First, a Word on "Clean" and "Unclean"

The Torah calls a menstruating woman niddah, and during this time describes her as ritually "unclean" (tamei). It is essential to understand what this word does — and does not — mean. It is a term of ritual status, not of hygiene, sin, or worth. It does not mean a woman is dirty, shameful, or being punished. Ritual "uncleanness" is a temporary state affecting participation in certain sacred activities, and it is entered through many ordinary, blameless parts of life — including childbirth, and even the care of the dead.

Understood rightly, the monthly cycle is marked within a sacred rhythm — a God-given pattern of separation and return that many women describe as dignifying rather than diminishing.

The Torah's Instruction

From the onset of menstruation the Torah marks a period of ritual separation. During these days the woman is niddah; the surrounding verses (Leviticus 15:19–24) extend the ritual status to what she sits or lies upon, within the framework of the tabernacle purity system.

The Days of Separation

How the days are counted is one of the movement's areas of variation (see: Differences of Opinion):

• The written-Torah minimum — seven days from the onset of menstruation (Leviticus 15:19); once bleeding has ended, immersion then restores purity.
• The traditional practice — many follow the older Jewish custom of also counting seven "clean" days after bleeding has fully stopped before immersing. This draws on the Torah's instruction for irregular or prolonged discharge (Leviticus 15:28), which rabbinic tradition applied to the monthly cycle as well.

Households differ on which count they keep. Both are held sincerely; neither is imposed.

Return to Purity — Immersion

The days of separation end with tevilah — full immersion in living water — which restores the woman to ritual purity. The immersion is described step by step on the How-To page, and the meaning of the mikveh is covered under Ritual Cleansing.

Intimacy & Marriage

The Torah asks husband and wife to refrain from sexual relations during the days of niddah:

House of Miriam follows the plain reading of the text: what is set aside during the niddah days is sexual relations. A married couple abstains from relations for the duration of the niddah days and resumes after the woman has immersed. Other physical affection — an embrace, a comforting touch — is left to each couple's own conscience. (Some in the wider movement keep the stricter traditional custom of avoiding all physical touch during this time; House of Miriam does not require it.)

Good to know: outside of the niddah days, ordinary marital relations only require washing afterward — a regular shower, not a mikveh. Full immersion is a separate requirement tied specifically to ending niddah, not to relations themselves. And if a mikveh or natural water isn't within reach, a full bath at home is accepted — see: Ritual Cleansing, "No Mikveh, No Natural Water Nearby?"

Far from being felt as a burden, many women and couples describe this monthly rhythm of separation and reunion as something that protects intimacy — a recurring pause that renews closeness and keeps the relationship from being taken for granted. The return after immersion becomes, for many, a small monthly renewal of the marriage itself.

After Childbirth

A related period of ritual separation follows childbirth:

The Torah gives a shorter initial period like that of niddah, followed by a longer season of "purifying" — forty days in all for the birth of a son, and eighty for a daughter (Leviticus 12:4–5) — concluding with immersion and, in the tabernacle era, an offering. Many in the movement keep the periods of separation while recognising that the sacrificial portion cannot be observed without a standing temple.

Held with Dignity

Because the movement has no central authority, the details above are kept differently from household to household. What is shared is the conviction that a woman's body and its cycles are not something to be hidden away in embarrassment, but are woven into the same framework of holiness that governs all of life — marked, honoured, and returned to purity in their season.

This page presents the Torah's instruction and the practices most commonly kept. It is informational — not medical advice or a halachic ruling — and women are encouraged to study the sources directly.