| Niddah | |
|---|---|
| Halakhic sources* | |
| Texts in Jewish law relating to this article: | |
| Bible: | Leviticus 15:19-30 18:19 20:18 |
| Babylonian Talmud: | Niddah |
| Mishneh Torah: | Kedushah (Holiness): Issurei Biah (forbidden sexual relations): 4-11 |
| Shulchan Aruch: | Yoreh De'ah 183-202 |
| * Not meant as a definitive ruling. Some observances may be rabbinical, customs or Torah based. | |
Niddah (or nidah, nidda, nida; Hebrew: נִדָּה) is a Hebrew term which describes a woman while she is menstruating, or who has menstruated without yet completing the associated ritual requirements. Literally, the term means separation, and generally refers to separation from ritual impurity;[1] The term is overwhelmingly used in Judaism to refer to the rules of Jewish law concerning menstruation.
The avoidance of sexual contact with a woman in niddah is considered in the Orthodox Jewish community as a benchmark characteristic of being an observant Jew (the other two being Kashrut, and the observance of Shabbat and Jewish Holidays).
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The term niddah appears in the Hebrew Bible in the description of the red heifer ceremony,[2] in the phrase waters of [niddah]; the septuagint renders this as waters of sprinkling.
Medieval biblical commentator Abraham ibn Ezra argues that it is related to the term menaddekem, meaning cast you out.[1]
Niddah is also the name of the Talmudic tractate (volume) which deals almost exclusively with this subject. Niddah is the main category of Jewish law concerning sexual matters - also referred to as family purity (Hebrew:Taharat haMishpacha).
The biblical regulations of Leviticus specify that a menstruating woman had to be separated from other people for seven days;[3] anything she sat on, or lay upon, would become ritually impure during this period, and anyone who came into contact with these things, or her, during this period would also become ritually impure, until the evening came and the person making contact had washed themselves and their clothes in water.[4]
A man who shares the same bed with her and thereby comes into contact with her menstrual blood during this period would be rendered ritually impure for seven days, rather than just one;[5] Leviticus further contains a prohibition against sexual contact with a woman who is currently separated from the people due to menstruation,[6] and imposes the punishment of both individuals being cut off from the people if the prohibition is ignored.[7]
Although there are different biblical regulations for normal menstruation - Niddah, and abnormal menstruation - Zavah, these became conflated during the classical era, and the Talmud relates that menstruating women always followed the requirements imposed by both; the reasons for this are the subject of a debate between some medieval Jewish commentators. See the section, below, on Historical study of the seven extra days.
As a result of the conflation, the practice was to wait seven days after menstruation ceases, and for the woman to then immerse herself in water.[8] This also means that women were considered ritually impure as a result of any form of menstruation.
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. Even if menstruation started before she sees evidence of the flow of blood, the rabbinical 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, and it is sufficient for her to notice a stain that has indications of coming from her womb; blood stains 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 there is a blood stain of uncertain origin, for example on her underclothing, there are a series of complicated criteria given by rabbinical law to determine whether she is niddah or not; the woman herself is not expected to know these criteria, and can seek the assistance of a rabbi who is sufficiently learned in them.
The Biblical requirement of niddah is 7 days from the beginning of the menstrual period. In the days of the Amoraim, because of difficulties in determining when menstruation began and ended and hence whether blood was normal menstrual (niddah) or abnormal (zavah) blood which would require marking 7 days from the end, a stringency of marking 7 days from the end of menstruation was followed. All Orthodox and some Conservative authorities rule that these "seven clean days" must continue to be observed.[9]
Since, according to the rules of Zavah, the seven days must be counted from the point that menstruation 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 has passed.
Orthodox Ashkenazi Jewish custom has lengthened this to 96 hours (effectively 5 days); it 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 12 days in the Ashkenazic tradition - the 5 days minimum and the subsequent seven days. The count of days begins when the woman first sees her menstrual blood, and ends 12 days later, or 7 days after the menstruation ceases (whichever is later).
For non-Ashkenazic Jewry there are a variety of customs. Although this 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 11 days.
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 special cloth around her fingers, and swipes the vaginal circumference. If the cloth only contains discharges that are white, yellow, or clear, then the menstruation is considered to have ceased. If discharge is bright red then it indicates that menstruation continues. If it is any other colour it is subject to further inquiry, often involving the consultation of 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 there are further rituals for giving assurance about the ceasing of menstruation. 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 the "moch dachuk" a rabbi may allow this aspect of the ritual to be eliminated. Some women also repeat the "bedikah" on 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 bed sheets 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 her 7 "clean" days all women are advised to wear coloured undergarments.
As with most of the Arayot (biblically forbidden sexual relationships), all physical contact "Derech Chiba v'Taavah" (in an affectionate or lustful manner) is forbidden when a woman is in Niddah status[10][11] Such contact is forbidden whether or not the man and woman are husband and wife.[12]
In the case of husband and wife, however, the sages added on extra restrictions, including touch that is not Derech Chiba v'Taavah,[13] passing of objects even without touching, and sleeping in the same bed; these restrictions are to avoid the risk of it leading to sexual contact.[14] These laws are termed Harchakot, 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 authorities are considerably more lenient in reference to the Harchakot 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 "harchakot are to be observed as much as possible, but left up to the discretion of each couple."[15] In another responsum for the committee, Rabbi Susan Grossman rules that touching that would be appropriate between siblings is permissible.[16]
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.
