1. Doctor permitting, a woman who uses hormonal contraceptives might consider cycle manipulation in order to space out niddah more widely at this time.
2. If a bedikah cloth or stain needs checking, she should lay it flat, allow it to dry, and place it flat in a clear plastic bag to facilitate safe evaluation. She should wash her hands and place the bag in an envelope with a note with her phone number and other relevant information.
3. A woman who has a questionable bedikah and cannot bring it for evaluation should call the halachic authority to whom she usually brings such questions to consult. (Yoatzot Halacha are also available for consultation through Nishmat’s Golda Koschitzky Hotline, or in the community.) Alternatively, she can seek to have it evaluated by a rabbi online through Tahor App (available on iPhone and some models of Android phones), which uses special color calibration technology to ensure that the stain is photographed and transmitted accurately. While some borderline colors will require in-person evaluation, many questions can be accurately assessed through the app.
4. A woman who needs to delay immersion should count her seven clean days as usual. When her clean days are complete, she can change to colored underwear. No further bedikot are necessary prior to her delayed immersion.
To our readers based in Israel: Even under the strict closure now in effect, women are permitted to travel at night, and beyond 1000m, in order to immerse in the mikveh.
1. A woman with symptoms of illness (e.g., fever, cough, difficulty breathing, vomiting, diarrhea) may not use the mikveh without consulting with a healthcare professional.
2. A woman who is immunocompromised or at high risk medically should consult with her physician. If immersion is medically approved, she should arrange to be the first to use the mikveh that night and should not spend time in the waiting room.
3. Mikvaot should set up appointments in advance, to avoid crowding at the mikveh. Check in with your local mikveh to see what protocols they have adopted.
4. A woman should prepare at home. (A thorough shower is sufficient if no bathtub is available.) If she prepares earlier in the day, she should shower and comb her hair just before leaving home.
5. Mikveh policies vary about bringing towels or robes from home. If using her own, a woman should bring them in a large disposable bag. In the preparation room, she should undress, place her clothes in her bag, and inspect herself in the mirror before immersion. Before using towels provided by the mikveh, confirm that they are washed at 65 degrees Celsius and that baskets are disinfected when emptied.
6. We encourage women to wear masks at the mikveh, except for when they are in the water.
7. A woman immersing should avoid any direct physical contact with the mikveh attendant. If a woman requires physical assistance (for example, someone who needs assistance entering and exiting the mikveh), the attendant must wash her hands thoroughly with soap and water for twenty seconds both before and after assisting her, and must change gloves before and afterwards. Loose hairs on a woman’s body are not a chatzitzah and do not need to be removed, even if that is her usual custom.
8. A woman should wash her hands upon arriving home from the mikveh. Whether she should wash her hands at the mikveh, and whether she should shower at home following immersion, depends on local guidelines.
9. With fewer pretexts nowadays for going out, it can be difficult to keep immersion private from others at home or on the street. There is no prohibition involved in others realizing someone is going to mikveh. Telling select people as necessary to facilitate immersion is not a halachic problem. As always, it is permissible to use white lies as necessary to promote a sense of privacy.
