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

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu

Shaving pubic hair

20 June, 2005

Question:

May a woman go to the mikveh with her pubic area shaven one month and then go the next month with it unshaven or does the hair then become a chatzitza? Thank you for your help.


Answer:

It is generally not considered a chatzitzah if:

  • she shaved on a one time basis or once in a while, but is not concerned with it being shaved on a regular basis.
  • she, personally, shaves on a regular basis but has decided not to so this month. 

It might be considered a chatzitzah (and a more detailed question should be asked) if:

  • shaving is a normative custom in her community. (There is a custom in some Sephardi communities to shave pubic hair before mikveh.)
  • she plans to shave it later on mikveh night or the next day. (This is based on the principle that something that is about to be cut is regarded as if it has already been cut, and is therefore no longer considered part of her body.)
  • the hair is bothering her in its present condition (e.g., causing itching).

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. 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. For further questions or comments:  The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha Site 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 benefited from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.

Users of Internet filtering services: This site discusses sensitive subjects that some services filter without visual indication. A page that appears 100% complete might actually be missing critical Jewish-law or medical information. To ensure that you view the pages accurately, ask the filtering service to whitelist all pages under yoatzot.org.

Accessibility Toolbar