Tumtum (, "hidden") is a term that appears in Jewish

Rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire corpus of works authored by rabbis throughout Jewish history. The term typically refers to literature from the Talmudic era (70–640 CE), as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic ...

. It usually refers to a person whose sex is unknown because their genitalia are hidden, undeveloped, or difficult to determine. Although they are often grouped together, the tumtum has some halakhic ramifications distinct from those of the '' androgynos'' (), who have both male and female genitalia. Although ''tumtum'' does not appear in the Scripture, it does in other literature.

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Elliot Kukla writes, "The ''tumtum'' appears 17 times in the

Mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

; 23 times in the

Tosefta The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''. Background Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...

; 119 times in the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...

; 22 times in the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

; and hundreds of times in

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

, commentaries, and halacha."Rabbi Elliot Kukla
"A Created Being of Its Own: Toward a Jewish Liberation Theology for Men, Women and Everyone Else"
2006. ''TransTorah.'' In the Babylonian Talmud

Yevamot Yevamot (, "Brother's Widow", also pronounced Yevamos, or Yavmus) is a tractate of the Talmud that deals with, among other concepts, the laws of Yibbum (, loosely translated in English as levirate marriage), and, briefly, with conversion to Jud ...

64a–b, Rabbi Ammi says that the Biblical figures "

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

and

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...

were originally tumtumim" and infertile and then miraculously turned into a fertile husband and wife in their old age. Rabbi Ammi points to the

Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah ben Amo ...

51:1–2, saying that the references to "Look to the rock from where you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from where you were dug ..Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you" explains their genitals being uncovered and remade.

Etymology

The eleventh century dictionary, the ''Aruch'', says the word ''tumtum'' came from ''atum'' () "sealed".

Physical characteristics

The classical description of the physical characteristic of ''tumtum'' says they have a membrane of skin hiding female or male genitals. One form of a ''tumtum'' has exposed testicles and an unexposed penis. As long as the skin covers their genitals, they are considered doubtful men and women. As long as the skin is present, they are not able to be circumcised or have sex. Their status as ''tumtum'' can be changed by surgery, though they will still always have different rights and duties than those of other men and women. In the Talmud, one adult ''tumtum'' from the town of Bairi had surgery to cut away this skin, so he was able to be re-categorized as a man. He later fathered seven children. Rabbis differ in whether ''tumtum'' are legally obligated to have that surgery. This description does not exactly match any

intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...

condition known today.

Gender role

Scholars today differ in whether they see ''tumtum'' as a distinct gender. The second-century CE Mishnah, the oldest compendium of the

Oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law () are statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah (), and which are regarded by Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jews as prescriptive ...

, brings the opinion of

Rabbi Meir Rabbi Meir () was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishnah. He was one of the Tannaim of the fourth generation (139–163), and a disciple of Rabbi Akiva. He is the second most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah and is mentioned ...

that ''tumtum'' is not a distinct gender but a state of doubt between male and female: "Sometimes he is a man, and sometimes he is a woman." This is the position of traditional Judaism. According to

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

rabbi Elliot Kukla ''tumtum'' is one of six genders in classical Judaism, along with

male Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

, '' androgynos'', '' ayelonit'' (a person who was assigned female at birth but is barren and perhaps masculinized), and ''saris'' (a

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

by birth either through human intervention, or a person who was assigned male at birth but later became feminized).Rabbi Elliot Kukla
"For centuries, Jewish tradition has recognized trans people"
''Forward''. October 26, 2018. This, he claims, is an example of how the Western

gender binary The gender binary (also known as gender binarism) is the classification of gender into two distinct forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, Culture, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender binary, ...

is not universal to all cultures. Although the definition of ''tumtum'' is based on physical characteristics, this is used as a basis for social roles, duties, and prohibitions. This can be considered effectively a

gender role A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gendered ...

. The strictest gender-dependent obligations or prohibitions apply to ''tumtum'' because if the ''tumtum'' might genuinely be a man or woman, laws for neither men nor women should be broken. Positive commandments from which women are exempt are considered binding on a ''tumtum''. In Tractate Zavim 2, the compiler of the Mishnah says that ''tumtum'' and ''androgynos'' have both men's and women's '' khumrot'', meaning that where the law is stricter towards men than women, they are treated as men. Still, where the law is more stringent towards women, they are treated as women.

Etymology

Physical characteristics

Gender role

See also

References

Further reading