Keri

Part of Judaic series of articles on
Ritual purity in Judaism
Tumah and taharah Mikveh
Purification methods Netilat yadayim Mikveh Red heifer Hefsek taharah Hagalah Tevilat Kelim
Hierarchy Av HaTumah Midras
Sources of Impurity Keri Niddah Tzaraath Zav Zavah Corpse uncleanness Tumath eretz Ha'Amim Prohibition of Kohen defilement by the dead
v t e

Keri (קֶרִי‎) is a Hebrew term which literally means "accident" or "mishap", and is used as a euphemism for seminal emission.^[1] The term is generally used in Jewish law to refer specifically to the regulations and rituals concerning the emission of semen, whether by nocturnal emission, or by sexual activity. A man is said to be a ba'al keri (בעל קרי‎) ("one who has had a seminal emission") after he has ejaculated without yet completing the associated purification requirements.