לקריאת המאמר בעברית במגזין גלויה | Originally published in Hebrew in Gluya
Incorporating mikveh night into a woman’s schedule can require various solutions in terms of time management, technical planning, and balancing social and professional commitments. Sometimes, it is not difficult to go to the mikveh and keep other commitments. On other occasions, this may seem impossible, but with creativity and effort, a solution can be found. However, there are instances in which there is no way for a woman to go to the mikveh at the appointed time. Some women frequently face this conflict, such as those who work night shifts or who have other regular constraints. The COVID-19 era heightened awareness of this sensitive and urgent dilemma: what should we do when it is impossible to go to the mikveh at the appointed time?
The mikveh is closed only on two nights of the year: the night of Tisha B’Av and the night of Yom Kippur. Indeed, the prohibitions of these days, including marital relations, mean that there is no requirement for a woman to immerse in water as a means of purification. Therefore, at the end of the fasts, the mikveh becomes crowded with women who should immerse that night and those who should have immersed the previous night yet could not do so. It is important to note that on such nights, the mikveh is busier and open beyond official hours, as much as the attendants can allow. There are two nights—after Tisha B’Av and after Yom Kippur—when immersion in the mikveh requires patience.
Here, I will discuss postponing immersion in various situations: when a woman postpones going to the mikveh, when the couple makes such a decision together, and when other constraints come into play. In any case, the information here may assist any woman whose immersion has been postponed for whatever reason.
Despite the halakhic requirement to immerse at the appointed time, the halakhic framework is broad and sensitive to real-life situations. This is a complex issue, and the decision is not straightforward. The information presented here is intended to provide the woman immersing with basic knowledge and to equip her—whether she decides for herself or consults a halachic authority—with an understanding of the fundamental aspects of this delicate, sensitive, and common situation.
The Virtue of Immersing at the Appointed Time
The time of immersion is determined by the date on which the woman conducts a hefsek taharah. In other words, only after the days of bleeding have ended (four days for Sephardic women, five days for Ashkenazi women, with some exceptions) and the examination has been completed can the woman begin to plan her immersion, which will take place after counting seven clean days (which I suggest should be called “cleansing days”).
It’s easy to remember it this way: On the same day of the week that a woman performs the hefsek taharah, in the following week, the woman will go to the mivkeh because, by this point, eight days will have passed. The day on which the woman performs the hefsek taharah is considered day 0, and the counting of the seven cleansing days only begins the following day. Accordingly, a woman who performed the hefsek taharah on Sunday before sunset will go to the mivkeh the following Sunday after nightfall.
The significance attributed to immersing at the appointed time derives from the fact that this is a biblical commandment and connected to other biblical commandments:
A. According to the Torah, one must wash in water upon concluding the days of cleansing: “And if any man has an emission of semen, he shall wash all his flesh in water… And if a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her flesh is blood, she shall be in her impurity for seven days… and afterward, she shall be clean” (Leviticus 15). The laws of niddah combine the rules of niddah with those of zavah, extending the days in which physical contact is prohibited and, in a sense, postponing the immersion. The general approach is not to postpone the fulfillment of an obligation outlined in the Torah, and therefore, the halachic preference is to immerse at the earliest possible time.
B. Immersion is the act that returns a woman to her husband and the intimacy of their physical relationship. In other words, immersion is also connected to the mitzvah of marital relations, a commandment found in the Torah. Indeed, the two are intertwined; immersion not only marks the end of the niddah period but also signals the moment at which the couple can fulfill the mitzvah of engaging in marital relations.
These two reasons derive from the Torah and, therefore, throughout the generation, Jewish women ensured that they went to the mikveh at the appointed time, avoiding postponement whenever possible. However, as mentioned, there have always been exceptions.
The Problem of Delaying Immersion
Seemingly, a woman could immerse the following day, during daylight hours, since seven cleansing days have passed (counted as full 24-hour periods, from nightfall to the next nightfall). However, one of the main halakhic considerations in this regard is the concern known as serakh bitah (the habit of her daughter). In other words, there is a concern that a daughter might notice her mother immersing during daylight hours and conclude that it is permissible to immerse on the seventh day before nightfall. Even though today it is rare for a daughter to know when her mother goes to the mikveh, the halakhic consideration remains in place.
Another consideration is modesty: “Some have written that a woman should be modest on the night of her immersion, and thus women have practiced concealing the night of their immersion.” However, the Ashkenazi and Sephardic rulings on this matter differ. Among Sephardic communities, it is customary for female family members to accompany a woman going to the mikveh, whereas, in Ashkenazi communities, women endeavor to keep their immersion secret. Therefore, according to Ashkenazi halakhic rulings that women should avoid publicizing when they go to the mikveh, there is more reason for stringency regarding the possibility of postponing the immersion by a day. In contrast, we find more instances of leniency in this regard in Sephardic halakhic rulings.
