Website Policies

Our Mission

Nishmat’s Women’s Health and Halacha Website was founded in 1999. Our core goals are:

• To offer practical information on taharat hamishpacha (family purity) and related areas of halacha, including their interface with women’s health, to a wide international audience.
• To provide a woman-to-woman response to individual questions on these topics.

Halachic Policy

Our site’s articles and responses follow the halachic rulings of our founding Rabbinic Supervisor, Rabbi Yehuda Henkin z”l, and of our current Rabbinic Supervisor, Rabbi Kenneth Auman. In our articles, we try to give a sense of the diversity of halachic viewpoints. We respond to questions posed to us under the guidance and review of Rabbi Auman, attempting to respect the traditions of the couple’s community and to be sensitive to their personal circumstances.

Certain questions cannot be answered over the internet, and questions can often be answered more optimally in person. This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinic 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.

Due to our halachic and medical review process, it can take up to three business days to respond to questions submitted through our Ask the Yoetzet service. For a quicker response, please call Nishmat’s Golda Koschitzky Women’s Halachic Hotline or contact a local halachic authority.

Privacy Policy

Your privacy is very important to us. Particularly due to the sensitive nature of the topics we address, Nishmat respects concerns about maintaining strict privacy. Any information that you share with us is kept in strictest confidence.

We do not use personally identifiable information such as email addresses unless requested to do so. When given information, we keep it confidential. Questions are posted anonymously and after removal of any identifying information that could possibly be tied to the sender.

We do not sell, rent, share, or otherwise disclose email addresses, mailing lists, or other personally identifiable information. Email addresses are never visible to Yoatzot Halacha working on the website, and are automatically and irretrievably deleted from our database after 30 days.

Security arrangements are in place to prevent others from gaining access to the information on this site. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about this policy.

Tzniut

Halacha mandates modesty in speech. Still, clear terminology is sometimes essential in ensuring effective halachic communication. Based on our experience, we believe that, in the case of taharat hamishpacha, the risks of silence generally outweigh the risks of insufficient verbal modesty. Nevertheless, certain topics, which we believe should not be discussed in public, will not appear on the site – although individual questions will be answered privately.