Niddah

Niddah
Halakhic texts relating to this article
Torah:	Leviticus 15:19–30 Leviticus 18:19 Leviticus 20:18
Babylonian Talmud:	Niddah
Mishneh Torah:	Kedushah (Holiness): Issurei Biah (forbidden sexual relations): 4–11
Shulchan Aruch:	Yoreh De'ah 183–202

A niddah (or nidah; Hebrew: נִדָּה), in traditional Judaism, is a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirement of immersion in a mikveh (ritual bath).

In the Book of Leviticus, the Torah prohibits sexual intercourse with a niddah.^[1] The prohibition has been maintained in traditional Jewish law and by the Samaritans. It has largely been rejected by adherents of Reform Judaism and other liberal branches.^[2]^[3]

In rabbinic Judaism, additional stringencies and prohibitions have accumulated over time, increasing the scope of various aspects of niddah, including: duration (12-day minimum for Ashkenazim, and 11 days for Sephardim); expanding to prohibition against sex to include: sleeping in adjoining beds, any physical contact,^[4] and even passing objects to spouse; and requiring a detailed ritual purification process.^[2]^[5]^[6]

Since the late 19th century, with the influence of German Modern Orthodoxy, the laws concerning niddah are also referred to as Taharat haMishpacha (טָהֳרַת הַמִּשְׁפָּחָה‎, Hebrew for family purity), an apologetic euphemism coined to de-emphasize the "impurity" of the woman (a concept criticized by the Reform movement) and to exhort the masses by warning that niddah can have consequences on the purity of offspring.^[2]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

^ Leviticus 15:19-30, 18:19, 20:18
^ ^a ^b ^c "Female Purity (Niddah) | Jewish Women's Archive". jwa.org. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
^ "Why Some Jewish Women Go to the Mikveh Each Month". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
^ This prohibition may be Biblical.
^ Werczberger, R.; Guzmen-Carmeli, S. (2020). "Judaim". In Yaden, David Bryce; Newberg, Andrew B.; Zhao, Yukun; Peng, Kaiping (eds.). Rituals and Practices in World Religions: Cross-cultural Scholarship to Inform Research and Clinical Contexts. Springer. ISBN 9783030279530. women and menstruation. Later on, the rabbis increased the period of sexual separation between a menstruating wife and her husband from 7 days total to 7 "clean days" and a minimum of 11 days for Sephardim and 12 days for Ashkenazim. The Biblical law also requires that following that period, the woman would immerse herself in the mikveh. In general, the immersion in the miqveh must take place after dark. The woman must undress completely and clean herself before entering. The immersion must be witnessed by a Jewish woman (balanit) whose role is to ensure that all body parts, including the hair, are submerged in the water. Some attendants offer to check the hands, feet, and back for possible barriers (chatzitzot) between the body and the water, such as nail polish. Upon immersing, the woman recites the designated blessing...
^ Liss (2015). "Patterns of intensification". Discourses of Purity in Transcultural Perspective (300–1600). BRILL. p. 272. ISBN 978-90-04-28975-8.
^ Marmon-Grumet, Naomi (2017). "The Transmission of Sexual Mores, Norms of Procreation, and Gender Expectations through Pre-Marital Counselling (Hadrakhat Hatanim/Kallot)". In Gross, Martine; Nizard, Sophie; Scioldo-Zurcher, Yann (eds.). Gender, Families and Transmission in the Contemporary Jewish Context. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-4438-9232-2. According to Marienberg (2003), the term "taharat hamishpaha", was most likely coined to hide the association of impurity and encourage thinking about the Talmudic notion that niddah can have consequences on the purity of offspring.
^ Wasserfall, Rahel (2015). Women and Water: Menstruation in Jewish Life and Law. Brandeis University Press. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-1-61168-870-2. probably generated by the Neo-Orthodox movement as a response to the Reform rejection of some of the normative menstrual laws, particularly use of the miqveh. The Reform movement claimed that the law was instituted at a time when public bathing facilities were the norm, but was no longer valid with the advent of home bathtubs and greater concern for personal hygiene... The term family purity is euphemistic and somewhat misleading, since the topic is, in fact, ritual impurity.
^ Biale, David (2008). Blood and Belief: The Circulation of a Symbol Between Jews and Christians. University of California Press. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-520-25798-6. for the modern Orthodox Jews of Germany, the phrase "family purity" (Reinheit des Familienlebens) came to designate the laws of menstruation. Whereas in Talmudic law, a menstruating woman conveyed a kind of technical impurity, in this new, bourgeois conception, the family as a whole was purified by avoidance of menstrual blood.
^ Stollman, Aviad (2006). "A Lifetime Companion to the Laws of Jewish Family Life, and: Man and Woman: Guidance for Newlyweds (review)". Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues. 12 (1): 309–329. ISSN 1565-5288. According to Evyatar Marienberg, the term "Tahorat haMishpahah", itself is of German-Jewish origin, late in the nineteenth century, probably a translation of the expression "Reinheit des Familienlebens". The original expression was most likely coined as an attempt to suppress the obvious halakhic fact that a woman who menstruates is impure. Instead of discussing the impurity of the niddah, one is encouraged to think of the purity of the family. It is also probable that the term came into use to emphasize the talmudic notion that not keeping the laws of niddah can have consequences on the purity of the offspring.
^ Fonrobert, Charlotte Elisheva (2005). "Purification: Purification in Judaism". In Jones, Lindsay (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 11 (2nd ed.). Macmillan Reference USA. This term is technically a misnomer... It entered Jewish legal discourse in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, before it was popularized in the market of handbooks for married couples. One of its main functions is rooted in its polemical force, vis a vis liberal, non-observant Jews

