Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

A wide-ranging commentary on the daily page of Talmud.

Yevamot 80: Aylonit/Turner’s Syndrome

jyungar May 26, 2022

For the source text click/tap here: Yevamot 80

To download, click/tap here: PDF

The gemara kiddushin (4a) derives that a Jewish maidservant must be freed both at the initial phases of physical maturity, called na'arut (puberty), as well as at the more advanced stage of maturity - bagrut, which takes place six months later. The gemara poses the obvious question: If the maidservant was previously set free at na'arut, the requirement to free her at bagrut is irrelevant. Abbaye responds that the relevance of this halakha is limited to the special case of a girl who fails to mature physically - called an aylonit. Such a girl achieves the status of bagrut directly, without passing through the initial phase of na'arut.

Secondly, there is a controversy between Rav and Shmuel on our daf, regarding the culpability of an aylonit who transgresses the law prior to the age of twenty. Their argument revolves around the determination of the exact point at which an aylonit is designated an adult. According to Shmuel, she enters adulthood from the time she is recognized to be an aylonit, namely at the age of twenty, whereas prior to that she retains the status of a minor. Rav argues that an aylonit achieves the halakhic status of adulthood retroactively.

We explore the medical correlates of this condition most likely that of Turner’s syndrome, only described as recently as 1938!

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Julian Ungar-Sargon

This is Julian Ungar-Sargon's personal website. It contains poems, essays, and podcasts for the spiritual seeker and interdisciplinary aficionado.​