Postponing immersion from Thursday night to Friday night entails an additional complexity: when the original immersion date falls on Friday night, it should not be postponed, even though there are halakhic issues relating to washing and bathing on Shabbat, heating the water, and more. However, when the immersion is postponed, it becomes difficult to permit these halakhic issues.
When Can Immersion Be Postponed?
Jewish law addresses complex and exceptional situations in which women encounter difficulty in immersing at the appointed time, and there are cases in which a ruling was given allowing postponement. Usually, this is accompanied by the condition that both partners accept the resulting delay in fulfilling the mitzvah of marital relations. This is not merely a matter of etiquette but is required by halakhah; due to the significance of the laws of niddah and the ramifications of extending the niddah period for both partners, the decision to delay must be made jointly.
Each case is unique, and the range of halakhic considerations is broad and complex. To illustrate the complexity, let’s look at several well-known and fairly common examples:
The Husband Who Returns from a Journey
In the past, it was common for men to embark on long journeys for business purposes, returning home only after many weeks or even months. Even today, many couples face challenges such as military service, reserve duty, or business trips abroad that were scheduled long in advance. In such cases, rabbinic authorities discuss whether a woman should ensure that she goes to the mikveh at the appointed time, even when her husband is not home, and it is clear that the mitzvah of engaging in marital relations cannot be fulfilled.
Halakhic authorities, both past and present, generally discourage postponing immersion even in the husband’s absence because unexpected changes can occur, such as an earlier flight or an unexpected return from reserve duty. Accordingly, they seek to avoid a situation in which the husband returns home while his wife is still in a state of impurity, even though she could have already gone to the mikveh. The significance of the mitzvah of engaging in marital relations, which is found in the Torah, is even greater in the case of a return from a journey, and it should preferably be fulfilled immediately (of course, depending on the woman’s willingness and readiness).
The Wife’s Absence
Nowadays, it is also common for a woman to be absent from home (due to work, travel abroad, reserve duty, etc.), and here, too, the consideration of an early and unexpected return is relevant. This takes into account that postponing the immersion can delay the desire to reconnect after a period spent apart and affect the couple’s passion.Let’s consider, for example, a woman who is abroad for a professional conference and is contemplating postponing her immersion due to the difficulty of going to the mikveh in a foreign country, especially when she is not due to return home soon. In such cases, if she can find a place to immerse, it is preferable for her to do so even if she is abroad. If she cannot, she should try to immerse immediately after landing, even during daylight hours (from the eighth day onward) near the airport or her home. However, this solution can be emotionally challenging and problematic if the husband comes to meet his wife at the airport, ready to embrace her.
Special Occasions on Mikveh Night
When a woman (or couple) is invited to an event on mikveh night, it is advisable to first consider all available options: immersing close to the event and arriving slightly late (especially during winter time); leaving the event early to immerse at a mikveh that is open until midnight or at a private mikveh – these sometimes remain open until the early hours of the morning (especially during the summer). Such solutions are possible in most cases, but sometimes the event involves a particularly close relative, and the woman plays a central role, making it difficult to fit the immersion into her schedule (such as accompanying the bride or groom, having professional makeup, and hairstyling done, etc.). In these cases, even immersion at the end of the event would not be possible until very late when no mikveh is open. In such a situation, the immersion may be postponed.
Working Night Shifts
Sometimes, a woman cannot go to the mikveh because she works night shifts. Indeed, certain halakhic authorities permit women who work in essential roles (such as nurses, doctors, police officers, etc.) whose mikveh night falls during their shift to go to the mikveh in the morning hours after their shift. In these cases, it is advisable to check, according to the couple’s halakhic approach, whether this option is a permanent or temporary solution.
In this regard, we must remember that most mikveh facilities are not prepared for daytime immersions. During these hours, the mikveh is cleaned and emptied, and there may not be insurance for the woman or the mikveh attendant. In rural settlements and religious kibbutzim, it is easier to schedule immersion during daylight hours.
Sickness
Ideally, a woman who is sick should not immerse because this risks infecting others in the closed, heated, and humid environment of the mikveh. In such cases, the couple must accept the postponement of the immersion, taking responsibility for the welfare of the broader community. At the same time, some mikvehs allow a sick woman to immerse at the end of the operating hours before draining the water and cleaning the mikveh the following morning.
When a woman is caring for a sick person, regardless of whether this is at home or in a hospital, and finds it difficult to leave the patient’s bedside to go to the mikveh, this is not a matter of contagion risk but merely a technical difficulty. With effort, a solution can often be found, for example, arranging for someone to replace her. It is also possible to find mikvehs near the hospital.
