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

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Yom Hachodesh (Hebrew Date)


A woman generally anticipates her menses on the same date of the Hebrew month (yom hachodesh) as the date of the onset of her period a month before. Yom hachodesh is an onat perishah (period of separation), on which marital relations are forbidden. In addition, a bedikah (internal examination) is performed on this day to check whether menstruation has begun.

Yom hachodesh lasts for one onah, either daytime (sunrise to sunset) or night-time (sunset to sunrise), corresponding to the onset of the previous menses. Thus, a woman who began to menstruate during the day on the 15th of Nisan will observe yom hachodesh during the day on the 15th of Iyar.

Nissan

RishonSheiniShlishiRevi’iChamishiShishiShabbat
1234567
891011121314
15  161718192021
22232425262728
2930     

 

Iyar

RishonSheiniShlishiRevi’iChamishiShishiShabbat
  12345
6789101112
131415  16171819
20212223242526
272829    

If a woman did not begin to menstruate on yom hachodesh, she does not anticipate her menses the following month on that date. Thus, if the woman described above began to menstruate only on the night of the 16th of Iyar rather than on the 15th, she would observe the night of the 16th of Sivan as the following month’s yom hachodesh. Similarly, if she began to menstruate earlier, on the 13th of Iyar, she would observe the 13th of Sivan rather than the 15th.

If a woman began menstruating on the 30th day of the Hebrew month (the first day of a two-day Rosh Chodesh), and there are only 29 days in the next month, there is a dispute among the authorities. Most maintain that she should observe yom hachodesh on the first day of the following month (which is also Rosh Chodesh) because that is in reality the 30th day, but some hold that she need not observe yom hachodesh at all for that month, because there is no equivalent calendar date. A rabbi should be consulted.

A woman who begins her menses three consecutive times on the same date of the Hebrew month, and during the same onah, establishes a veset kavua (established cycle) for that date.

The Jewish lunar months and their approximate solar equivalents are as follows:

Nisan (March/April)

Iyar (April/May)

Sivan (May/June)

Tammuz (June/July)

Av (July/August)

Elul (August/September)

Tishrei (September/October)

Cheshvan (October/November, also called Marcheshvan,)

Kislev (November/December)

Tevet (December/January)

Shevat (January/February)

Adar (February/March, in a leap year there are two Adars, Adar I and Adar II)

The Jewish lunar months and their approximate solar equivalents are as follows:

Nisan (March/April)

Iyar (April/May)

Sivan (May/June)

Tammuz (June/July)

Av (July/August)

Elul (August/September)

Tishrei (September/October)

Cheshvan (October/November, also called Marcheshvan,)

Kislev (November/December)

Tevet (December/January)

Shevat (January/February)

Adar (February/March, in a leap year there are two Adars, Adar I and Adar II)


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All health and health-related information contained within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with your health care professional. The advice is intended to offer a basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider but not individual advice. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Web site user but should not be considered official. Advice for actual medical practice should be obtained from a licensed health care professional.


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