In Light of the Leniency: General Guidelines for Maintaining Family Puri

Photo: Uriel Ohana background — Photo: Uriel Ohana

The Puah Institute provides medical and halachic (Jewish legal) answers throughout the year in the fields of fertility and family matters. Since the outbreak of the conflict in Israel, the rabbis and advisors of the institute have received unique and complex questions relevant to the current situation. The institute's rabbis have been working to provide appropriate solutions for the benefit of the public, aiming to ease where possible, extend the purification period for women, and assist them in finding creative solutions.

At the same time, the institute emphasizes that the observance of the commandment of family purity is one of the cornerstones of the Jewish people. One should be cautious not to rely on solutions that may be provided to individuals in specific circumstances, and to seek Torah guidance in cases of doubt.

The institute requests to strengthen the hands of the soldiers and the women who hold the front with courage and self-sacrifice. In these days of war, we will strengthen and increase our prayers for the salvation of the Lord for His people and the defeat of the enemy.

Here are the main guidelines that will guide and assist in maintaining purity and the sanctity of family life in these days. For the complete collection, please visit the institute's website.

Rabbi Menachem Borstein, the head of the institute, said, "The institute has been serving as a medical-halachic 'command center' since the beginning of the war, with hundreds of calls per day dealing with questions related to family purity and the changing life situations around the circle of life and the expansion of the family, with an emphasis on coping with emergency situations. We are here for you with any question and issue and are available intensively. The institute's rabbis see supreme importance in providing creative solutions to many emerging questions, while also taking responsibility for emphasizing the fundamental principles of family purity."

A. Hefsek Taharah and Seven Clean Days

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It is appropriate and important to maintain the order of purity and immersion even during this time.
Due to the mental distress these days, the checks for clean days might be forgotten. Therefore, it is recommended that on the day when a woman is supposed to have a clean day break (Hefsek Taharah), she should perform a morning internal washing and check without Moch Dachuk. In any case, if a woman remembers close to sunset, she should perform the clean day break as usual and not rely on the morning break. It's also advisable for her to use reminders (alarm clock/mobile phone, etc.) to remember to check herself on clean days. A woman who received permission from a rabbi to perform only one check a day, it's better for her to do it in the morning to avoid forgetting.
In case of difficulty in performing all the checks, it is recommended to ask a rabbi how many checks need to be done.
It is important to ensure the completion of the seven clean days without interrupting them in the middle, even if the woman is certain that her husband will not arrive at the time of immersion. If there is any doubt in the checks, they should be preserved for the rabbi's question, but the counting should not be interrupted.

B. Immersion and Preparations

Initially, the woman should immerse herself at the regular time, which means at "nightfall" at the end of the seventh clean day. Along with the importance of making an effort to immerse on time, it is important to remember to adhere to the security system's guidelines. It is recommended to inquire about a secure area in the mikvah or near it.
Efforts should be made to prepare for immersion calmly and thoroughly. Some activities that can be done not right before immersion (such as trimming nails and hair removal) should preferably be completed on the day prior to immersion. On the day of immersion, a warm shower, hair brushing, and removal of any foreign substances should be performed.
Ideally, one should remove any foreign substances as is customary before every immersion. However, in cases where certain preparations cannot be made (such as a woman who is accustomed to visiting a cosmetician before her immersion, and this is currently not possible), it is strongly advisable to consult with a local rabbi or one of the rabbis and advisors at the Puah Institute to determine the appropriate course of action. It's essential to emphasize that while some foreign substances should ideally be removed, when this is not possible, they do not impede the immersion. Therefore, it is not advisable to postpone immersion without consulting a rabbi on the correct course of action.
In a situation where it is not possible to immerse at night due to problematic security conditions or security personnel's instructions, or if the woman is very apprehensive about leaving the house after dark, it is possible to consider deferring the immersion to the daylight hours of the eighth clean day, in coordination with a mikveh attendant or the local rabbi.
A woman who immerses on the eighth day as mentioned above should ideally refrain from spending time with her husband in a closed room until nighttime without the presence of other people or their children. If this is not possible, some leniencies may be considered.
A woman who immerses on the eighth day (or afterwards) does not need to perform an additional examination after the end of the seven clean days, and she also does not need to wear white undergarments. However, the couple should continue to observe all the rules of separation until immersion.
Even in a situation where there is currently no possibility for marital relations, it is recommended and desirable for the woman to immerse in order to facilitate closeness and intimacy between the spouses.
Even if a woman's husband has been drafted into the army, and the time for her immersion has arrived, it is advisable for her to make an effort to immerse and not delay her immersion. This way, if her husband unexpectedly returns, they will be permitted to be together (if she is concerned about supernatural factors, she can sleep with a Book of Psalms next to her). Nevertheless, if it is difficult for her due to security concerns or childcare, she is not obligated to do so, and she can immerse when her husband returns.
If the woman's designated time for immersion falls on a Friday night, and her husband is not at home, she should not immerse and should wait until after Shabbat. However, if there is any chance, even a small one, that her husband will return home during Shabbat (for example, if he is in a location where soldiers are occasionally released for a few hours, and the local military rabbi has given permission for such returns even during Shabbat), she should immerse even on Shabbat. In this situation, it is better for her to immerse on Friday evening at sunset, even if she typically immerses on Friday night after the appearance of the stars.

