Zav

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

In Jewish ritual law, a zav (Hebrew: זב; lit. "one who[se body] flows") is a man who has had abnormal seminal discharge from the male sexual organ, and thus entered a state of ritual impurity. A woman who has had similar abnormal discharge from her genitals is known as a zavah.

Purification requirements for the zav include counting seven days without seminal discharge, immersion in a spring, and bringing certain korbanot (sacrifices). In the realm of tumah and taharah law, the zav has the ability to create a midras and is prohibited from entering specific areas of the Temple Mount.

The impurity of zav is unique in that it cannot be purified by immersion in a normal mikveh, but rather requires immersion in a spring of running water (mayim hayim).^[1]