Niddah

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Niddah (or nidah, nidda, nida; Hebrew), in Judaism, is technically a state of marital separation when a woman is menstruating and seven subsequent days until she immerses in a ritual bath known as a mikvah. By extension, a woman is said to be a niddah when she is in this state.

Niddah is the main category of a group of laws and customs that is generally called by the euphemism family purity (taharat hamishpacha).

Niddah is also the name of a tractate (volume) in the Talmud, which deals almost exclusively with the subject.

Basic principles

Textual sources

The Torah describes niddah, the ritual impurity due to menstruation, and the prohibition of having relations with a niddah (Leviticus: 15:19-30, 18:19, 20:18). Niddah, as defined in the Torah, lasts for seven days. The Torah also describes a long or irregular discharge of blood, called zavah (Leviticus 15:25-30), which requires that seven blood-free days be counted from the last day of the irregular discharge of blood before immersion.

These two forms of blood-related ritual impurity were combined during Talmudic times. The Talmud relates that women took the obligations of zava in addition to the obligations of niddah, so that after the menstrual period stopped, women would count seven blood-free days (Niddah 66a, 67b). The reasons for the stringency are subject of a debate between medieval commentators. Some said that niddah occurs every 29 days from menarche, and blood at any other time is zavah blood; others said that the two discharges of blood are different, but we are no longer able to distinguish between them.

As shall be described below, as currently practiced, the period of niddah lasts as long as the menstrual flow, or 4-5 days (depending on custom), whichever is longer. The seven blood-free days are then counted in accordance with the laws of zavah.

The extent to which these laws are followed differ within Judaism. Sephardic women, even apparently secular ones, are reputed to follow them strictly; these laws tend not to be followed by secular Ashkenazi women. These laws are strictly followed in the more traditional Orthodox Judaism, and are often reinterpreted in the progressive movements such as in Reform Judaism as a mechanism of rediscovering female spirituality.

The official stance of Conservative Judaism on this issue is the same as that of Orthodox Judaism, and Conservative sources such as Isaac Klein's A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice describe the obligations and rituals of niddah in detail. Some Conservative scholars view the extra seven days of waiting as originating in an optional custom for the especially pious. In this view, its incorporation into the Jewish law codes stemmed from the fact that the rabbis were unaware of the exact duration of menstrual cycles. These scholars claim that contradictory statements in the Talmud and in the works of Nachmanides and Maimonides led to the seven days becoming mandatory rather than optional. Individuals proposing this view include Joel Roth, Michael Gold, Susan Grossman, Daniel Kohn and JTS Talmud Professor David C. Kraemer. The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards has not, however, accepted this view. While the practices related to family purity are not widely followed among its laity, Conservative Judaism nonetheless teaches that these practices are just as important as other parts of Jewish law.

What is Niddah?

A woman becomes a niddah when blood comes from her womb due to her monthly period known as the menstrual cycle or for other reasons, such as following childbirth or due to sexually transmitted disease. She might see the flow, or she might see a stain on her clothing. There must be some indication that the blood has come from her womb; if she finds a stain just after cutting her finger, she does not become a niddah, as the blood is obviously not uterine. If she finds blood on her underclothing, and she does not know if it is from a cut or from her womb, she needs to check with someone who knows the relevant laws such as a learned rabbi who studied the sections of niddah in the Talmud and the Shulkhan Arukh. Knowledge of these laws is essential for rabbis - without it they cannot attain ordination.

Jewish law states that a women enters the state of "tameh" when she is "niddah" (menstruating). During this time a couple refrains from physical contact, especially sexual relations. Technical terms like "tahor" and "tameh" are often poorly translated; they have nothing to do with physical cleanliness. Rather, they describe a state of ritual purity in regard to fulfilling Biblical commandments. The terms Tahor and Taharah actually mean "ritually pure" and Tamae and Tumah mean "ritually impure".

Reasons for practice

Need for Tahara - "purity"

A woman is a niddah until she undergoes taharah ("purification"). The taharah process involves a minimum of eleven days (twelve for Ashkenazi Jews). These are divided into two sets of time, the "first five days", and "seven days of taharah", after which she must immerse properly in a mikvah (ritual bath).

A woman who does not go through the taharah process cannot become tahor ("pure", the "opposite" state from niddah), even if an extended period of time has elapsed since her last period.

It may happen that if she swam in a lake, river, or the sea, which all serve as natural mikvahs then she becomes tahor until her next menstrual period. Consultation with a rabbi is required to determine if this is sufficient.

Reasons for the niddah laws

The traditional view has been that these are "Laws of Holiness", and serve to elevate the physical to the highest spiritual level. It takes a physical aspect and adds holiness to it, using the physical for spiritual gain. While the progressive movements had previously abandoned practice of the niddah laws, some groups are now adopting them to varying extents.

In practice

Calculation of the niddah period

The day when a woman first sees her monthly vaginal blood flow is day one. She counts from the beginning of the flow, and continues until the flow stops. If it takes less than five days for her flow to stop, she still has to wait until five days are over. Even if she saw blood for only one day, she must wait five days until she can begin counting the seven blood-free days. The five days need not be complete five days. The first day might start in the middle of the day, if she first saw her flow in the afternoon. But whenever they began, they end on the night after the fifth day.

If she sees blood for more than five days, the "five days" end when she has definitely stopped seeing blood. Once she has stopped seeing blood, she can begin the count of the seven blood-free days. The cessation of menstruation is verified with a bedika (verification) called the hefsek tahara. Before sunset, the woman takes a shower or bath, and cleans herself thoroughly everywhere. She then waits a few minutes, and inserts a white cloth and checks herself at the opening of her vagina with her finger. If it comes out clean, then the next day is the "first day" of the "seven blood-free days". During the seven blood-free days, the woman conducts a bedika every day, or at least on the first and last day of the seven day period.

