Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women, located in Jerusalem, pioneered the education and certification of Yoatzot Halacha.
Yoatzot Halacha are female advisors in taharat hamishpacha (family purity), an area of Jewish Law that relates to marriage, sexuality and women’s health. This role was devised to assist women who are more comfortable discussing very personal issues with another woman.
In 1997, Nishmat established the Keren Ariel Women’s Halachic Institute to train Yoatzot Halacha, under the direction of Rabbi Yaacov Varhaftig, Dean of the Institute, and Rabbi Yehuda Herzl Henkin z”l. In North America, Nishmat’s Miriam Glaubach Center is home to the U.S. Yoatzot Halacha Fellows Program, led by its Dean, Rabbi Kenneth Auman.
Women preparing to become Yoatzot Halacha are chosen for their extensive Torah scholarship, leadership ability, and deep religious commitment. They devote two years (over 1000 hours) to intensive study of taharat hamishpacha, and are certified by a panel of Orthodox rabbis. In addition, they receive training from experts in medicine and psychology, including gynecology, fertility, women’s health, family dynamics, and sexuality. To learn more, please see our article on Becoming a Yoetzet Halacha.
As of the summer of 2025, about 220 Yoatzot Halacha will have been certified in Israel and worldwide.
To learn more about Nishmat, which offers a rich variety of Torah learning opportunities for women at all levels, please see the main Nishmat website.
How to reach a Yoetzet Halacha:
- Ask a question through this website, in English, Hebrew, French, or Spanish.
- Call Nishmat’s Golda Koschitzky Women’s Halachic Hotline.
- Find a Yoetzet Halacha in your community using our map or directory.
- Arrange a free consultation with a Yoetzet Halacha Fertility Counselor.
- Follow us on Instagram or Facebook.
FAQs about Yoatzot Halacha
Which Rabbanim oversee, teach and guide the yoatzot? Who answers the questions? Who issues the halachic rulings and approves what is written on the site?
Rav Yaakov Warhaftig is the Dean and primary instructor for Keren Ariel, the certification program for Yoatzot Halacha at Midreshet Nishmat in Jerusalem, and rabbinic supervisor of the telephone hotline and the Hebrew website.
Rav Kenneth Auman is the Dean of the US Yoatzot Halacha Fellows Program and rabbinic supervisor of the English website. Rav Gedalyah Berger is maggid shiur (lecturer) for the US Yoatzot Halacha Fellows Program and is also consulted by the Yoatzot.
Rav Yehuda H. Henkin ztz”l was the founding rabbinic supervisor for the English website. Much of the website still reflects his psak (halachic ruling).
Rav Assaf Bednarsh and Rav Michael Edrei, both in Israel, are part of the rabbinic staff for the Yoatzot program and provide support for the hotline and websites. Rav Edrei is also the supervising rabbi for the fertility counselors.
On the website, Yoatzot Halacha draft answers to all the submitted questions and consult with the rabbinic supervisors on matters of psak. All halachic responses are reviewed and approved by one of our supervising Rabbanim before being sent out. The information pages and videos on our website have all been reviewed by Rav Henkin ztz”l or Rav Auman.
Dr. Deena Zimmerman, a Yoetzet Halacha and physician, or Dr. Yardena Hyman, a fertility specialist, also review any questions of a medical nature.
Is it possible for women in the community to learn to pasken (rule on) the colors of niddah, so that women can send their underwear and bedikah cloths to other women and avoid the embarrassment of asking the local Rav?
This question raises an important point and is a large part of the reason for the establishment of Nishmat’s Yoatzot Halacha. However, it is important to differentiate between different levels of training.
On a personal level, a woman can gain a certain amount of experience in evaluating her own stains. Colors that do not present a question – clear, white, yellow, or light brown discharges (the color of coffee with milk, with no reddish hue) – need not be shown to a halachic authority. A stain or bedikah that is clearly red doesn’t usually have to be looked at either, because it is obviously a niddah color. (In some cases, even red blood can be attributed to an injury, dam makkah, or a stain can be attributed to another source.) Any color whose halachic status is unclear – such as darker or reddish browns – should be evaluated by a halachic expert in this field. If the same ‘unclear’ color recurs, you may ask the halachic authority if this is a color which you have to bring for evaluation in the future or if you can extrapolate from the recent ruling. In this way, your rabbi or yoetzet halacha can train you over time where possible.
