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| {{Dablink|This page provides detail on initiation of purification from Niddah status as described by ]. For primary detail on Niddah, see ] page}} | {{Dablink|This page provides detail on initiation of purification from Niddah status as described by ]. For primary detail on Niddah, see ] page}} | ||
| In ] and Rabbinic law, a '''Hefsek Taharah''' ("Pause" to initiate "purity") is a method used to initiate counting of seven clean days by a woman who is in a ] state | In ] and Rabbinic law, a '''Hefsek Taharah''' ("Pause" to initiate "purity") is a method used to initiate counting of seven clean days by a woman who is in a ] state. | ||
| == |
== Methodology == | ||
| In the Orthodox Jewish community, women may test whether menstruation has ceased; this ritual is known as the ''Hefsek tahara''. The woman takes a bath or shower near sunset, wraps a clean white ] ("Bedikah cloth") around her finger, and swipes the inner ]l circumference. If the cloth shows only discharges that are white, yellow, or clear, then menstruation is considered to have ceased. If discharge is bright red, it indicates that menstruation is still in effect. If it is any other color, it is subject to further inquiry, often involving consultation with a Rabbi. | In the Orthodox Jewish community, women may test whether menstruation has ceased; this ritual is known as the ''Hefsek tahara''. The woman takes a bath or shower near sunset, wraps a clean white ] ("Bedikah cloth") around her finger, and swipes the inner ]l circumference. If the cloth shows only discharges that are white, yellow, or clear, then menstruation is considered to have ceased. If discharge is bright red, it indicates that menstruation is still in effect. If it is any other color, it is subject to further inquiry, often involving consultation with a Rabbi. | ||
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| ===Newlyweds=== | ===Newlyweds=== | ||
| ⚫ | According to |
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| ⚫ | According to Orthodox authorities, the first time a virgin has sexual relations, she also becomes Niddah as a result of her hymenal blood flow. This is observed even if in fact there was no blood present. However, a bride counts only four days before performing a hefsek tahara, instead of the usual five.{{Attribution needed|date=May 2010}} Some Conservative authorities rule that a woman is not a niddah in such a case unless uterine bleeding is observed.<ref name="rabbinicalassembly.org">http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/20052010/berkowitz_niddah.pdf</ref> | ||
| === Conservative view === | |||
| Some Conservative ] are considerably more lenient in reference to the ''Harchakot'' than Medieval or contemporary Orthodox authorities. In a ] written in the ] of the ], Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz ruled that the "''Harchakot'' are to be observed as much as possible, but left up to the discretion of each couple."<ref>http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/20052010/berkowitz_niddah.pdf p. 36</ref> In another responsum for the committee, Rabbi Susan Grossman ruled that touching that would be appropriate between siblings is permissible.<ref name="ReferenceA">http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/20052010/grossman_niddah.pdf</ref> | |||
| Gerrer Chassidim keep the harchokot of niddah even when the wife is not a niddah. They are concerned that not keeping the laws of niddah at all times will lead to ejaculation that cannot lead to conception{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}. | |||
| The classical regulations also forbid sexual relations on the day that a woman expects to start menstruating;<ref>] 184:2</ref> 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.<ref>Yoreh Deah 189:1-2</ref> 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.<ref>Yoreh Deah 184:10</ref> | |||
| === |
=== The cloth === | ||
| ⚫ | The '''bedikah cloth''' or "checking cloth," called an '''id''' or an "eid" 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 ]. The cloth is inserted into the ], 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 ] on the eighth evening after nightfall, and then engage in relations with her husband.<ref>] ''Kedushah'' Laws of forbidden relations 4:6</ref> | ||
| As the night that the woman ritually traditionally immerses is about 12 days after menstruation began, it often coincides with a woman's ], and thus improves the chances of successful ] 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. In the case of this effective infertility, ] will try on a case-by-case basis to find halachic (legal) leniencies to remove this impediment. There have been some calls within Orthodox Judaism for the custom to be modified so that the gap between the end of menstruation and the end of ''niddah'' isn't as long for these women.<ref></ref> | |||
| ===Checking by bedikah=== | |||
| ⚫ | The '''bedikah cloth''' or "checking cloth," called an ''' |
||
| This practice is also occasionally used by Jewish men to check if he has gotten blood on himself from his wife after relations to determine whether she menstruates during relations.<ref>] ''Kedushah'' Laws of forbidden relations 4:14</ref> | This practice is also occasionally used by Jewish men to check if he has gotten blood on himself from his wife after relations to determine whether she menstruates during relations.<ref>] ''Kedushah'' Laws of forbidden relations 4:14</ref> | ||
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In Torah and Rabbinic law, a Hefsek Taharah ("Pause" to initiate "purity") is a method used to initiate counting of seven clean days by a woman who is in a Niddah state.
Methodology
In the Orthodox Jewish community, women may test whether menstruation has ceased; this ritual is known as the Hefsek tahara. The woman takes a bath or shower near sunset, wraps a clean white cloth ("Bedikah cloth") around her finger, and swipes the inner vaginal circumference. If the cloth shows only discharges that are white, yellow, or clear, then menstruation is considered to have ceased. If discharge is bright red, it indicates that menstruation is still in effect. If it is any other color, 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 (meaning checking).
In the Orthodox Jewish community, further rituals are practices toward assurance regarding the cessation of the menstrual flow. After the hefsek tahara, 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 no uterine 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.
Some women also repeat the "Bedikah" 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 "Tumah" status in Jewish law.
When not during their seven "clean" days, all women are advised to wear colored undergarments.
Newlyweds
According to Orthodox authorities, the first time a virgin has sexual relations, she also becomes Niddah as a result of her hymenal blood flow. This is observed even if in fact there was no blood present. However, a bride counts only four days before performing a hefsek tahara, instead of the usual five. Some Conservative authorities rule that a woman is not a niddah in such a case unless uterine bleeding is observed.
The cloth
The bedikah cloth or "checking cloth," called an id or an "eid" 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 relations with her husband.
This practice is also occasionally used by Jewish men to check if he has gotten blood on himself from his wife after relations to determine whether she menstruates during relations.
Such cloths are about two by four inches, and are available at local Judaica stores, the local mikvah, stores in Orthodox neighborhoods in Israel, or may be cut from clean all-white soft cotton or linen fabric.
References
- http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/20052010/berkowitz_niddah.pdf
- Mishneh Torah Kedushah Laws of forbidden relations 4:6
- Mishneh Torah Kedushah Laws of forbidden relations 4:14
- Mishneh Torah Kedushah Laws of forbidden relations 4:15