004 - הִלְכוֹת אִסּוּרֵי בִּיאָה פֵּרֶק ד

Laws of Issurei Bi'ah, Chapter 4

1. A niddah is like all the other arayos. One who makes initial contact with her, whether in the natural way or not, is liable to kares. This applies even if she was a minor of three years and one day, as with the other arayos. For a girl becomes tamei as a niddah even on the day of her birth, and at ten days old she can become tamei as a zavah. It is known from the Oral Tradition that there is no difference between an adult and a minor regarding the tumah of niddah and of zivah.

2. Whether one has relations with a niddah during any of the seven days—even if she saw blood only on the first day—or with a woman who gave birth to a boy during any of the seven days, or to a girl during any of the fourteen days, or with a zavah during any of the days of her flow and of her counting, whether she is a maidservant or a freed woman, all are liable to kares. For it says regarding a niddah, "שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תִּהְיֶה בְנִדָּתָהּ" ("she shall be in her niddah for seven days," Vayikra 15:19); regarding a zavah it says, "כָּל-יְמֵי זוֹב טֻמְאָתָהּ, כִּימֵי נִדָּתָהּ תִּהְיֶה" ("all the days of the flow of her tumah shall be as the days of her niddah," Vayikra 15:25); and regarding a woman who gave birth it says, "כִּימֵי נִדַּת דְּוֹתָהּ תִּטְמָא" ("as in the days of the niddah of her infirmity she shall be tamei," Vayikra 12:2), and "וְטָמְאָה שְׁבֻעַיִם כְּנִדָּתָהּ" ("she shall be tamei for two weeks, as in her niddah," Vayikra 12:5).

3. When is it said that the tumah depends on a number of days? When she immersed in a mikveh after the counted days. But if a niddah, a zavah or a woman after childbirth did not immerse in a mikveh, one who has relations with any of them, even after many years, is liable to kares. For the Torah made it depend on days and on immersion, as it says, "וְרָחֲצוּ בַמַּיִם" ("and they shall bathe in water," Vayikra 15:18)—a general principle (binyan av) for everyone who is tamei: he remains in his tumah until he immerses.

4. With gentile women, one is not liable on account of niddah, zavah or childbirth. The Sages decreed that all gentiles, male and female, are to be treated as zavim at all times, whether or not they have seen an issue, with regard to tumah and taharah.

5. All blood that a woman who gave birth sees within the thirty-three days after a boy or the sixty-six days after a girl is called dam tohar (blood of purity). It does not keep the woman from her husband. Rather, she immerses after the seven days for a boy or the fourteen days for a girl, and may be intimate with her husband even though the blood is flowing.

6. All who are required to immerse immerse by day, except for a niddah and a woman after childbirth. For it says regarding a niddah, "שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תִּהְיֶה בְנִדָּתָהּ" ("she shall be in her niddah for seven days," Vayikra 15:19): all seven days are days of niddah, and she immerses on the night of the eighth. Likewise, a woman who gave birth to a boy immerses on the night of the eighth day, and one who gave birth to a girl on the night of the fifteenth, for a woman after childbirth is like a niddah, as we have explained.

7. If she delayed many days and did not immerse, when she does immerse she should immerse only at night. For if she immerses by day, people will make a mistake, and another niddah will come to immerse on the seventh day.

8. If she was ill, or the place of immersion was far away and the women could not reach it and return at night because of robbers or the cold, or because the city gates are locked at night, she immerses by day on the eighth day, or by day on one of the following days.

9. All women who have a set period (veses) are presumed to be pure for their husbands, until she tells him "I am tamei," or until she is known among her neighbors to be a niddah. If her husband went to another country and left her pure, when he returns he need not ask her; even if he found her asleep, he may have relations with her when it is not the time of her period, without concern that she may be a niddah. But if he left her a niddah, she is forbidden to him until she says "I am pure."

10. A woman who told her husband "I am tamei," and then said "I am pure; I told you that at first in jest," is not believed. But if she gave a reason for what she said, she is believed. How so? Her husband asked for intimacy while his sister or mother was with her in the courtyard, and she told him "I am tamei." Afterwards she said, "I am pure; I told you I was tamei only because of your sister or your mother, lest they see us." She is believed. And so in all similar cases.

11. If he was intimate with his wife while she was pure and she said to him "I have become tamei," he should not withdraw at once while still erect, for withdrawing gives him pleasure just as entering does. If he did withdraw while still erect, he is liable to kares like one who had relations with a niddah. The same applies to the other arayos. What should he do? He presses his toenails into the ground and waits without moving until the organ becomes limp, and then he withdraws from her.