Often, women feel essential and that they must be present to perform various tasks. However, solutions can be found. Only in extreme situations, when the conditions do not allow a woman to immerse at the designated time, will immersion at a different time be permitted, sometimes even over an extended period.
Epidemics and Collective Challenges
In exceptional situations, women may find it difficult to immerse at the appointed time due to danger or health concerns such as heavy snow, a natural disaster, God forbid, or a pandemic. Many tend to downplay these difficulties, arguing that our female ancestors in the diaspora immersed under even harsher conditions, without transportation, heating, and sanitary conditions, with great devotion and effort, so why should we complain…
However, this is not completely true. Throughout history, women postponed their immersion under various circumstances, and this is not an instance in which an individual should choose death over breaking the law. Rabbi Avraham Tzvi Hirsch Eisenstadt, author of the Pitchei Teshuva, writing in the 19th century, comments on force majeure situations such as severe weather conditions or thieves: “It seems that this does not apply unless the force majeure situation affects all the women in the city.” In other words, a situation affecting all the women of the city is considered a justified reason for postponing immersion.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, women faced collective challenges, including isolation following exposure to a confirmed patient where she might infect other women by immersing in the mikveh or when a general or local lockdown is imposed on the entire public. The risk of infection was a tangible concern, and some women chose to avoid immersing at the appointed time because they were in a high-risk group, due to concerns about the hygiene of the nearby mikveh, or because of the restrictions on leaving home during a lockdown. However, it is important to know that even in this regard, halakhic solutions can be found, ranging from the stringent to the lenient. On the one hand, there is no question that according to both law and halakhah, a woman in isolation is not permitted to leave her home, even for immersion. On the other hand, a woman who has not been exposed to a confirmed patient could indeed leave her home to immerse in the mikveh, even if it is beyond the travel distance permitted during the lockdown (a special exemption in the law). Some women preferred to avoid mikvehs and instead immersed in natural bodies of water like the sea. However, this option is not always possible; during lockdown, for example, access to the sea was prohibited.
COVID-19 was unique in that it led to prolonged uncertainty about the future and, therefore, postponing immersion could last weeks or even months. Some insisted on prohibiting the postponement of immersion for the reasons mentioned above, but according to halakhah, a woman may choose to delay her immersion for her own reasons. Some will do so after receiving approval from a rabbi or rabbanit, while others will decide on their own. In any case, it is important to remember that throughout the waiting period prior to immersion, the woman remains niddah, with all the resulting halakhic implications.
Practical Guidelines for a Postponed Immersion
A woman who needs to immerse at a time other than the appointed night should ensure she finishes counting the cleansing days and performs the hefsek taharah as usual. After the examination on the seventh day, she is not required to continue the examinations, including on the day of immersion. She is also permitted to wear colored underwear once again and is not required to wear white specifically. All the preparations for the immersion proceed as usual.
If a woman’s husband is out of town and there is even the slightest chance that he might return early, the woman should immerse with a blessing, except when the immersion falls on Friday night, in which case the immersion should be postponed by one night. When the husband is far away and definitely will not return home for several months, and the woman wishes to immerse, she should do so with a blessing, but not on Shabbat.
The law regarding a bride is somewhat different. A bride is obligated to immerse in the mikveh as close as possible to her wedding (even if she no longer experiences a menstrual cycle or has not bled since her last immersion), dependent, of course, on the completion of the seven cleansing days. However, if she cannot immerse on the night before her wedding, she may do so earlier, provided she is careful to perform checks on the days between the immersion and the wedding. Here too, the preparations and immersion proceed as they would have had she immersed at the appointed time.
A Time to Act for the Lord
We have reviewed the halachic sources regarding postponing immersion and emphasized the great importance of immersing at the appointed time. Nevertheless, our Torah is a living Torah, and it responds to the changing realities of our lives. Postponing immersion is sometimes perceived negatively as laziness and procrastination. It is important to highlight the implications of this, as well as the frequent criticism of postponing immersion, and one should exercise restraint in this regard. Any woman who observes the laws of niddah and maintains a regular immersion routine already sees herself as committed to the halakhic system. The underlying assumption is that every woman wants to fulfill the mitzvah according to halakhah, and if the immersion is postponed, the circumstances are, in all likelihood, justified. Criticism and judgment in this regard add unnecessary difficulty to this sensitive situation.
Just as there is a mitzvah to immerse on time, there is also a mitzvah to postpone immersion under certain circumstances, and this immersion holds no less value than immersing at the appointed time. Even if a postponed immersion entails anxiety and distress, “according to the effort is the reward” (Avot 5:23)—the greater the difficulty, the greater the reward. The Holy One, Blessed be He, and He alone examines the innermost thoughts and intentions of the heart.
“And trustworthy is the Master of your work to pay you the reward for your labor”
(Pirkei Avot 2:16).
Translated by Joshua Amaru