For the ‘unclear colors’ described above, extensive training involving practical experience (known as shimush) is needed. This training includes learning from a rabbi which colors are acceptable in the tradition he has received. This requires a significant dedication of time — after having learned the halachic principles. Many yoatzot halacha have already completed this additional level of training, and more will do so in the future. All yoatzot are available to help facilitate the asking of the question so that a woman who is uncomfortable dealing directly with a local Rav does not have to do so. Over time, with more and more Yoatzot with the requisite knowledge and practical experience , there will likely be more and more women available to provide this service. Furthermore, all women should spend time learning the basic halachot to help minimize the times that they need to ask a question.
Colors can be assessed most precisely and accurately in person. However, when this is not a possibility, we recommend Tahor App, which uses sophisticated color calibration technology to allow women to send accurate photographs for remote rabbinic evaluation. This app is limited since not all colors can be evaluated this way.
How are Yoatzot different than rabbis? Do you serve as a posek? Do you work primarily with women's issues?
Yoatzot Halacha are women certified by a panel of Orthodox rabbis to be a resource for women with questions regarding Taharat HaMishpacha and women’s health. We also try to educate and provide information and enhance women’s understanding of Taharat HaMishpacha and related topics.
We are halachic specialists in one area, hilchot niddah, and are not necessarily well-versed in other areas, unlike rabbis.
We are also not certified to issue novel piskei halacha (halachic rulings) and we do not do so. In cases of established psak, we convey the halacha to the questioner. In new, complex, or doubtful cases we consult with our rabbinic supervisor.
For our “Ask the Yoetzet” email service, the website’s rabbinic supervisor reads and approves every answer before it is sent out. All halachic content posted on out site is also reviewed and approved.
The idea of a Yoetzet Halacha makes a lot of sense, since women feel more comfortable asking women intimate questions.Do you have rabbinic support for your program from mainstream Charedi Rabbanim or Gedolim?
In Israel, Chief Rabbis past and present, including some who are Gedolei Torah, as well as the overwhelming majority of leading chareidi-leumi and dati-leumi rabbis, support the work of the Yoatzot. Chareidi rabbis are precluded from public support because of their traditional opposition to women studying Talmud, and certainly to rigorous study of original halachic sources such as the Tur and Beit Yosef, rishonim and acharonim. However, a number of chareidi poskim have privately told us that, while they would not have initially supported training yoatzot halacha, at this point it is a great mitzvah for the yoatzot to counsel women who turn to them, including chareidi women.
Overseas, Yoatzot Halacha have gained acceptance over time as they have strengthened full and faithful observance of Jewish tradition. In 2017, the OU endorsed Yoatzot as valuable contributors to the observance of Taharat HaMishpacha and recognized that many communities would benefit from their services. At the same time, as in Israel, there is a spectrum of Orthodox groups and ideologies, and rabbanim may feel differently about the Yoatzot and whether women should ideally be turning to them.
I saw a letter posted at the mikveh advertising a bodeket taharah. If I understood correctly, these are women trained to do special bedikot and then write a letter with the results to a doctor or rabbi. Is this correct? How does this fit in with what the yoatzot do?
Women trained and certified to serve in the role of a bodeket taharah have previous medical training. They undergo additional training so that they know how to look for findings that may have halachic significance as well.
A bodeket taharah (sometimes called a niddah nurse) can do a speculum examination to help determine whether bleeding originates from a lesion or injury outside the uterus, in which case it does not make a woman niddah, or whether it is uterine bleeding which is likely to render a woman niddah. The bodeket writes a letter with the results of her examination, which the woman can relay to her posek. In some cases, the bodeket, using a speculum, can do a hefsek taharah or bedikah in a manner that avoids areas where there is bleeding from outside the uterus.
Yoatzot halacha have undergone extensive training in hilchot niddah and have been certified to give halachic advice regarding areas of halacha related to Taharat HaMishpacha and women’s health. Lectures in related medical issues are part of their training. However, most yoatzot are not health professionals.