Checking with a white bedikah cloth

After menstruation has stopped, or after 4-5 days from the start of menstruation, whichever comes last, a woman verifies that menstruation has indeed ceased using a clean piece of white cloth known as a bedikah ("checking") cloth. Such cloths are about two by four inches, and are available at local Judaica stores, the local mikvah, or may be cut from clean all-white soft cotton cloth.

This verification immediately after the end of menstruation is called the hefsek tahara. If no additional blood is found, she may start counting the 7 blood-free days.

The woman takes a bath or shower, cleaning herself everywhere. She waits a few moments and checks the bedika cloth very carefully to make sure it is clean of any marks, colored threads, or specks. She then wraps the cloth around her fingers, and gently swipes the vaginal circumference inside to the depth of the second knuckle. She removes the cloth, and checks it very carefully. If the discharge is white, yellow, or clear, she may start counting the seven blood-free days. If the discharge is bright red mark, it is blood. Black, brown, gold, pink, and any other color are subject to further inquiry. Women usually decide from their own experience which color it is. If there is any doubt and the woman is unsure of how to proceed, she is supposed to consult her rabbi. In practice, very few women consult with rabbis, and tend to err on the side of stringency, even though stringency in niddah is a leniency in the mitzvah of sex.

After the bedika, there is a custom to insert a cloth or tampon, called a moch dachuk, for 18-60 minutes to ensure that there is no uterine blood. If the moch dachuk is forgotten, the hefsek tahara is usually valid anyway. The moch dachuk must be done carefully to avoid irritation of the mucous membranes, which may cause blood which is not niddah blood.

If the hefsek tahara is valid, the woman counts seven days starting with nightfall after the hefsek tahara. On each of these days -- a minimum on the first and last days -- the woman conducts a bedika. During the seven blood-free days, the woman traditionally wears white underwear and uses white bed sheets. Women with difficulties with spotting may be advised to wear colored underwear and use colored toilet tissue since a stain seen on colored material does not have any halachic status and cannot render her a niddah.

In cases of unusual "spotty" and unpredictable bleeding beyond the end of what should be a woman's regular period, the rabbi may advise the woman to visit a gynaecologist to check if there is a medical problem needing attention.

Immersing in the mikvah

On the night after the seventh blood free day, the woman goes to the mikvah. This is the same day of the week the seven blood-free days began. To prepare for the mikvah, after checking, the woman takes a bath, followed by a shower, and other careful preparations. She cleans and cuts all her nails, both finger and toe, as well as making sure there is no food between her teeth. She cleans her ears, and every body cavity. She removes all makeup and contact lenses and combs her hair completely. Many women take the bath at home, and do the follow-up shower at the mikvah.

When going to the mikvah, she may not have anything between her and the water at any part of her body. Therefore she must remove all jewelry, makeup, and things regarded as a chatzitza or obstruction. There is usually a woman attendant at the mikvah to help the woman check that she is ready to immerse. During the immersion, the woman makes sure that she is completely immersed (including all hair). After the first immersion, she says the blessing "asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al ha-tevila." and usually includes a short prayer and adds a number of other immersions. There are different customs of three, seven, and other numbers of immersions.

Guiding marital relations

Any act that could lead to sexual relations whilst a woman is a niddah is forbidden according to the Torah and rabbinic law. Since a husband and wife are very accustomed to being physically intimate with each other, therefore they must take great care during the time the woman is niddah. They must relate completely on a non-physical level. Traditionally, they do not hug or kiss each other, or even pass each other items from hand to hand. These laws are termed "harchakot" ("spacers"), to ensure "one thing will not lead to another".

Resuming conjugal relations

The woman then returns home, and informs her husband that she is now in the tahora ("purified") state. Sexual relations are then permitted, and traditionally take place that night. Biologically speaking, the best night to conceive is usually "mikvah night", as it often coincides with the woman's ovulation. The sperm count of her husband is said to be increased during the abstinence and by the time of self-restraint, which improves the chances of successful pregnancy.

Other separation days

Torah law also forbids sexual relations on the day that a woman expects her period, called her veset. She should know when to expect her period by keeping a careful record. On three days the veset is in force: on the same day of the month since the start of her period, 30 days after the last period, and a on the day when the same interval of time between periods as the previous one has passed. Generally, these more-or-less coincide, unless a woman's period is often longer than 30 days. The rules for calculating these can be complicated. Under certain circumstances a veset from previous months can be carried forward and repeated in following months in addition to those of the current month. Other more unusual vesets can occur.

Interconnected topics

Other related traditions

Traditionally, a vital factor of the Laws of Family Purity is the concept of tzeniut (meaning "modesty" or "hiddenness"). A woman's personal matters are nobody's business but hers, her husband's, her doctor's, and her Rabbi's. Women do not discuss these matters with others, nor are private bedroom matters supposed to be the subject of jokes or light conversation.

Sex in Judaism

See Jewish views of sex and morality.

In Judaism, marital relations are considered to be a gift from God. They are neither shunned nor avoided. However, they are not debased either. Rather, Judaism provides a way to use sex to elevate the human being, by following self-control and discipline that can lead to holiness. During the time that a man and woman are forbidden to have sexual relations in traditional Judaism, they are forced to relate to each other in non-physical ways. They must see each other in other terms, and develop their relationship with each other on a spiritual and emotional level.

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