Repeated attempts at hefsek

This month I noticed that my period seemed to be one day shorter than normal (my point of reference is the last four months since I got married), so I decided to attempt a hefsek taharah today (day 7 of my period). Being at work, I was unable to bathe previously. During the half hour before sunset I performed four bedikot. In the first bedikah, the cloth showed a thick yellow discharge with a very very slight brown tint. I continued to check further because I thought that perhaps, not having bathed, this slight brown tint might have come from residual blood on the surrounding area, and not from blood from the uterus today. Bedikot two and three showed a pure yellow thick stain but with the slightest slightest hint of brown on one of the 'lumps' of the discharge. The fourth bedikah was totally clean, as was the moch dachuk which I left in until after zeit hacochavim. Are you able to tell me from this whether I can start counting the shivaat hanekiim tonight? I will start counting just in case, and await your answer. Thanks.

Dear questioner,

Thank you for your question.

Pure yellow is not a problematic color on a bedikah, although brown requires a question. In any case, your last bedikah before sunset was clean, and is a valid hefsek taharah.

For the future, you might want to bring baby wipes to work so you can wash the area before the hefsek. Alternatively, if the bleeding has stopped in the morning, you can bathe at home then and do your hefsek at work in the afternoon. Please remember, when making repeated attempts at a hefsek taharah, that it's a good idea to leave at least ten minutes between bedikot to avoid irritation to the vaginal lining.

This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases.

If you have further questions or comments about this email, please click here to Ask the Yoetzet.

The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha is a public service of Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. This project and others like it are made possible by contributions from people like you. If you have benefitted from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.