Niddah

The noun niddah occurs 25 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. The majority of these uses refer to forms of uncleanliness in Leviticus. For example, in Leviticus, if a man take his brother's wife, then that is "uncleanness", niddah. The five uses in Numbers all concern the red heifer ceremony (Numbers 19) and use the phrase mei niddah, "waters of separation".[5] 2 Chronicles 29:5 includes a single exhortation of Hezekiah to the Levites, to carry the niddah, possibly idols of his father Ahaz, out of the temple in Jerusalem.[6] Usage in Ezekiel follows that of Leviticus. Finally, the Book of Zechariah concludes with an eschatological reference to washing Jerusalem:[7]

Zechariah 13:1 "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness (niddah). (King James Version)

The Biblical regulations of Leviticus specify that a menstruating woman must "separate" for seven days (Leviticus 15:19). Any object she sits on or lies upon during this period is becomes a "carrier of tumah" (midras uncleanness). One who comes into contact with her midras, or her, during this period becomes ritually impure (Leviticus 15:19-23) In addition, a man who has sexual relations with her is rendered ritually impure for seven days—as opposed to one day of impurity for coming into contact with her or her midras (Leviticus 15:24).

While the purity laws still exist in theory, in modern times there is generally no practical consequence to becoming impure (as, e.g., the Temple in Jerusalem cannot be visited), so the laws have no practical expression.

Some later rabbinic authorities encouraged (but did not require) avoiding the midras of the niddah, as a remembrance for diasporic Jews so as to not forget the purity laws.[9] This encouragement was only for the Biblically prescribed seven-day period, not the five-day extension due to Rabbi Zeira's stringency. The Lubavitcher rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson discouraged abstaining from the midras of a niddah in modern times.[10]

Leviticus further prohibits sexual intercourse with a woman who is in her niddah state. "And to a woman in her (state of) niddah impurity you should not come close (with intent to) reveal her nudity" (Leviticus 18:19).

The Torah concludes by imposing the punishment of kareth on both individuals (man and woman) if the prohibition is violated (Leviticus 20:18) This issur (prohibition) component of physical relations with the niddah is considered in full effect and mandatory for all children of Israel.

• Zavah, a woman having an abnormal bloody emission
• Niddah, a woman emitting blood as a result of menstruation; more generally, a woman who has an impure status due to either niddah or zavah blood who has not yet purified herself by immersion in a mikveh
• Mikveh, a ritual bath for immersion after the niddah period has ended
• Vestot, days during which the woman is likely to see her menstrual flow
  • Onah Benonit, the 30th day after the beginning of previous menstruation
  • Veset HaChodesh, the same day of the Jewish month on which began the previous menstruation
  • Veset HaFlagah, the days (or half-days, per Chabad minhag) between menstruation
• Bedikah, cloth with which to check whether menstrual blood has finished
• Ben niddah (male) or bat niddah (female), a person conceived when their mother was niddah

According to rabbinical law, a woman becomes a niddah when she is aware that blood has come from her womb, whether it is due to menstruation, childbirth, sexually transmitted disease, or other reasons.[11] If menstruation began before she sees evidence of it, the rabbinic regulations regard her as not being niddah until she notices. Until this point, the regulations do not come into force.

It is not necessary for the woman to witness the flow of blood itself; it is sufficient for her to notice a stain that has indications of having originated in her womb; bloodstains alone are inadequate without such evidence, for example, if she finds a stain just after cutting her finger, she does not become a niddah, as the blood is not obviously uterine. If she notices a bloodstain of uncertain origin, for example on her underclothing, there are a series of complicated criteria used by rabbinical law to determine whether she is niddah or not; the woman herself is not expected to know these criteria, and must seek the assistance of a rabbi.[12]

The Biblical definition of niddah is any blood emission occurring within seven days from the beginning of the menstrual period. After this seven-day period, the woman may immerse in the mikveh immediately (if she has stopped menstruating). Any blood found after these seven days is considered abnormal (zavah) blood and is subject to more stringent requirements, depending on the duration of said abnormal blood flow.

In the days of the Amoraim, because of possible confusion in determining when menstruation began and ended and hence whether blood was normal menstrual (niddah) or abnormal (zavah) blood, it became the accepted practice and practical halacha, that all women treat any emission as a continued abnormal flow (zavah gedolah—זבה גדולה), which requires counting seven abnormal-discharge-free days from the end of menstruation. This lengthening of the niddah period is known as Rabbi Zeira's stringency. All Orthodox and some Conservative authorities rule that these "seven clean days" must be observed.[13][14]

Since according to the rules of zavah, the seven days must be counted from the point that the abnormal discharge ceases, it has historically been considered important in Judaism to determine when this occurs. Because the leaking of semen nullifies the counting of a "clean" day, the sages enacted that the counting of seven days not begin until a minimum of 72 hours since the beginning of menstruation has passed.

Orthodox Ashkenazi Jewish custom has lengthened this to effectively five days, which has been instituted in all cases regardless of whether the woman had engaged in sexual intercourse recently or not. Thus the niddah state lasts at least twelve days in the Ashkenazic tradition—the five days' minimum menstrual flow, plus the subsequent seven days. The count of days begins when the woman first sees her menstrual blood, and ends twelve days later, or seven days after the flow ceases, whichever is later.

Non-Ashkenazic Jews follow a variety of customs. Although the count could start in the middle of the day, it is always considered to end on the evening of the final day. Most Sephardic Jews use a slightly more lenient calculation resulting in a minimum of eleven days.

