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

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Shaving legs

14 May, 2008

Question:

In theory, I am quite picky about my legs always being perfectly shaved, and when I was first married I had them waxed the day before I went to the mikvah and then went over them with a razor. But between work and family I haven't been finding the time to wax or shave most of the time, and often the day before mikvah is the only day of the month that I wax or shave at all. I still assume that it has to be my ideal of perfectly smooth legs in order not to be a chatzitzah, and I spend at least an hour on them. But since I don't keep my legs perfect the rest of the time, I am wondering if this might not be necessary. Thanks.


Answer:

Leg hair is considered part of the body and does not need to be removed before mikveh use.

Some halachic authorities maintain that an item that is about to be removed loses its halachic status as part of the body, and may therefore be considered a chatzitzah (barrier to immersion). While this is not the accepted opinion, we generally do try to take it into account if possible. Therefore, if you are planning to remove hair the day you go to mikveh, it should be done before mikveh rather than afterwards.

However, in this situation, where you don't necessarily want the hair removed that day, you can immerse without waxing or shaving at all.


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