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

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Friday night mikveh four times in a row

26 February, 2024
Question:

Mikvah night is this Friday night. I am extremely frustrated about this timing since this is the 4th time in a row I’ve had a Friday night mikvah and it’s very inconvenient. It is supposed to be cold and raining, and we live 20-minute walk from the mikvah. Can/should I postpone?

Also, we just moved and our bathtub is not fully usable. If I can’t get it usable in time to take a bath is it alright to just take a long shower?


Answer:

Thank you for reaching out to us.

We are sorry to hear of your frustration.

It is permissible for you and your husband to agree to postpone immersion. We suggest talking it through well. Discussing it together, you may either find a way to make it work or come to a clearer decision that it won’t.

If you use combined hormonal contraceptives, you may wish to adjust your cycle, as by adding a day or a few days of active pills, to help ensure that you need not immerse next month on Shabbat. Even if you don’t use hormonal contraception, you can consider speaking with your physician about taking progesterone short term to nudge your cycle out of this pattern. (See our page on Extending or Manipulating Cycles for additional discussion.)

While it is customary to use a bath for mikveh preparation, it is fully permissible to prepare with a thorough shower. We follow the view that, as long as the shower is not rushed, you need not extend it beyond the time it actually takes to prepare.

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

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