What's Going On - Barriers to Immersion - Hair In Seif 5 we see further application of the dispute between the Rambam and the Geonim mentioned earlier. Since the Geonim consider hair to be a distinct thing that is evaluated separately from the rest of the body, if the majority of her hair is knotted, even if she is not concerned about it, it would still constitute a barrier. Kinas Sofrim notes that the consideration of hair as a distinct thing only applies when the condition of the hair itself creates the barrier, but not when there is an external barrier, such as mud. In that case, we would include the hair in our evaluation of the entire body. The Achronim make a further distinction and rule that hair on one's head is considered by itself and that the balance of body hair is considered collectively as a single item. Rav Wozner speculates that the reason for the custom that some women have of cutting off all of their hair is because of the fear of knotting and the possibility of it acting as a barrier. Additionally, he notes that the Zohar says that hair is a tool for acquiring impurity. Seif 6 requires some explanation. The ruling of the Shulchan Aruch regarding pubic hair appears to still be practiced today. Rav Wozner maintains that if a Sephardic woman had been practicing this custom, there is likely nothing that she can do to change. A woman who is prepared to practice the custom but does not wish to adopt it as her own must specify on the initial occasion and all subsequent ones that she is specifically not accepting the custom. Rav Wozner appears to provide a little wiggle room on the topic but one must consult with one's halachic authority to clarify the issues involved. There are rulings, contrary to the Shulchan Aruch, that a woman's armpit hair is a barrier; there are also some strong opinions that it is not. The inclusion of unmarried women troubled the poskim, since unmarried women do not go to mikvah. There are two different reasons suggested for this law:
The problem of mucus or other bodily secretions acting as a barrier applies only to those parts of the body that are theoretically visible at some time. The general halacha is that water should reach all parts of the body that it is capable of reaching, regardless of whether that particular part is externally visible or not. However, a stoppage, whether natural or artificial, that prevents the flow of water to those areas will not invalidate the immersion. Consequently, one is permitted to have a cotton swab in one's nose, for example, if needed. Similarly, both Rav Wozner and the Chasam Sofer have ruled that devices similar to IUD's do not constitute barriers. While there are stricter views in this matter, there is certainly no reason not to rely on the more lenient opinions. The eye shadow described in the halacha here is a heavy colored powder of some sort that bears no resemblance to modern cosmetics. As such, it is difficult to determine the status of modern eye shadow. Rav Wozner concludes that we can be lenient for those women who cannot be influenced to be careful about it; otherwise, we should consider it a barrier. Various poskim note that our practice is not to use eye shadow or other make up prior to immersion. Dried blood and scabs are to be considered as barriers. As the Shulchan Aruch notes, the woman must scrub her scab until it becomes soft at which point it is no longer a barrier. There are, however, poskim who rule that the scales must actually be removed; we do not follow these opinions. Although it seems clear that one can examine a wound to see whether the scab has hardened or not, the Shulchan Aruch nonetheless sets a standard of 3 days, whether it ends up being lenient or strict. The law of a bandage also applies to any cream or substance
that is rubbed on a wound to help it heal. In the case of hand washing
(Orach Chaim 161:2) we learn that a bandage is not considered a
barrier. However, for immersion it is since immersion is a Torah based
law. There seems to be some disagreement about status of a cast.
The Ksav Sofer concludes that it would constitute a barrier while
others disagree. In such a situation, one should consult with a
competant authority.
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