[Avodah] [Areivim] if they asked, it would have been assur

[Micha Berger]

On Sun, Jan 21, 2007 2:23pm EST, RZS wrote in reply to RMYG:
: Sirus is an issur deoraisa.  Even chemical sirus is assur for a male.

BTW, I wondered about the limits of this. Is it assur for a man to eat black
licorice? (Assuming it's flavored with licorice or liquorice, and not anise,
black licorice reduces fertility by lowering serum testosterone levels.) To
separate the matter from piryah verivyah: must even a single man, or someone
whose wife is post-menopausal, be careful about his choice of undergarments?

: And though the article doesn't say so explicitly, it's pretty clear
: that the hormone regime is a prelude for surgery.  The only heter I
: can think of is medical necessity.  Even if it's not actual pikuach
: nefesh, because, e.g., he could have been restrained and prevented
: from doing anything to himself, that's not a life....

There are times when threat to sanity is considered piquach nefesh. The only
case I can think of is WRT abortion after rape, and the only pesaq lema'aseh
that I know of was from the Satmar Rav, and where the pregnancy was to be
terminated before 40 days. I do not know the relative chumrah of abortion
before 40 and sirus, but I would therefore not be surprised if someone were to
pasqen lequlah or lechumrah in the case of severe psychological distress.
OTOH, if one matirs, what other cases would ever exist? Who else would
consider sirus? Wouldn't that be la'aqor davar min haTorah in a manner in
which no din is left?

I do not see it muchrach either way.

...
:> Also, mah dino? Rambam (Hilchos Nashim 2) discusses the various
:> simanim, if these are all surgically or chemically induced does it
:> halachically change one’s gender? And, Lu Y’tzu’yer that Surgeons manage
:> to have a (?former?) man give birth – do we say Banim harey hein
:> k’simanim?

: The Tzitz Eliezer paskens that the person is now a woman, and if she
: hadn't given her wife a get earlier, she wouldn't need one now,
: because she's no longer an eshet ish.

And before surgery the person is an androgynus, or male?

Medical science is very far away from the lu yetzuyar.

RAF offered to email out a PDF on the subject. If he likes, I can put it on
Avodah's misnamed "fax" area.

Tir'u baTov!
-mi

-- 
Micha Berger             Spirituality is like a bird: if you tighten
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Fax: (270) 514-1507                            - Rav Yisrael Salanter