A Heartwarming Tale of Separated Conjoined Twins and an Ancient Talmudic Question

Conjoined twins, Nima and Dawa, from a village in Bhutan high in the Himalayas, recently underwent a life-changing separation. In an Australian hospital in Melbourne, known for such delicate surgeries, the medical team was astonished by the extraordinary scene that unfolded before them.

The twins were separated in a local hospital skilled in this kind of surgical procedure.

According to the doctors present, what was especially rare in this case (aside from the approximate 1 in 220,000 chance of conjoined twins being born) was that the twins shared a single liver—posing a challenging medical puzzle for the team.

The complex surgery lasted six hours, requiring the utmost precision to avoid damaging the vital organs of both girls.

The highlight of the event was when the twins realized they each had their own body. "They began to cry hysterically and search for one another. We had to place them on the same bed to calm them down," explained nurse Kelly Smith. "Even in the bed, while trying to separate them a little, it's unbelievable. They cling to each other and intertwine their legs whenever we try to separate them."

Intriguingly, conjoined twins are also mentioned in the Talmud (Tractate Menachot 37a), where a sage named Plymo inquires Rabbi Judah the Prince about how a person born with two heads should don the *tefillin* on their head?

A Thought-Provoking Question: Do Conjoined Twins Need to Wear Tefillin?

Upon hearing this, Rabbi Judah the Prince expressed frustration, stating it was illogical to ask such a question. "A child born with two heads cannot survive long," he claimed, but before he finished, a man approached him, reporting the birth of twins conjoined at the head.

This man sought guidance from Rabbi Judah, presenting two questions: how much should he give the priest as redemption money, and are these twins considered one person or two separate individuals?

So what did Rabbi Judah rule? "You must give ten selaim," using the currency of the time, implying five for each head. A similarly intriguing case came before King Solomon, questioning whether such an individual was required to don *tefillin*. King Solomon applied his wisdom by pouring a little boiling water over one head and then the other, checking which responded more strongly to pain. The head that reacted more vividly indicated connectivity to the nervous system, hence required to don *tefillin*—this was King Solomon's discerning verdict.