבל הלל הזקן מדה אחרת היתה לו שכל מעשיו לשם שמים שנאמר (תהלים סח, כ) ברוך יי יום יום תניא נמי הכי בית שמאי אומרים מחד שביך לשבתיך ובית הלל אומרים ברוך יי יום יום א"ר חמא ברבי חנינא הנותן מתנה לחברו אין צריך להודיעו שנאמר (שמות לד, כט) ומשה לא ידע כי קרן עור פניו מיתיבי (שמות לא, יג) לדעת כי אני יי מקדשכם אמר לו הקב"ה למשה משה מתנה טובה יש לי בבית גנזי ושבת שמה ואני מבקש ליתנה לישראל לך והודיע אותם מכאן אמר רבן שמעון בן גמליאל הנותן פת לתינוק צריך להודיע לאמו לא קשיא הא במתנה דעבידא לאגלויי הא במתנה דלא עבידא לאגלויי שבת נמי מתנה דעבידא לאגלויי מתן שכרה לא עבידא לאגלויי: אמר מר מכאן אמר רשב"ג הנותן פת לתינוק צריך להודיע לאמו מאי עביד ליה שייף ליה משחא ומלי ליה כוחלא והאידנא דחיישינן לכשפים מאי אמר רב פפא שייף ליה מאותו המין א"ר יוחנן משום ר' שמעון בן יוחי כל מצות שנתן להם הקב"ה לישראל נתן להם בפרהסיא חוץ משבת שנתן להם בצנעא שנאמר (שמות לא, יז) ביני ובין בני ישראל אות היא לעולם אי הכי לא לענשו נכרים עלה שבת אודועי אודעינהו מתן שכרה לא אודעינהו ואי בעית אימא מתן שכרה נמי אודעינהו נשמה יתירה לא אודעינהו דאמר ר' שמעון בן לקיש נשמה יתירה נותן הקב"ה באדם ערב שבת ולמוצאי שבת נוטלין אותה הימנו שנאמר (שמות לא, יז) שבת וינפש כיון ששבת ווי אבדה נפש: עושה אדם תבשיל מערב יום טוב: אמר אביי לא שנו אלא תבשיל אבל פת לא מאי שנא פת דלא אילימא מידי דמלפת בעינן ופת לא מלפתא והא דייסא נמי דלא מלפתא דאמר ר' זירא הני בבלאי טפשאי דאכלי נהמא בנהמא ואמר רב נחומי בר זכריה משמיה דאביי מערבין בדייסא אלא מידי דלא שכיח בעינן ופת שכיחא ודייסא לא שכיחא איכא דאמרי אמר אביי לא שנו אלא תבשיל אבל פת לא מאי טעמא אילימא דמידי דלא שכיח בעינן ופת שכיחא והא דייסא לא שכיחא ואמר רב נחומי בר זכריה משמיה דאביי אין מערבין בדייסא אלא מידי דמלפת בעינן ופת לא מלפתא ודייסא נמי לא מלפתא דאמר ר' זירא הני בבלאי טפשאי דאכלי נהמא בנהמא תני ר' חייא עדשים שבשולי קדרה סומך עליהן משום ערובי תבשילין וה"מ דאית בהו כזית אמר רב יצחק בריה דרב יהודה שמנונית שעל גבי הסכין גוררו וסומך עליו משום ערובי תבשילין והני מילי דאית בהו כזית אמר רב אסי אמר רב דגים קטנים מלוחים אין בהם משום בשולי נכרים אמר רב יוסף ואם צלאן נכרי סומך עליהם משום ערובי תבשילין ואי עבדינהו נכרי כסא דהרסנא אסור פשיטא מהו דתימא
R. Simeon b. Lakish said: On the eve of the Sabbath the Holy One (Baruch HaShem) gives to man a neshama yeteirah and at the close of the Sabbath G-d withdraws it from him, for it says: G-d ceased from work and rested: once [the Sabbath] has ceased woe that the [additional] soul is lost!
It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever; for in six days Adonai made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day G-d ceased from work and rested.’
Our rabbis believed that twilight held great and unique power. Demons abounded in these minutes between night and day. One was especially vulnerable to the many forces of evil. Our sages, of great intellect and tremendous spiritual gifts, seem to have been a little bit afraid of what they could not define... Like all of us at different times, our rabbis wanted to categorize and label. They desired to understand when day ended and night began--which was which, and what to call it. But ultimately, many of them acknowledged that they could not draw a simple line between one and the other. That middle place between light and dark could never be boxed in. It was not day, and it was not night. Twilight was something else all its own.
