What's Going On - After Birth

The source for impurity as a result of childbirth is from Leviticus 12:1-5, which provides that a woman is impure for 7 days after giving birth to a boy and for 14 days after the birth of a girl.  The Torah also informs us that subsequent to that period, a woman is pure for 33 days is she gave birth to a boy and for 66 days if she gave birth to a girl, without regard to the presence of blood.  This initial impurity has nothing to do with bleeding, but is simply an impurity contracted as the result of giving birth.

In addition to this impurity, if the woman were a zavah at the time she gave birth, she would be required to count 7 clean days.  We do not require that these 7 days be distinct from the 7/14 day impurity.  The count can overlap.  Thus, it is entirely possible for a woman to be able to go to the mikva after her 14 day impurity if there have been at least 7 continuous blood free days at the end of day 14.

As part of the chumra described in the Talmud of "The women of Israel being strict on themselves..." that we discussed in an earlier shiur, we consider all women who give birth to have the double impurity of childbirth and zavah.

As noted, the Torah provides for an extended period of guaranteed purity after the 7 or 14 day period of impurity.  However, it is accepted halacha today that we do not take advantage of this extended period, but we maintain the Talmudic period stringency.  There is some dispute among the rishonim as to exactly when the childbirth stringency was decreed.  The Ramban maintains that it is a Talmudic period decree, as explained above, while the Rashba asserts that the language of the Talmud indicates that it was not an accepted custom at that time and was in fact decreed later on.

Although the difference might seem irrelevant, there are several areas in which this argument would make a practical difference in halacha. One of these is whether or not the woman would make a blessing on immersion during the 33/66 day period.  The reason is that there is the principle of "Ayn mevarchim al haminhag" - we do not make blessings on something that is a custom.  Apparently (and I have not looked into this at all), a custom is considered to be any practice that does not have Talmudic roots.  Therefore, if the chumra was in fact, as the Ramban maintains, Talmudic, then we would require a blessing.  Conversely, according to the Rashba, one would not make a blessing.

It is apparent from the Beis Yosef (a commentary written by the author of the shulchan aruch on the earlier halachic work of the Tur.) that he considers the Ramban's position to be authoritative and we therefore require women to make the appropriate blessing.

We have learned previously that is a woman announces during intercourse that she is bleeding, both must stop moving and wait for his erection to subside prior to withdrawal.  However, we have also learned that one who is a virgin bride and who is bleeding during her initial intercourse as a result of a puncture in the hymen does not have to advise her husband to stop.  In fact, the couple can have repeated intercourse as long as he does not withdraw from her.  The poskim argue about the requirement during the 33/66 day period of Dam Tohar. The Noda BiYehudah holds that this bleeding is similar to virginal bleeding and therefore the couple can continue intercourse.  The Pischei Tshuvah however, argues and maintains that the regular rule of ceasing intercourse applies.  Rav Wozner  holds like the latter view and explains that the main difference is that hymenal blood is anticipated and is thus specifically permitted, but that the bleeding of Dam Tohar is like any other bleeding.

When Israel observed the 33/66 days as real Dam Tohar, there was a halacha that one was not permitted to have intercourse on the night of days 41/81 in order to  insure that the couple is aware that the status of blood has changed.  The Shach (4) suggests that a "concerned person" be strict about this even though there is no relevancy to these dates in contemporary halacha. Taz (2), however, maintains that this practice is no longer applicable at all.  Rav Wozner notes that he has not seen any poskim supporting the Shach's view and refers to it as "Chassidus shel shtus" (foolish piety).  The Rama notes that there was a custom for women to wait until the conclusion of the 40/80 days before going to mikva at all.  The Rambam decries this as bordering on heresy while the Rama seems to accept the custom as a valid one in those communities that have accepted it.  The Chasam Sofer notes that this custom, to the extent that it exists at all, certainly does not apply in case of a miscarriage.

 

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