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 | We cannot logically understand the Divine laws of niddah and Family Purity, but we can try to understand them spiritually.
20 Comments Posted
Susan Handelman certainly provides a great deal of insight with this article. She has illuminated many of the connections which sometimes are difficult to comprehend. She is to be congratulated.
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Thank you, Susan! This article is thorough and gives deeper insight to an often misunderstood topic in Torah life.
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This was a great article. By comparing the monthly "descent" to the cycle of Sabbath, you helped me understand this difficult topic.
Thanks
Gershon
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All this sound nice, but has many problems. First of all, according to halacha, it all has to do with blood. If a woman were to give birth without blood, she does not become niddah. If a woman''s eggs are all removed surgically and she does not bleed, she is not a niddah. Regardless of the kedusha that is departing etc. In addition, giving birth to a life is not the creation ex nihilo, rather conception is and the woman does not become niddah after conception. Likewise, if she gives birth to a stillborn or miscarries, she is niddah and no life is created there.
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I needed to hear this, right now. The right words at the right time. Thanks.
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or...you can think of it as rabbinical control over our collective sexuality. By preventing us from being intimate with our spouses for the full period of menstruation and then following that with 7 clean days you not only insure that both members are eager for intimacy but you also make sure it happens around ovulation, thereby increasing chances of conception. Add to that the prohibition to spill seeds and you have undeniable control over the reproductive capacity of 'the flock'.
And let me tell you, sometimes it does feel like we're all sheep...
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Birth confers niddah status regardless of whether or not there is any blood. Check with your rabbi. Conception is creation ex nihilo, failure to conceive creates a vacuum devoid of that divine power. Pregnancy is the development of a life, birth is the expelling of that life from the body. Miscarriages and stillbirths means a life dies, not that it never existed. The laws of niddah are not rabbinic, they are biblical. At any rate, if you suspect the rabbis of some kind of nefarious motive in making their regulations, then you have a larger issue that needs to be addressed than the laws of niddah alone.
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Avi, perhaps as a man you don't realize that having relations during menstruation can be very uncomfortable, even painful for a woman. Many woman experience bloating, nausea, headaches, mood swings, even pain during menstruation. Expecting them to be intimate at that time is unreasonable--laws of niddah or not. "Asking" a woman for relations at that time is intimidating and can make the woman feel like a slave to her husband's sexual desires. This does not make for a physicallly or spiritually healthy relationship!
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Hi
I personally have never had relations during my menses and never will, but not for the reason offered by Eliana. I know many women who do and tell me it actually gets rid of their cramps and bloating and it speeds up the process of finishing the period. Also some who embark on this tell me it is the time they enjoy sex the most.
All this means that our embarking on such things should not be subjective. I don't do it for two reasons: the first G-d forbids it. The second, I personally feel awful at this time of the month and it disgusts me.
My problem is with not having relations during the clean week. In my opinion a day or two after the period should suffice to avoid any extra blood and allowing couples to embark on relationships not for procreation only but to enjoy the intimacy and sheer pleasure of what after all G-d himself has created in that way!
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At first I was happy to see, finally, a good reason why birth results in impurity - because G-d's presence, so manifest during birth, "recedes".
But then I realized; a woman, actually, usually becomes a niddah long before the birth is over! In other words, a woman is in niddah "an absence of holiness", precisely when G-d's presence is most manifest - when she is delivering the child!
I would be happy to hear an explanation for this glaring contradiciton, which completely undermines the explanation for niddah after birth given in the article.
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There is no contradiction. The article explains that G-d supervises childbirth and is only in niddah afterwards:
As the Talmud tells us, G-d is directly involved with every childbirth and does not delegate any powers to His "messengers." Thus, there is a very great level of holiness at birth; the birth of a child involves one of the most sublime powers of G-d, the ability to create ex nihilo--something from nothing. After birth, this intense holiness, this powerful force of G-d, "departs" and there is greater potential for tumah.
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Hello:
I happened upon this site as I wandered around on the net in search of a greater explanation of the Jewish Mikvah, in all of its many meanings, that began with Wikipedia (not sure if all of the article there is exhaustive or accurate). Please excuse any mistakes here in the writing, I am not Jewish so this is all quite new to me.
I feel I must hear more...it is very fascinating and I am feeling a great respect for all of this information about an ancient subject and practice.
I would like to know how all of this is related to the Jewish concept or understanding of salvation of one's soul? I am sure this is a huge topic and please forgive if my question may not be stated correctly...I await your answer...Sincerely, Anonymous
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The connection of these two ideas is a purely Christian notion with no place in Judaism. The closest you get to it is the fact that a convert immerses, but it is more about cleansing and transformation than salvation.
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For me, the laws of family purity are the best proof that the oral and written Torah are G-d's words and were not created by a group of men. Can you imagine a man or a woman (or a whole committee of men or women) coming up with the laws of family purity? Being separated for 12 days each month and even longer after childbirth goes against human nature and human desire!
We've only started practicing it less than 2 years ago (because we did not grow up in observant, or in my case, even religious families), and I can say that the rewards for keeping family purity can be felt immediately! And it's a wonderful thing.
Keeping it is not easy. It is challenging. I can't say i've never got frustrated or cried. But it has done so much good for our relationship in every way! We've learnt to appreciate more the intimacy we have, and we've also learnt how to build a relationship through communication and kind gestures during the separation periods.
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There are different times and reasons when we are commanded to Mikvah. One of those reasons is when we make Teshuvah, which is when we return to G-d in repentance. As you read in this article, Mikvah, in every instance has to do with the intent of the heart. Purification of the heart is a Hebrew concept. G-d repeatedly calls us to 'circumcise our hearts.' To circumcise the heart literally means to cut off our fleshly desires and pursue a meaningful relationship with The One True G-d.
The word salvation in Hebrew means to be delivered from oppression or calamily. The concept of salvation as I think you mean it to be, didn't begin to evolve until the 2nd century.
I mean no disrespect but learning the Hebrew scriptures from a gentile interpretation, unfortunately has resulted in grave misinterpretation and has created a huge chasm between 2 groups of people who believe in the same G-d.
I hope this helps.
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What happens when a woman has surgery to remove the uterus because of cancer or some such problem. Is she forever in this "low" state, or does a final mikvah cleanse her until death?
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This has been so interesting to read about, both the original article and the comments. In my circles it is a subject avoided, and so...thankyou thankyou for talking about it.
Human life is elevated with this concept. And even more we see how horrifying it is to see how readily people in the US and other countries are using abortion as a method of birth control etc. Grieves me.
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What i dont understand is the counting of impurity days to be above 7days(ie 12) despite the bible stating very clearly that she will be impure for7days (leviticus 15:19-24. 12:1-2
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