With their concern about demons, we might expect that our rabbis would have warned us of the grave dangers of twilight. Perhaps we should not leave our houses at the time of sundown. Twilight could have been considered an inauspicious time for important activities. Perhaps the inscrutable twilight is when G-d hides G-d's face. In other words, our rabbis could have shut down twilight for us. Or they could have ruled it away, artificially dividing night from day with no possibilities in between them. But they didn’t. Instead, the rabbis taught that twilight and dawn are the best times to pray. They concluded that these times that are in-between and indefinable are when our prayers are most likely to be heard. The place in the middle that made them afraid was also for them the place where miracles were most likely, where divine forces rise, where transformation is most possible. Rather than shutting down the twilight hour, they opened it and elevated it. It is not a degraded middle place. It is exceptionally holy.
... Yes, our rabbis of ancient times knew that humanity did not fi t into two boxes. Just as day and night cannot be clearly divided into two, according to some of our most ancient texts, neither can people. In approximately 100 C.E., it was written in the Mishna: there are people who “are in some ways like men, and in some ways like women, and in some ways like both men and women, and in some ways like neither men nor women.”3 It goes on to say that people of intermediate sex and gender were not to be harmed; their lives were of equal value to any other person’s.
... Unfortunately, this traditional understanding has been muffled in the last thousand years. Today we are taught that there are two and only two options, male and female, that are determined by anatomy and do not change. But transgender, intersex and genderqueer people are beginning to challenge this belief. Transgender people, Jews and non-Jews, ivrim, border-crossers, people in between – are standing up and telling our truth. One may be born with a ‘male’ body, and know herself to be female. One can feel that they encompass qualities called ‘male’ and qualities called ‘female.’ Others identify as another gender entirely – not male, not female, but a third gender. Some people choose to change their bodies or names to reflect their inner identities; some don’t. People might know themselves to be transgender as children, or in their twenties, or forties or eighties. Some people are deciding that they do not have a gender, or do not wish to choose one. Transgender experiences are asking us all to question some of our most basic categories.
(ב) נָשִׁים וַעֲבָדִים פְּטוּרִים מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהִיא מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁהַזְּמַן גְּרָמָא: הַגָּה: וּמִכָּל מָקוֹם אִם רוֹצִים לְעָטְפוֹ וּלְבָרֵךְ עָלָיו הָרְשׁוּת בְּיָדָם, כְּמוֹ בִּשְׁאָר מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁהַזְּמַן גְּרָמָא (תוס' וְהָרֹא''שׁ וְהָרַ''ן פ''ב דְּר''ה וּפ''ק דְּקִדּוּשִׁין) אַךְ מִחְזֵי כְּיוּהֲרָא לָכֵן אֵין לָהֶן לִלְבֹּשׁ צִיצִית הוֹאִיל וְאֵינוֹ חוֹבַת גַּבְרָא (אָגוּר סי' כ''ז) (פי' אֵינוֹ חַיָּב לִקְנוֹת לוֹ טַלִּית כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּתְחַיֵּב בְּצִיצִית וּלְקַמָּן בְּסִימָן י''ט אָמַר כְּשֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ טַלִּית מֵאַרְבַּע כְּנָפוֹת וְלוֹבְשׁוֹ) טֻמְטוּם וְאַנְדְּרוֹגִינוּס חַיָּבִין מִסָפֵק, וְיִתְעַטְּפוּ בְּלֹא בְּרָכָה: (פי' טֻמְטוּם לֹא נוֹדַע אִם הוּא זָכָר אוֹ נְקֵבָה וְאַנְדְּרוֹגִינוּס יֵשׁ לוֹ זַכְרוּת וְנַקְבוּת) הַגָּה: וּלְפִי מַה שֶּׁנָּהֲגוּ נָשִׁים לְבָרֵךְ בְּמִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁהַזְּמַן גְּרָמָא גַּם הֵם יְבָרְכוּ (דִּבְרֵי עַצְמוֹ):