In the Orthodox Jewish community, women may test whether menstruation has ceased; this ritual is known as the hefsek taharah. The woman takes a bath or shower near sunset, wraps a special cloth around her finger, and swipes the vaginal circumference. If the cloth shows only discharges that are white, yellow, or clear, then menstruation is considered to have ceased. If discharge is red or pink, it indicates that menstruation continues. If it is any other color, like brown, it is subject to further inquiry, often involving consultation with a rabbi. The ritual requires that the cloth used to perform this test is first checked carefully to ensure that it is clean of any marks, colored threads, or specks; the cloth itself can be any clean white cloth, although there are small cloths designed for this ritual, known as bedikah cloths (meaning checking).

In the Orthodox Jewish community, further rituals are practiced toward assurance regarding the cessation of the menstrual flow. After the hefsek taharah, some women insert a cloth (or, in modern times, a tampon), consequently known as a moch dachuk, for between 18 minutes and an hour, to ensure that there is absolutely no blood; this must be done carefully, as it could otherwise irritate the mucous membrane, causing bleeding unrelated to menstruation. If there is any fear of irritation causing bleeding, a rabbi may waive this practice. The "bedikah" is repeated each morning and evening of the seven days subsequent to the end of menstruation. Another tradition is the wearing of white underwear and use of white bedding during this period; conversely, the rest of the time, when not counting the "seven clean days", some women who suffer from spotting deliberately use coloured underwear and coloured toilet paper, since it is only when blood is seen on white material that it has any legal status in Jewish law. When not during their seven "clean" days, all women are advised to wear colored undergarments, for this reason. It is furthermore strongly recommended that women make an effort to refrain from looking at the toilet paper after wiping to avoid possible resultant questions.

A niddah hut (Mergem Gogo) at the Jewish village of Ambober in northern Ethiopia, 1976.

As with most forbidden relationships in Judaism, all physical contact in an affectionate or lustful manner is rabbinically forbidden when a woman is in her niddah status.[15][16] Such contact is forbidden whether or not the man and woman are husband and wife.[17]

In the case of husband and wife, however, the sages added on extra restrictions, including touch that is not in an affectionate or lustful manner,[18] passing of objects even without touching, and sleeping in the same bed; these restrictions are to avoid the risk of leading to sexual contact.[19] These laws are termed harkhakot, meaning spacers, and result in a need for relationships to be able to develop in non-physical ways, such as emotional and spiritual connections.

Some Conservative poseks are considerably more lenient in reference to the harkhakot than Medieval or contemporary Orthodox authorities. In a responsum written in the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz ruled that the "harkhakot are to be observed as much as possible, but left up to the discretion of each couple".[20] In another responsum for the committee, Susan Grossman stated that touching that would be appropriate between siblings is permissible.[21]

The classical regulations also forbid sexual relations on the day that a woman expects to start menstruating;[22] there are three days that fall under this regulation, known as the veset, namely the same day of the month as her previous menstruation began; the day exactly 30 days after the previous menstruation started; and the day that is the usual interval from the end of her previous menstruation.[23] If the woman is not actually menstruating during a veset day, then there are certain circumstances wherein sexual activity is permitted according to most authorities, for example, if a woman's husband is about to travel, and will return only after menstruation has begun.[24]

Because the night that the woman ritually traditionally immerses is about 12 days after menstruation began, it often coincides with a woman's ovulation, and thus improves the chances of successful conception if sexual relations occur on that night. However, for certain women, this period extends far past the date of ovulation, and in combination with the ban on sexual relations during the niddah state, effectively results in the woman being unable to conceive,[25] a situation sometimes called "halachic infertility".[26] In the case of this effective infertility, rabbis try on a case-by-case basis to relax halakhic strictures in order to facilitate conception. There have been some calls within Orthodox Judaism for the custom to be modified so that the time between the end of menstruation and the end of niddah is shorter for these women.[27]

The bedikah cloth or "checking cloth", called an eid ["witness"] in Hebrew, is a clean piece of white cloth used in the process of purifying a niddah. It is used by observant Jewish women to determine whether they have finished menstruation. The cloth is inserted into the vagina, and if no blood is found, the woman may start counting the seven blood-free days. On each of these days, she performs this examination in the morning and in the later afternoon before sunset. If no blood is found, she may go to the mikveh on the eighth evening after nightfall, and then engage in intercourse with her husband.[28] Such cloths are about two by four inches, and are available at local Judaica stores, the local mikveh, stores in Orthodox neighborhoods in Israel, or may be cut from clean all-white soft cotton or linen fabric.[29]

This practice is also occasionally used by Jewish men to check if he has gotten blood on himself from his wife after intercourse to determine whether she menstruated during intercourse.[30]

There are differing customs about how many immersions are performed at each visit to a mikveh. It is the custom of many in the Orthodox community to immerse at least twice.[31] Accordingly, they would immerse, recite the blessing, then immerse again. The other opinion states that like other commandments, here too the blessing should be recited before performing the commandment.[32]

Immediate preparation for a mikveh includes a bath or shower wherein every part of the body (including the ears and underneath the nails) is thoroughly washed; plus other routine hygiene practices which include trimming fingernails and toenails, brushing and flossing the teeth, and combing the hair. At the mikvah itself, a female attendant is present to make certain that the woman immerses herself fully, including her hairs. Though that is the attendant's foremost duty, she may also help by checking a woman's back or answer questions regarding proper ritual protocol.

According to all Orthodox authorities, the first time a virgin has intercourse, she also becomes "niddah" as a result of her "dam betulim" (Hebrew: "hymenal blood flow"). This is observed even if no blood was discovered. However, a bride counts only four days before performing a "hefsek taharah" (Hebrew: lit. pause of purity), instead of the usual five.[33] Some Conservative authorities rule that a woman is not a niddah in such a case unless uterine bleeding is observed.[13]