The classical regulations also forbid sexual relations on the day that a woman expects to start menstruating;[17] there are three days which fall under this regulation, known as the veset, namely the same day of the month as her previous menstruation started, 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.[18] If the woman is not actually menstruating during a veset day, then there are certain circumstances in which sexual activity is permitted according to most authorities; for example, if a woman's husband is about to travel, and will return after menstruation begins.[19]
As the night that the woman ritually traditionally immerses is about 12 days after menstruation started, 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 women being unable to conceive. In the case of this effective infertility Rabbis will try on a case by case basis to find halachic (legal) leniencies to remove this barrier. 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.[20]
The bedikah cloth or a "checking cloth," called 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 7 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.[21]
It is also used sometimes by a Jewish man to check if he has gotten blood on himself from his wife after relations to determine whether she menstruates during relations.[22]
Such cloths are about two by four inches, and are available at local Judaica stores, the local mikvah, most retail stores in Israel, or may be cut from clean all-white soft cotton cloth or linen cloth.[23]
There are different customs about how many immersions are carried out at each visit to a mikvah. It is the custom of many in the Orthodox community to immerse at least twice.[24] Accordingly, they would immerse, recite the blessing, then immerse again. This order is in deference to two opinions in the codes. One compares this immersion to that of a convert, who can not recite the blessing before immersing as s/he is not yet Jewish. The other opinion states that like other commandments, here too the blessing should be recited before performing the commandment.[25]
Immersion at the mikvah is preceded by an ordinary bath or shower, involving the cleaning of every body cavity, of the ears, and of the nails, as well cutting all of the nails (toenails as well as fingernails), removal of food from between the teeth, and combing of the hair. There is usually a female attendant at mikvahs to help women to ensure that they are prepared for immersion.
A special type of bath, designed to be in direct contact with naturally gathered water, known as a mikvah, was created by the rabbis to simplify ritual washing, although certain forms of immersion in natural streams, lakes, and even the sea, if cleared by a rabbi, are still considered sufficient. (See Ritual washing in Judaism for additional details). According to tradition, there must be nothing between the woman and the water at any point of her body, and therefore before bathing, the woman is traditionally required to remove all jewelry, make-up, and any other obstructions (defined in such a way that in modern times this would include contact lenses); the rabbinical tradition requires full immersion, including the whole of the hair.
It is also customary for a specific Hebrew blessing to be recited during immersion:
According to all Orthodox authorities, the first time a virgin has sexual relations, she also becomes niddah as a result of her hyminal blood flow. This is observed even if in fact there was no blood present. However, she only counts 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.[9]
Out of modesty, or tzniut, many Orthodox Jews follow a custom of keeping their times of niddah secret from the general public. As a result, they avoid all physical contact in the presence of others. Orthodox couples follow this custom to varying degrees, some refraining from all public physical contact, some refraining from contact in the presence of other Orthodox Jews who would be aware of the niddah practice but touching in the presence of gentiles, some making contact in front of their own children but not those outside their family, and some disregarding the custom altogether.
However, the laws of tzniut go far beyond keeping Niddah times secret, as is evidenced by the fact that many traditional Jews don't touch publicly long after menopause, at which point everyone agrees there are no longer any laws of niddah.
Jewish historians of the subject have tried to trace how the time for separation between men and women increased over time. For many people, the existence of waiting for seven clean days is controversial.
According to Professor David Kraemer its incorporation into Jewish law codes stems from the confusion of rabbis over the duration of menstrual cycles. He writes that contradictory statements in rabbinic literature led to a situation whereby the extra seven days became mandatory. However, this longer period is in contradiction to early Mishnaic and Talmudic statements.
On a related point, the origin of the original custom to wait extra days, Kraemer concludes that:
His paper, A Developmental Perspective on the Laws of Niddah, traces the history of Jewish law on this subject, showing how stringency increased over time.[26]
Conservative authorities teach that the laws of family purity are normative and still in force, including the requirement to refrain from sexual relations during niddah, but there is a difference of opinions over how much other strictures need to be observed, such as whether there should be complete prohibition on any touching during niddah.
In December 2006, the Rabbinical Assembly's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards passed 3 responsa discussing the extent of Biblical requirements and continuing applicability Rabbinic prohibitions concerning Niddah for Conservative Jews. Each responsum advocating different standards of observance[27]; two responsa were the majority opinions, one by Rabbi Susan Grossman[28] and one by Rabbi Avram Reisner[29], the other responsum was the minority opinion, written by Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz[30].
Despite the official stance, the practices related to family purity are often not widely followed among the Conservative laity.
A recent edition of the United Synagogue Review (Fall/Winter 2006) included a series of articles on mikvaot. Rabbi Myron S. Geller, a member of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, writes about a recent upswing in the observance of the laws of family purity within the Conservative Jewish community.[31]
Some Conservative authorities have ruled that the "seven clean days" need not be observed today and that women may immerse and resume sexual relations after seven days from the beginning of menstruation, or after its cessation, if it lasts longer than seven days.[32][33]
Some Conservative authorities rule that women may rely on their own discretion about when menstruation has ended and need not engage in bedikah as described above.[34][35]
The extent to which the rabbinical and biblical laws of niddah are followed differ. Sephardic women, even apparently secular ones, are reputed to follow them strictly; on the other hand, the laws tend to be ignored by non-Orthodox Ashkenazi women.
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