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

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FAM & veset haguf

3 August, 2022
Question:

Hi, I am using the Fertility Awareness Method. It involves taking your temperature every morning to track ovulation. I find that at the end of a cycle, from the first morning that my temperature drops, that means I will definitely get my period within 2 days.

Sometimes, those 2 days do not coincide with onah days. For instance, Wed. morning was the first day that month that my temperature dropped. I was confident that means I will definitely get my period before Friday morning. But, neither Wednesday nor Thursday are onah days.

Should I nevertheless separate from my husband on Wed. and Thursday, even if I don’t see spotting (I am still wearing black underwear and not looking at toilet paper) and have no other physical symptoms? Should I do a bedika?

Thank you very much.


Answer:

If you consistently (i.e., for the past three cycles) find that you begin bleeding within two days of your temperature drop, then you should treat it as a veset haguf, a veset based on physical symptoms. You would refrain from relations during those two days and perform a bedikah at some point during this extended onah. You would not observe the yom hachodesh, haflagah, or onah beinonit.

If it is not consistent, (i.e., sometimes you do bleed within two days, sometimes you don’t), then this symptom is of no halachic significance. Nevertheless, you should use common sense and abstain, or at the very least check for bleeding (by wiping externally with a tissue not immediately after urinating) before intimacy.

Please feel free to get back to us with any further questions.

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