Ask a Yoetzet Golda Koschitzky Hotline

Lying on bed to reach outlet

11 February, 2021

Question:

We have an outlet behind my bed that you can only reach by lying on the bed and reaching down. Is my husband allowed to lie on my bed during niddah to plug something in?

Answer:

The basic halacha is that he shouldn’t even sit on your bed in your presence when you are in niddah, and may not lie on it even when you are not present. Therefore, unless there is great urgency, he should not plug things in when you are in niddah if doing so entails lying on your bed.

You might consider using an extension cord or a smart-plug (controlled by your phones) when you are in niddah, so that he still has access to the outlet. Alternatively, you might consider switching beds, since a wife is permitted to lie down on her husband’s bed in his absence.

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

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.