TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Niddah - A menstruating woman (either from the root “to chase away” or “to depart”)
Kareit - Most severe punishment in Jewish law for sinning against God; interpreted in rabbinic literature as untimely death (to be “cut off”)
Mikveh - Ritual bath; pool of collected rainwater (meeting halachic specifications)
Chatzitzot - Barriers between a person and the waters of the mikveh that must be removed before ritual immersion
Tevilah - Ritual immersion
Tumah - Ritual unreadiness
Taharah - Ritual readiness
(יט) וְאִשָּׁה֙ כִּֽי־תִהְיֶ֣ה זָבָ֔ה דָּ֛ם יִהְיֶ֥ה זֹבָ֖הּ בִּבְשָׂרָ֑הּ שִׁבְעַ֤ת יָמִים֙ תִּהְיֶ֣ה בְנִדָּתָ֔הּ וְכׇל־הַנֹּגֵ֥עַ בָּ֖הּ יִטְמָ֥א עַד־הָעָֽרֶב׃(כ) וְכֹל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר תִּשְׁכַּ֥ב עָלָ֛יו בְּנִדָּתָ֖הּ יִטְמָ֑א וְכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־תֵּשֵׁ֥ב עָלָ֖יו יִטְמָֽא׃(כא) וְכׇל־הַנֹּגֵ֖עַ בְּמִשְׁכָּבָ֑הּ יְכַבֵּ֧ס בְּגָדָ֛יו וְרָחַ֥ץ בַּמַּ֖יִם וְטָמֵ֥א עַד־הָעָֽרֶב׃(כב) וְכׇ֨ל־הַנֹּגֵ֔עַ בְּכׇל־כְּלִ֖י אֲשֶׁר־תֵּשֵׁ֣ב עָלָ֑יו יְכַבֵּ֧ס בְּגָדָ֛יו וְרָחַ֥ץ בַּמַּ֖יִם וְטָמֵ֥א עַד־הָעָֽרֶב׃(כג) וְאִ֨ם עַֽל־הַמִּשְׁכָּ֜ב ה֗וּא א֧וֹ עַֽל־הַכְּלִ֛י אֲשֶׁר־הִ֥וא יֹשֶֽׁבֶת־עָלָ֖יו בְּנׇגְעוֹ־ב֑וֹ יִטְמָ֖א עַד־הָעָֽרֶב׃(כד) וְאִ֡ם שָׁכֹב֩ יִשְׁכַּ֨ב אִ֜ישׁ אֹתָ֗הּ וּתְהִ֤י נִדָּתָהּ֙ עָלָ֔יו וְטָמֵ֖א שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים וְכׇל־הַמִּשְׁכָּ֛ב אֲשֶׁר־יִשְׁכַּ֥ב עָלָ֖יו יִטְמָֽא׃ {ס}(כה) וְאִשָּׁ֡ה כִּֽי־יָזוּב֩ ז֨וֹב דָּמָ֜הּ יָמִ֣ים רַבִּ֗ים בְּלֹא֙ עֶת־נִדָּתָ֔הּ א֥וֹ כִֽי־תָז֖וּב עַל־נִדָּתָ֑הּ כׇּל־יְמֵ֞י ז֣וֹב טֻמְאָתָ֗הּ כִּימֵ֧י נִדָּתָ֛הּ תִּהְיֶ֖ה טְמֵאָ֥ה הִֽוא׃(כו) כׇּל־הַמִּשְׁכָּ֞ב אֲשֶׁר־תִּשְׁכַּ֤ב עָלָיו֙ כׇּל־יְמֵ֣י זוֹבָ֔הּ כְּמִשְׁכַּ֥ב נִדָּתָ֖הּ יִֽהְיֶה־לָּ֑הּ וְכׇֽל־הַכְּלִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תֵּשֵׁ֣ב עָלָ֔יו טָמֵ֣א יִהְיֶ֔ה כְּטֻמְאַ֖ת נִדָּתָֽהּ׃
(19) When a woman has a discharge, her discharge being blood from her body, she shall remain in her menstrual separation seven days; whoever touches her shall be impure until evening.(20) Anything that she lies on during her menstrual separation shall be impure; and anything that she sits on shall be impure.(21) All those who touch her bedding shall wash their clothes, bathe in water, and remain impure until evening;(22) and all those who touch any object on which she has sat shall wash their clothes, bathe in water, and remain impure until evening.(23) Be it the bedding or be it the object on which she has sat, on touching it one shall be impure until evening.(24) And if a man lies with her, her menstrual separation applies to him; he shall be impure seven days, and any bedding on which he lies shall become impure.(25) When a woman has had a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual separation, or when she has a discharge beyond her period of menstrual separation, she shall be impure, as though at the time of her menstrual separation, as long as her discharge lasts.(26) Any bedding on which she lies while her discharge lasts shall be for her like bedding during her menstrual separation; and any object on which she sits shall become impure, as it does during her menstrual separation:
(יט) וְאֶל־אִשָּׁ֖ה בְּנִדַּ֣ת טֻמְאָתָ֑הּ לֹ֣א תִקְרַ֔ב לְגַלּ֖וֹת עֶרְוָתָֽהּ׃
(19) Do not come near a woman during her menstrual period of impurity to uncover her nakedness.
