Rabbis of the Mishnah and Gemara, the Jewish oral law that developed from the second to the sixth century C.E., certainly knew nothing of the term transgender. But the rabbis did recognize variations in sexual anatomy and debated the halachic status of those who fell somewhere between clear-cut male and clear-cut female. Below are the categories the rabbis identified.
READ: BEYOND THE RAINBOW–TRANSGENDER JEWS
Zachar: Male
Nekevah: Female
Androgynos: A person who is intersex, or has aspects of both male and female sexual characteristics.
Tumtum: A person whose sexual characteristics are indeterminate or obscured.
Ay’lonit: A woman who does not develop secondary sexual characteristics at puberty and is infertile.
Saris: A male who does not develop secondary sexual characteristics and is infertile. Saris also refers to someone who has been castrated.
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