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

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Why twelve days?

4 August, 2004
Question:

I have some questions about laws of Nidah. Honestly it is a very difficult mizva to observe. My husband and I truly have some problems. Twelve days, as a minimum, is very hard to observe and we are getting so frustrated with that. There is nowhere in Torah says that women should count 7 CLEAN days. I do not want to say that Rabbis didn't know what they were doing when they wrote that law, but how did they know exactly what was given orally to Moses?
Also, could you recommend any good books that could help us to truly believe in observance of this law?
I appreciate your answer in advance.


Answer:

Halacha is based on the written Torah, the oral tradition,and rabbinical enactments. Seven clean days are explicitly mandated by the Torah for the zavah. Due to the difficulties in distinguishing between niddah and zavah, the Rabbis enacted that a woman who is niddah also follow the stringencies of zavah. 

The Challenge of Taharat Hamishpacha section of this site includes additional questions by others sharing your frustration and our attempts to answer them. The Resources section includes lists of suggested readings and websites.

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