(יח) וְ֠אִ֠ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִשְׁכַּ֨ב אֶת־אִשָּׁ֜ה דָּוָ֗ה וְגִלָּ֤ה אֶת־עֶרְוָתָהּ֙ אֶת־מְקֹרָ֣הּ הֶֽעֱרָ֔ה וְהִ֕וא גִּלְּתָ֖ה אֶת־מְק֣וֹר דָּמֶ֑יהָ וְנִכְרְת֥וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם מִקֶּ֥רֶב עַמָּֽם׃
(18) If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual condition and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow and she has exposed her blood flow; both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
Naima Hirsch Gelman, 2020
In the Torah, niddah comes up in two different contexts: sexual relationships and ritual purity. In terms of sexual relationships, a man is forbidden from sleeping with a woman who’s in a niddah state. In terms of ritual purity, a woman is in niddah when she gets her period, and this lasts for seven days, after which she goes to the mikvah.
It seems pretty straightforward, but there’s another category in the same chapter where the ritual status of a woman in niddah is discussed - the zavah, which is a woman who has an irregular menstrual flow. Because the zavah’s bleeding isn’t part of a regular cycle, she has to wait until she has seven “clean” blood-free days until she can go to the mikvah to ensure that she’s actually done bleeding and is ritually pure.
These categories of niddah and zavah are collapsed during the time of the Talmud for a number of reasons and through various processes. A lot of women today are frustrated that they have to count the “clean” days after their period when they know that they’re bleeding from their regular cycle, especially those women who have shorter periods, and that’s completely valid. But by treating all blood like zavah blood, women no longer have to distinguish between “niddah blood” or “zavah blood,” or have to worry about whether she is bleeding during a potential zavah or niddah day. Initially, some of the stringencies were enacted by the women of Israel, which was eventually codified as halacha by the rabbis.
While this is definitely a more stringent way to observe niddah than what is outlined in the Torah, the rabbis really didn’t want anybody to be punished with karet, which is the Biblical punishment for not following niddah properly.
SUMMARY OF SOME BASIC RABBINIC NIDDAH LAWS
- Only uterine blood (as defined by Jewish law) puts a woman in a niddah status.
- Jewish law allows a woman to monitor her own body by paying careful attention to the size and color of stains that could put her in a niddah status.
- Ashkenazim presume that women bleed at least for 5 days, and Sephardim presume women bleed for at least 4 days
- After a woman’s period ends, she counts seven “clean” days where she doesn’t bleed. She determines this by wearing white underwear and checking herself internally.
Not all Jews who observe niddah add these “clean” days - some just observe the seven days mentioned in the Torah. - After the seven “clean” days, she immerses in the mikveh after nightfall and resumes her sexual relationship with her husband.
Generally, women are required to remove chatiztot so that she is fully naked and there are no barriers between her and the waters of the mikveh.
