Study the Torah with Academic Scholarship

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use

Niddah

Menstruant as Zavah: How the Laws of Niddah Developed

Leviticus 15 describes two types of impure bleeding for women: menstruation (niddah), and bleeding that is “not during her menstrual period (zavah).” The Rabbis attempt to define the difference in an abstract manner, and in so doing, elide the two.

Prof.

Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert

,

,

Sex During Menstruation: From Impurity to Prohibition

Leviticus 15:24 does not declare sex with a menstruating woman to be forbidden, only that it results in temporary impurity. Leviticus 18:19 and 20:18, however, strictly prohibit it. What accounts for these two different approaches?

Dr.

Eve Levavi Feinstein

,

,

Niddah (Menstruation): From Torah to Rabbinic Law

In Leviticus 15, the laws of niddah are about purity; Lev 18 and 20, however, prohibit sex during menstruation. The rabbis, who inherited both of these texts, create a new, hybrid concept: the prohibition of sex while a woman has the status of menstrual impurity.

Prof.

Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert

,

,

The Purification of a Niddah: The Legal Responsibility of the Reader

A rejoinder to Rabbi Dr. Zev Farber’s “The Purification of a Niddah: The Torah Requirement.”

Dr.

Yitzhaq Feder

,

,

Biblical Purification: Was It Immersion?

The Archaeological and Textual Evidence 

Dr.

Hayah Katz

,

,

The Parturient’s Days of Purity: From Torah to Halacha

In reference to the parturient, the Torah speaks of a 33 or 66 day period of דמי טהרה “blood of her purity” as distinguished from a 7 or 14 day period “like menstruation.” What is the difference between these two periods according to Leviticus and how did later groups such as rabbinic Jews, Karaites, Samaritans, and Beta Israel understand it?

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

,

,

The Purification of a Niddah: The Torah Requirement

Jewish law requires a menstruant woman to purify herself by immersing in water. A schematic look at Leviticus 15 actually implies this is not a Torah requirement.

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

,

,

Sexual Prohibitions in the Bible and the ANE: A Comparison

How do the laws of Leviticus 18 compare to the laws and practices of the Babylonians, Hittites, and Egyptians, and to the rest of the Bible?

Dr.

Eve Levavi Feinstein

,

,

The Purification of a Niddah: When Silence Matters

Immersing in the Priestly Text: In support of Dr. Rabbi Zev Farber's contention in “The Purification of a Niddah: The Torah Requirement” that the Torah does not require women to immerse after niddah in order to become pure.

Dr. Hacham

Isaac S. D. Sassoon

,

,

No items found.