[1] Leviticus 15:19-30, 18:19, 20:18

[JWA-2] "Female Purity (Niddah) | Jewish Women's Archive". jwa.org. Retrieved 2020-02-19.

[:1-3] "Why Some Jewish Women Go to the Mikveh Each Month". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2020-02-19.

[4] This prohibition may be Biblical.

[Werczberger2020-5] Werczberger, R.; Guzmen-Carmeli, S. (2020). "Judaim". In Yaden, David Bryce; Newberg, Andrew B.; Zhao, Yukun; Peng, Kaiping (eds.). Rituals and Practices in World Religions: Cross-cultural Scholarship to Inform Research and Clinical Contexts. Springer. ISBN 9783030279530. women and menstruation. Later on, the rabbis increased the period of sexual separation between a menstruating wife and her husband from 7 days total to 7 "clean days" and a minimum of 11 days for Sephardim and 12 days for Ashkenazim. The Biblical law also requires that following that period, the woman would immerse herself in the mikveh. In general, the immersion in the miqveh must take place after dark. The woman must undress completely and clean herself before entering. The immersion must be witnessed by a Jewish woman (balanit) whose role is to ensure that all body parts, including the hair, are submerged in the water. Some attendants offer to check the hands, feet, and back for possible barriers (chatzitzot) between the body and the water, such as nail polish. Upon immersing, the woman recites the designated blessing...

[Liss2015-6] Liss (2015). "Patterns of intensification". Discourses of Purity in Transcultural Perspective (300–1600). BRILL. p. 272. ISBN 978-90-04-28975-8.

[Marmon2017-7] Marmon-Grumet, Naomi (2017). "The Transmission of Sexual Mores, Norms of Procreation, and Gender Expectations through Pre-Marital Counselling (Hadrakhat Hatanim/Kallot)". In Gross, Martine; Nizard, Sophie; Scioldo-Zurcher, Yann (eds.). Gender, Families and Transmission in the Contemporary Jewish Context. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-4438-9232-2. According to Marienberg (2003), the term "taharat hamishpaha", was most likely coined to hide the association of impurity and encourage thinking about the Talmudic notion that niddah can have consequences on the purity of offspring.

[Wasserfall2015-8] Wasserfall, Rahel (2015). Women and Water: Menstruation in Jewish Life and Law. Brandeis University Press. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-1-61168-870-2. probably generated by the Neo-Orthodox movement as a response to the Reform rejection of some of the normative menstrual laws, particularly use of the miqveh. The Reform movement claimed that the law was instituted at a time when public bathing facilities were the norm, but was no longer valid with the advent of home bathtubs and greater concern for personal hygiene... The term family purity is euphemistic and somewhat misleading, since the topic is, in fact, ritual impurity.

[Biale2008-9] Biale, David (2008). Blood and Belief: The Circulation of a Symbol Between Jews and Christians. University of California Press. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-520-25798-6. for the modern Orthodox Jews of Germany, the phrase "family purity" (Reinheit des Familienlebens) came to designate the laws of menstruation. Whereas in Talmudic law, a menstruating woman conveyed a kind of technical impurity, in this new, bourgeois conception, the family as a whole was purified by avoidance of menstrual blood.

[Stollman2006-10] Stollman, Aviad (2006). "A Lifetime Companion to the Laws of Jewish Family Life, and: Man and Woman: Guidance for Newlyweds (review)". Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues. 12 (1): 309–329. ISSN 1565-5288. According to Evyatar Marienberg, the term "Tahorat haMishpahah", itself is of German-Jewish origin, late in the nineteenth century, probably a translation of the expression "Reinheit des Familienlebens". The original expression was most likely coined as an attempt to suppress the obvious halakhic fact that a woman who menstruates is impure. Instead of discussing the impurity of the niddah, one is encouraged to think of the purity of the family. It is also probable that the term came into use to emphasize the talmudic notion that not keeping the laws of niddah can have consequences on the purity of the offspring.

[Encyclopedia2005-11] Fonrobert, Charlotte Elisheva (2005). "Purification: Purification in Judaism". In Jones, Lindsay (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 11 (2nd ed.). Macmillan Reference USA. This term is technically a misnomer... It entered Jewish legal discourse in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, before it was popularized in the market of handbooks for married couples. One of its main functions is rooted in its polemical force, vis a vis liberal, non-observant Jews

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]