C. Conjugal Relations

When a husband is conscripted into the military during a time when marital relations are prohibited, despite the difficulty and pain involved, it is forbidden for them to transgress the prohibitions of intimacy (such as hugging and kissing) for the purpose of separation. Instead, they should consider in their hearts that their great merit, in that they adhere strictly to the laws of family purity, should stand for the husband and for the entire people of Israel, that they should go in peace and return in peace.. Their closeness and mutual support should be expressed through words and expressions of love.
Despite the great difficulty and the endless sacrifice of the wives of soldiers, there is no halachic option to immerse before the completion of the seven clean days. During these times, we are required to display exceptional courage, and, God willing, the observance of the commandment of family purity will add strength and empowerment to the soldiers and the people of Israel.
However, in a situation where it has been determined that by the time the husband arrives, seven days have passed since the end of the woman's menstruation, and for various reasons immersion should be postponed (such as if the woman made a hefsek taharah the day before and saw an unclear discharge during the examination, deciding to be strict with herself), it is highly advisable to consult a rabbi to determine if there is still a halachic option for immersion before her husband's arrival.
Additionally, a woman whose husband is in the military, even if she usually waits for five days until her hefsek taharah (following the Ashkenazi custom and some Sephardim), can (if her menstruation has ended) make her hefsek taharah already on the fourth day from the onset of her menstruation and count seven clean days from the day after. This is so that if her husband returns from the military on the eleventh day, she can immerse on that night (if her husband does not return on that day, and she usually waits an additional day until the beginning of the seven clean days, she should wait for immersion on the night after that).
There are medical ways to delay the onset of menstruation and extend the days of purity. When the husband is in the military and has short breaks at home, it is desirable to ensure that the couple can be together as much as possible. The Puah Institute operates a special project in collaboration with female doctors and healthcare professionals to extend the days of purity. For more information, you can send a WhatsApp message to the following phone number: 052-7628977.

Maintaining Family Purity

In Light of the Leniency: General Guidelines for Maintaining Family Purity

In light of various rulings circulating online in recent days, the Puah Institute requests to reinforce and emphasize the guidelines for maintaining family purity, even in times of emergency.

A. Hefsek Taharah and Seven Clean Days

B. Immersion and Preparations

C. Conjugal Relations

For the emphasis on family purity during these days and the commandment "והיה מחניך קדוש" we shall pray for God's salvation soon.

"כִּי ה' אֱלֹקֵיכֶם הַהֹלֵךְ עִמָּכֶם לְהִלָּחֵם לָכֶם עִם אֹיְבֵיכֶם לְהוֹשִׁיעַ אֶתְכֶם".

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