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

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
Menu

Can’t recall combing hair

21 March, 2007

Question:

I went to the mikve nearly a week ago. I don't know why, but suddenly the thought came to me that I couldn't remember if I had combed my pubic hair before immersing. I often forget if I have done something that is part of a routine, for example whether I took pills or not, or whether I put on deodorant, even though I may have done them anyway – so I am really not sure if I did it or not.

Do I need to do anything?

Thank you


Answer:

In this case, where it is quite likely that you did comb your hair, and there is no indication that you did not, you are not required to immerse again.  The assumption is that you did it as part of your usual mikveh routine without paying it notice. 

In the future, to avoid any doubts, we recommend bringing a checklist to the mikveh and going through the items one by one prior to immersion.


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