Today we begin a new Massechet, Arachin, which focuses on vows made with regard to the Temple. It begins with the expression "Hakol ma'arichin ve'ne'erachin", everyone takes vows of valuation and everyone is valuated. These vows regard those named in Vayikra (27:1-8). People have to pay to the Temple to using the formula of arachnid, which is based on gender and age.
Some people are fit to take vows of valuation but cannot be valuated. These include a tumtum or an androgynos. A reminder: a tumtum does not have any visible sexual organs and an androgynous has both male and female external organs. We learn that only binary genders contribute to the Temple.
Massechet Yevamot (83) taught us a number of opinions about these non-binary community members. Rabbi Yosei says that an androgynos is a berth bifnei atzmah, a unique creature not treated as male or female. The rishonim define this unique creature differently. Tosafot consider these people a permanent state of safek, doubt, and thus they are unique creatures. The Ramban is more simple in his interpretation: an androgynos is a creature who is neither male nor female.
Steinsaltz notes that medicine recognizes two types of androgynos. One has both male and female sexual glands. The other is a pseudohermaphrodite, who has the appearance of both male and female sex organs, but the person actually has only one set of sexual glands.
Again, I love being reminded that our rabbis were forced to concern themselves with uncertainty. A "unique creature" is not negative. In fact, it is a very positive commentary on the human state - someone special; someone different from almost all of the rest of us. And there had to be a place for them, too.
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