Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

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Discarded brown hefsek

15 February, 2009
Question:

I am on the pill and have always been able to do a clean bedikah on the fifth day since I started with this cycle over a year ago. This last time I had a small stain on the bedikah cloth (more brown then red) but did not keep the cloth to give to my husband to show a rav. I have been back and forth in my head whether i should wait till the next night to go to the mikvah or can rely on what usually occurs, coupled with the fact that I did not have any further stain or leaking past that instant in which I had a questionable bedikah. Would I be able to count the seven days from that hefsek if I can't conclusively say that my bedikah was 100% clean?


Answer:

The hefsek taharah does not have to be totally clear. However, it does have to show that uterine bleeding has stopped.  A brown color on the hefsek taharah, unless it is a light beige or tan with no hint of red, needs to be evaluated by a halachic authority.  Your patterns from previous months and lack of subsequent staining do not, in and of themselves, change the status of the bedikah.

Unfortunately, in a case like this, where the status of the color was uncertain and the cloth is no longer available, it cannot be relied on as a hefsek taharah.  You should retroactively count a bedikah from the following day as a new hefsek taharah. Your clean days and immersion are pushed off by one day.

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