12. It is forbidden for a man to have relations with his wife close to the time of her period, lest she see blood during intimacy, as it says, "וְהִזַּרְתֶּם אֶת-בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, מִטֻּמְאָתָם" ("You shall separate the Children of Israel from their tumah," Vayikra 15:31). For how long? If she usually sees by day, they may not be intimate from the beginning of that day; if she usually sees at night, they may not be intimate from the beginning of that night.

13. If the time of her period passed and she did not see, she may be intimate after the onah (time-span) of the period has passed. How so? If she usually sees at the sixth hour of the day, she may not be intimate from the beginning of the day; if six hours of the day passed and she did not see, she may not be intimate until evening. Likewise, if she usually sees at the sixth hour of the night, and that time passed and she did not see, she may not be intimate until the sun rises.

14. It is the practice of Jewish men and women always to examine themselves after intimacy. How so? The man wipes himself with a cloth set aside for him, and the woman wipes herself with a cloth set aside for her, and they look at them in case she saw blood during intimacy. A man may leave it to his wife to examine his cloth: since she is believed regarding her own, she is believed regarding his.

15. The cloths with which they wipe must be of linen, soft from wear, and white. In this context they are called edim (lit. "witnesses"). The cloth with which he wipes is called his ed, and the cloth with which she wipes is called her ed.

16. Modest women are not intimate until they first examine themselves before intimacy. A woman who has no set period may not be intimate until she examines herself; therefore she is intimate with two edim, one before intimacy and one after. A woman who has a set period does not need an ed before intimacy, except as a matter of modesty. But after intimacy, all need two edim, one for him and one for her. Even a pregnant woman, a nursing woman, an elderly woman and a minor should be intimate only with two edim, one for him and one for her. But a besulah, and a woman in her days of dam tohar, do not need edim, since blood is flowing from her in any case.

17. When a couple are intimate many times, they need not examine their two edim after each time. Rather, he wipes with his ed and she with hers after each time, all night, and in the morning they examine the edim. If blood is found on his ed or on hers, she is tamei. If she was intimate, wiped herself, and the ed was lost, she should not be intimate a second time until she first examines herself with another ed, lest there was blood on the ed that was lost.

18. If she put the ed under the pillow or the cushion and blood was found on it: if the stain is elongated, she is tamei, for it is presumed to come from the wiping; if it is round, she is pure, for it is only the blood of a louse that was crushed under the pillow.

19. If she wiped herself with an ed that she had examined beforehand, rubbed it on her thigh, and the next day blood was found on it, she is tamei. We do not say that perhaps a louse was crushed when she rubbed it on her thigh. If she wiped herself with an ed that she had not examined, and does not know whether there was blood on it before she wiped with it, and blood was found on it: if the blood is the size of a split bean (garis) or more, she is a niddah; if it is less than that, she is pure, for it comes only from a louse.

20. A woman who saw blood during intimacy may be intimate when she becomes pure a second time. If she saw blood the second time, she may be intimate a third time. If she saw blood in this way the third time, she is forbidden to be intimate with this husband forever. When does this apply? When there was nothing to attribute it to. But if she was intimate close to the time of her period, she attributes it to the period. If she had a wound, she attributes it to the wound; but if the blood of her wound is different from the blood she sees during intimacy, she does not attribute it to the wound. A woman is believed to say, "I have a wound inside the makor (the uterus), and the blood comes from it," and she is permitted to her husband, even though blood comes from the makor during intimacy.

21. A woman who saw blood during intimacy the first, second and third time, with nothing to attribute it to, should be divorced, and she may marry a second husband. If she married a second husband and saw blood in this way during intimacy three times, she should be divorced, and she may marry a third. If she married a third and saw blood in this way during intimacy the first, second and third time, she should be divorced, and she may not marry until she is healed of this illness.

22. How does she examine herself to know whether or not she has been healed? She takes a tube of lead whose rim is turned inward and inserts the tube as far as she can. Into the tube she inserts a probe with cotton on its end, and pushes it until the cotton reaches the opening of the uterus, and then she takes out the cotton. If blood is found on the tip of the cotton, it is known that the blood she sees during intimacy comes from the makor. If nothing is found on the cotton, it is known that the blood she sees comes from pressure on the walls, and she is pure; she may marry others, as we explained in Hilchos Ishus.