(2) Women and slaves are exempt [from wearing tzitzit] because it is a time-dependent commandment. Rem"a: And if they wish to wrap [in tzitzit] and say the blessing on them it is up to them to do so as with all time-dependent commandments (Tosafot and the Rosh and the Ran, Chapter 2, Rosh Hashanah, First Chapter of Kiddushin). However, it looks as if they are doing it to appear more observant than others, therefore, they should not wear tzitzit, as it is not a commandment of the person [rather of the object] (Agur Section 27). [And for slaves] This means we do not have to buy him a tallit in order that he be required to wear tzitzit as we see in Chapter 19 it says when he has a shawl with four corners he should wear it.The requirement for a tumtum and an androgynous is doubtful and so they should wrap without a blessing (Explanation: a tumtum does not know whether he/she is male/female, and an androgynous has both male and female genitals).Rem"a: And since it is our custom that women should say the blessing when they fulfill time-dependent commandments so should they (Divrei Atzmo)
(ז) הריני נזיר לכשיהיה לי בן. ונולד לו בן. הרי זה נזיר נולד לו בת. טומטום. ואנדרוגינוס. אינו נזיר. אם אמר כשאראה כשיהיה לי ולד. אפילו נולד לו בת. טומטום. ואנדרוגינוס. הרי זה נזיר:
(7) "I am a Nazirite once I have a son," and he has a son, he is a Nazirite. If he had a daughter, or a tumtum [person with recessed sexual organs whose gender is therefore impossible to determine, presently, by external examination. It is halachically uncertain whether such a person is male or female] or an androginos [person with both male and female sexual organs. It is halachically uncertain whether such a person is male, female or, perhaps, has a uniquely defined halachic gender.] he is not a Nazirite. If he said, "when I see that I have had a child," even if he had a daughter, tumtum or androginos, he is a Nazirite.
(ו) סריס חמה כהן שנשא בת ישראל. מאכילה בתרומה. רבי יוסי ור' שמעון אומרים אנדרוגינוס כהן שנשא בת ישראל. מאכילה בתרומה. רבי יהודה אומר טומטום שנקרע ונמצא זכר. לא יחלוץ מפני שהוא כסריס. אנדרוגינוס נושא. אבל לא נישא. ר' אליעזר אומר אנדרוגינוס חייבים עליו סקילה כזכר:
(6) [If] a priest who was a sun-eunuch married the daughter of an Israelite, he confers upon her the right to eat Terumah [a portion of a crop given to a priest which becomes holy upon separation and may only be consumed by priests and their households]. Rabbi Yose and Rabbi Shimon said: [If] a priest who was an androginos [person with both male and female sexual organs. It is halachically uncertain whether such a person is male, female or, perhaps, has a uniquely defined halachic gender] married the daughter of an Israelite, he confers upon her the right to eat Terumah . Rabbi Yehudah said: [If] a tumtum [person with recessed sexual organs whose gender is therefore impossible to determine, presently, by external examination. It is halachically uncertain whether such a person is male or female] was torn and found to be male he may not undergo Chalitzah because he is like a eunuch. An androginosmay marry [a woman] but may not be married [to a man]. Rabbi Eliezer said: [If one has relations with] an androginos he is liable to be stoned like one [who has relations with] a male.
(ה) הסריס לא חולץ ולא מיבם. וכן אילונית לא חולצת ולא מתיבמת. הסריס שחלץ ליבמתו לא פסלה. בעלה. פסלה. מפני שהיא בעילת זנות. וכן אילונית שחלצו לה אחין לא פסלוה. בעלוה. פסלוה. מפני שבעילתה בעילת זנות:.
(5) The eunuch neither undergoes Chalitzah nor performs Yibum. Similarly, an aiylonit [a woman with arrested sexual development who cannot bear children] neither performs Chalitzah nor undergoes Yibum. [If] a eunuch underwent Chalitzah from his Yevama [a woman whose husband died childless and whose brother-in-law must marry or dismiss her] he does not disqualify her [from subsequently marrying a priest]. If he had relations with her he does disqualify her since this is licentious relations [because she is forbidden to him]. Similarly, [if] brothers underwent Chalitzah from aiylonit they do not disqualify her [from marrying a priest]. If they had relations with her they do disqualify her since this is licentious relations.
(יב) אַנְדְּרוֹגֵינוֹס, אֵינוֹ מִתְיַחֵד עִם הַנָּשִׁים. וְאִם נִתְיַחֵד, אֵין מַכִּין אוֹתוֹ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא סָפֵק. אֲבָל הָאִישׁ מִתְיַחֵד עִם הָאַנְדְּרוֹגֵינוֹס וְעִם הַטֻּמְטוּם:
(12) A hermaphrodite may not seclude with women. But if he did seclude, he is not lashed because he [his status] is doubtful. A man is permitted to seclude with a hermaphrodite or tumtum [whose sex is unknown due to covered/hidden genetalia]