(ג) מַעֲשֶׂה בְאִשָּׁה אַחַת שֶׁבָּאת לִפְנֵי רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, אָמְרָה לוֹ, רָאִיתִי כָתֶם. אָמַר לָהּ, שֶׁמָּא מַכָּה הָיְתָה בִיךְ. אָמְרָה לוֹ, הֵן, וְחָיְתָה. אָמַר לָהּ, שֶׁמָּא יְכוֹלָה לְהִגָּלַע וּלְהוֹצִיא דָם. אָמְרָה לוֹ, הֵן. וְטִהֲרָהּ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא. רָאָה תַלְמִידָיו מִסְתַּכְּלִין זֶה בָזֶה. אָמַר לָהֶם, מַה הַדָּבָר קָשֶׁה בְעֵינֵיכֶם. שֶׁלֹּא אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים הַדָּבָר לְהַחְמִיר אֶלָּא לְהָקֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא טו), וְאִשָּׁה כִּי תִהְיֶה זָבָה דָּם יִהְיֶה זֹבָהּ בִּבְשָׂרָהּ, דָּם וְלֹא כָתֶם:
(3) There was an incident involving one woman who came before Rabbi Akiva. She said to him: I saw a blood stain. Rabbi Akiva said to her: Perhaps there was a wound on your body? She said to him: Yes, there was a wound and it healed. He said to her: Was it perhaps a wound that could reopen and bleed? She said to him: Yes it was. And Rabbi Akiva deemed her ritually pure. Rabbi Akiva saw his students looking at each other, wondering why he ruled leniently in this case. Rabbi Akiva said to them: What in this matter is difficult in your eyes? The reason I ruled this way is that the Sages did not state the matter of the impurity of blood stains in order to be stringent; rather, they instituted this impurity in order to be lenient, as it is stated: “And if a woman has an issue, and her issue in her flesh shall be blood” (Leviticus 15:19), from which it is derived that by Torah law, “blood” deems her impure, but not a stain. Impurity from a blood stain was instituted by the Sages, and they rule leniently in any case where the stain can be attributed to another source.
אמר ר' זירא בנות ישראל החמירו על עצמן שאפילו רואות טפת דם כחרדל יושבות עליה שבעה נקיים
The Gemara cites a related statement. Rabbi Zeira says: Jewish women were stringent with themselves to the extent that even if they see a drop of blood the size of a mustard seed, they sit seven clean days for it. By Torah law, a woman who experiences menstrual bleeding waits seven days in total before immersing, regardless of whether she experienced bleeding on those days. If she experiences bleeding during the eleven days when she is not expected to experience menstrual bleeding, she is a lesser zava and waits one day without bleeding and then immerses. The Jewish women accepted upon themselves the stringency that if they experience any bleeding whatsoever, they treat it as the blood of a greater zava, which obligates one to count seven clean days before immersing (see Leviticus 15:25).
ילתא אייתא דמא לקמיה דרבה בר בר חנה וטמי לה הדר אייתא לקמיה דרב יצחק בריה דרב יהודה ודכי לה
§ The Gemara relates that Yalta, Rav Naḥman’s wife, brought blood before Rabba bar bar Ḥana, and he deemed her tamei. She then brought it before Rav Yitzḥak, son of Rav Yehuda, and he deemed her tahor.
MODERN QUESTIONS THAT MAY ARISE
- "Halachic infertility" - difficulty conceiving because a woman may ovulate before she can immerse in the mikveh
- Bleeding/staining while on hormonal birth control
- Bleeding after gynecological procedures
- Chatzitzot - Manicures/pedicures, body piercings, tattoos, etc.
Committee on Jewish Law and Standards - Rabbis Miriam Berkowitz, Susan Grossman, and Avram Reisner (2006)
The following three responses represent various ways to present a more appealing and manageable system of observance which retains the core values and messages of previous generations and of the Torah’s laws. While they differ in approach, theology and some conclusions, each of the teshuvot represents earnest efforts to encourage sexual abstinence during a woman’s menses and the use of mikveh to conclude the period of abstinence. They embrace the essential message of the Torah and rabbinic writings to encourage holiness through moderation in sexual and interpersonal relations as in every other area of life, affirming the intrinsic beauty of the ebb and flow in relationship, limiting physical drives in the same way that Shabbat limits the drive for power and wealth, and kashrut limits the appetites for food and drink....
The committee approved all three papers, feeling that they should all be legitimate options under the umbrella of Conservative Judaism. They all reflect the outlook of the Conservative Movement: commitment to halakhah and observance, as well as openness to creativity and flexibility when warranted. Rabbis should feel free to teach any or all of the shitot (approaches) or to draw from the various argumentations enough information by which to guide their congregants through specific personal questions.