The Purification Process of Niddah: Difference between revisions

===Exceptions to Waiting Five Days===

# If a woman sees blood in the middle of shiva nekiyim she needs to start again, but she doesn’t have to wait 4 or 5 days before she can do a hefsek tahara. Rather she can do the hefsek tahara that day and then start counting the shiva nekiyim the next day.<ref>Shach 196:22, Taharat Habayit v. 2 p. 419</ref>

# A bride before her wedding according to most poskim doesn't need to wait 5 days before doing a hefsek tahara.<ref>Halachos of Niddah p. 47</ref>

# If a woman saw blood on a Monday and if she would do the hefsek tahara on the fifth day her tevilah night would be Friday night and if the Friday night which would have been her tevilah night follows a Yom Tov, according to some poskim, she may do her hefsek tahara on the fourth day as long as she stopped bleeding by the time of the hefsek tahara. A rav should be consulted.<ref>Pitchei Teshuva 196:15 quotes the Shlah as saying that it is better to do the hefsek tahara on the fourth day to avoid the issue of separating the washing before the mikveh and the tevilah which occurs when her tevilah is on a Friday night that follows a Yom Tov. The Shlah is only lenient if she wasn't with her husband from a day before she saw blood. The Sidrei Tahara 196:42 is lenient even if  the couple was together before she saw blood. Halachos of Niddah p. 45 seems to follow the Sidrei Tahara. Halachos of Niddah p. 45 fnt. 100 quotes Rav Moshe Feinstein as applying this even if it is only one day Yom Tov before Shabbat.</ref>

# Even if a woman stops seeing blood after 2 or 3 days she shouldn’t perform the hefsek tahara until the 4th day according to Sephardim or 5th day according to Ashkenazim.<Ref>S”A and Rama 196:11. Badei Hashulchan 196:160 says that she shouldn’t do her hefsek tahara on a day earlier than she can begin her shiva nekiyim the night afterwards unless there is a need. </ref>

# The bedika for hesfek tahara should be performed after mincha ketana (2.5 halachic hours before sunset)<ref>Taharat Habayit 13:1. Badei Hashulchan 196:17 cites a machloket Raah and Bet Yosef whether the gemara was referring to mincha gedola or ketana. Aruch Hashulchan 196:19 advises doing it within a half hour or hour before sunset.</ref> and initially it should be performed as close to sunset as possible. <ref>Shulchan Aruch YD 196:1</ref>  If it was performed earlier than mincha ketana initially it should be redone after mincha ketana<Ref>Badei Hashulchan 196:15</ref>, however, after the fact, the hefsek is valid.<ref>Rama 196:1, Taharat Habayit 13:1</ref>

# If she is going to daven maariv before sunset or if the majority of the community is going to daven maariv before sunset she should do the hefsek tahara before that time.<ref>Rama 196:1 quoting the Trumat HaDeshen writes that once she davens maariv or the community does it is considered nighttime and she can no longer do a bedika. The Rama also cites the Maharil who argues that for purposes of niddah the night is determined by sunset and not maariv or tosefet shabbat. Badei Hashulchan 196:31 writes that initially one should be strict for the Bach to check before accepting Shabbat and again afterwards right before sunset.</ref> After the fact she could do a bedika afterwards until sunset.<ref>Rama 196:1, Badei Hashulchan 196:32, Orot Hatahara 10:25</ref>

## When the community accepts early Shabbat and the bedika is done prior to that point, some say that the moch dachuk should also be inserted before that time<ref>Badei Hashulchan 196:31</ref>, while others hold that it is sufficient to insert it before sunset. <ref>Orot Hatahara 10:25</ref>

* The Rosh (Niddah 10:5) writes that a woman should do a bedika each day of the shiva nekiyim lechatchila. This is also the opinion of the Rashba ([http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=8922&st=&pgnum=385 Torat Habayit 24a]) and Ramban (Hilchot Niddah 9:23).

* The Mordechai (Niddah no. 737) quoting the Roke’ach (317 s.v. boel) as saying that the women should do a bedika twice a day. The Bet Yosef adds that it seems to be against many rishonim who hold once a day is sufficient. Nonetheless, S”A 196:4 writes that one should check daily twice a day.</ref> For a woman for whom checking twice a day is likely to cause her to see blood because of a wound may check only once on day one and once on day seven. A woman should only do so after checking with a rabbi.<ref>Taharat Habayit v. 2 p. 301 is lenient to allow a woman to only check on day one and seven once if that might cause her to see blood because of a wound on a ketem.</ref>

# After the fact, if a woman only checked once a day and not twice a day, some poskim hold that is sufficient.<ref>Sidrei Tahara 196:16. Rav Mordechai Willig (Am Mordechai on Shulchan Aruch p. 125) and in [http://www.yutorah.org/sidebar/lecture.cfm/863353/rabbi-mordechai-i-willig/niddah-shiur-13-shivah-nekiim-continued-/ a shiur on yutorah.org (Niddah Shiur 13, min 40-50)] is even lenient initially to avoid a woman causing herself to bleed unnecessarily and also because of how difficult it often is to check before nighttime. He added that if one wanted to be strict one should check the 1st and 7th day twice. Also, the one bedika should be done in the morning.</ref>

# A blind woman can do a bedika and show it to her friend to check that it is clean.<ref>Shulchan Aruch YD 196:7</ref>

# A woman who wants to perform more bedikot than are necessary whether she is in her shiva nekiyim or is tahor is praiseworthy.<ref>Mishna Niddah 13a, Shulchan Aruch YD 196:9</ref>  However, if she has a bruise in that area and might bleed, she should not perform extra bedikot. Additionally, she should not perform extra bedikot before and after tashmish as described elsewhere. <Ref>Badei Hashulchan 196:132-3, Taharat Habayit v. 2 p. 370</ref>

# Ashkenazim are strict about how to treat a ketem (stain) during the first three days of shiva nekiyim, whereas in the last 4 days sometimes a ketem is tahor because we assume that it came from something else. However, a ketem that’s a k’gris or smaller is tahor even in the first three days of shiva nekiyim.<ref>Rama 196:10</ref> If a woman has a bruise in that area that is actively bleeding and stained during the first three days of shiva nekiyim needs to consult a posek.<ref>Rama 196:10 is lenient, but the Shach argues. Badei Hashulchan 196:146 is strict unless this bruise will bleed for a long time.</ref> Sephardim treat the ketem the same during the first 3 days as the last 4 days.<ref>Shulchan Aruch YD 196:10, Taharat Habayit v. 2 p. 372)</ref>

==Sources==

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