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Daf prep · Bekhorot 42 · בכורות מ״ב
Before you learn Bekhorot 42
Where we left off
Rav Chisda asserted that a טוּמְטוּם (concealed genitalia) is an unresolved doubt between male and female. Rava challenged him from the halakhot of valuations as this daf opens.
The question going in
Is a טוּמְטוּם merely an unresolved doubt, or is it an entirely distinct category?
Know before you start
- טוּמְטוּם (tumtum (concealed genitalia)): This is a creature whose reproductive organs are covered by skin. Rav Chisda considers it a definite male or female whose identity is hidden. Others view it as a distinct בְּרִיָּה (independent entity) excluded by scripture.
- עֲרָכִין (fixed valuations): The Torah prescribes specific monetary vows based strictly on definite gender. An exclusion from valuations implies a creature is not a standard male or female.
- הוֹאִיל וְאִישְׁתַּנִּי אִישְׁתַּנִּי (since it changed in one way, it changed in another): This principle posits that anatomical anomalies do not happen in isolation. Since a creature developed unusually, we may suspect other internal physical inversions.
- סְרִיס חַמָּה (congenital eunuch): This is a male born without reproductive capacity. Rabbi Akiva rules his widow is exempt from both levirate marriage and חֲלִיצָה (shoe removal).
Who's who
- Rav Chisda (רב חסדא, Amora): He argues that a טוּמְטוּם is simply a concealed male or female.
- Rabbi Elazar (רבי אלעזר, Amora): He ruled that an animal urinating at the female position is treated as ordinary female חֻלִּין (non-sacred).
- Reish Lakish (ריש לקיש, Amora): He resolved animal status by distinguishing urinary anatomy between animals and humans.
- Rabbi Akiva (רבי עקיבא, Tanna): He holds that a congenital eunuch has no obligation in levirate marriage.