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

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu
Side Bar

Asking about stained hefsek

27 February, 2011

Question:

Generally, I am unable to get a completely clean hefsek until day 7 of my period. It may be that if I tried on the 5th or 6th day I would be told it's ok if I asked a rav, but I'm not interested in running to the rav every month with a shaila. This does not affect my fertility, as my cycles are usually 30–35 days long. Am I doing something wrong by not asking a shaila on a stained hefsek every month?


Answer:

Ideally, one does not delay immersing beyond the dictates of halakhah.  Additionally, those one or two days a month can really add up over time.  We suggest that you make a commitment to trying an earlier hefsek and bringing questions to a rav over the next few months.  Many women have colors that recur from cycle to cycle.  Therefore, in addition to asking for the rav's evaluation, ask if the color you are bringing is one you are permitted to assess for yourself.  In this way, you may learn enough to be able to shorten your time spent in niddah without constantly having questions.  Enlisting your husband's assistance may also alleviate the difficulties involved in asking many questions.

On another note, you may wish to try soaking in a bath or, doctor permitting, douching prior to an earlier hefsek taharah attempt.  Either of these measures may help clean out old blood and get you to the mikveh sooner or with fewer questions.


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