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Jewish ritual purity in marital relations (Niddah)
#1
Do the laws of Niddah (the Torah laws of Jewish ritual purity in regard to the menstrual cylce of married Jewish women) apply to Noahides? If so, to what extent?
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#2
No, they do not apply.

But a Noahide couple can mutually choose to observe some aspects of "family purity" - for example refraining from relations, or even from physical contact all together, during the days of the wife's menstration.
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#3
Director Michael Wrote:No, they do not apply.

But a Noahide couple can mutually choose to observe some aspects of "family purity" - for example refraining from relations, or even from physical contact all together, during the days of the wife's menstration.

I have wondered why the laws of purity do not apply to Noahides. From the Torah text of Vayikra 18, when HaShem is listing the bad behaviors of the nations who have been in the land prior to Israel, approaching a woman in her time of separation for sexual activity is listed. If the nations were being punished for this, why is it not included in the mitzvot for bnei noach?

And thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness.
Leviticus 18:19

Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations are defiled, which I cast out from before you.
Leviticus 18:24


It seems to me that HaShem is saying the nations defiled themselves by practicing this, along with the other forbidden sexual relations. Can someone help me understand why this particular one is not included in forbidden behavior for noahides?

Andrew
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#4
To explain this in a simple and straightforward way:

On a scriptural basis, ALL of the Torah's many laws of ritual "purity" ("taharah" in Hebrew) apply only to Jews. A Gentile woman does not become scripturally impure due to her menstruation, so this is not an issue at all. The spiritual "impurity" ("tumah" in Hebrew) that is decreed by G-d upon Jews due to certain physical circumstances serves to restrict them from entering the precincts of the Holy Temple, or eating from the holy Temple sacrifices, until they undergo some specific purification procedure.

Gentiles do not become spiritually impure from menstruation, and there is no sin involved for them if they engage in relations during that condition.

The act of relations during the "niddah" impurity was mentioned along with the categories of forbidden sexual partners to teach the Jews that for them, G-d considers these as two categories of Jewish sins which are on a par. Furthermore, once a Jewish woman menstruates, she remains continuously in the "niddah impurity" with no time limit, even after her menstruation (bleeding) ends, and marital relations remain forbidden under the very same commandment until such time as she undergoes the Jewish ritual purification procedure.

(Note that the very act of marital relations always renders both the Jewish man and the Jewish woman spiritually impure, with a different category of tumah.)

On the other hand, the act of relations during the menstruation (bleeding) itself is a repulsive type of behavior. Jews are commanded in general to be "holy," which includes refraining from engaging in repulsive acts. There is no such commandment upon Gentiles, but it is a good thing to aspire to, and the Noahides who do may benefit in their own sense of self-respect and also in their health and in their marital harmony.

The basic reason that G-d commanded the Jews to remove the Canaanites from the Land of Israel is because they were steeped in idolatry, not because of the repulsiveness of other particular actions which were not violations of the seven Noahide Commandments.
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#5
If a Noahide woman follows the Jewish laws of Niddah to the best of her ability, would she be allowed to immerse in a Mikvah at the end of her Niddah (I'm referring to someone who does it by choice, and not because they feel they were commanded to do so)? I apologize if this has already been discussed (I didn't see it anywhere else).

Peace,
Miguel
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#6
A Noahide woman does not have a recurring interval of "Niddah" days (a commanded period of separation from her Gentile husband), so there is no reason for her to perform a Jewish-style ritual immersion. Doing so would be like creating a new commandment for herself, because of its ritual nature which has no practical purpose for Gentiles. If a Gentile couple decides to refrain from relations during the days of the wife's menstrual flow (and they are permitted to voluntarily take on that restriction, because it has positive benefits for the marriage relationship), then she can perform some activity to mark the end of that period of time and their return to having relations. For example, this could be taking a bath or a shower, or just the return to sleeping together if they had separated from doing so during those days.
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#7
First, let me explain what the laws of niddah are. In Judaism (and I certainly don't claim to be an expert in this), Jewish husbands and wives don't have any sort of marital relations when the Jewish wife is in her "time of the month." These laws also apply immediately after a Jewish woman has given birth to a child. Having marital relations during this time is against G-d's law for Jews, and renders a Jewish person "unclean." The time of separation, in which they shouldn't even make physical contact, can last up to 12 days.

I can already see people taking offense at this. Does this mean that women are dirty during their time of niddah? They didn't choose for their bodies to do this, so why do their husbands have to flee from them while screaming "eeewwww"? Is this fair? I would have to agree with those who would take offense at this and admit that I thought it wasn't fair.
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#8
(07-16-2011, 02:20 PM)Celine Bresette Wrote: I can already see people taking offense at this.

That only happens if the person is reacting with blatant misunderstanding and misinformation about this subject of Torah Law for Jews. As always, if a person takes offense at something in Torah, they should realize that it's because of their lack of understanding, and they should try to correct this by diligently seeking out the authentic meaning and explanation.

(07-16-2011, 02:20 PM)Celine Bresette Wrote: Does this mean that women are dirty during their time of niddah?

NO. Such an idea comes from the unfortunate use of the mistranslation "unclean." As I wrote in a post above, this subject has nothing to do with physical cleanliness. Rather, because Jews are inherently holy (Leviticus 19:2), there is a spiritual "impurity" ("tumah" in Hebrew) that attaches upon Jews due to certain physical circumstances (of which female menstruation is just one of these; male ejaculation and proper marital intercourse are two other examples), and the condition of "tumah" continues indefinitely until the Jewish man or woman undergoes some specific procedure to achieve spiritual "purification," as specified in the Torah. During the condition of "tumah" a Jew is restricted from entering the precincts of the Holy Temple, or eating from the holy Temple sacrifices. This applies for Jewish men of all ages as much as it does for Jewish women of all ages. The unique aspect of the particular tumah that results in the "niddah" state is that for Jews, marital relations are forbidden indefinitely until the woman in this state undertakes the specified spiritual purification procedure.

(07-16-2011, 02:20 PM)Celine Bresette Wrote: They didn't choose for their bodies to do this, so why do their husbands have to flee from them while screaming "eeewwww"?

That is a horrible untrue stereotype. Although granted, in the unfortunate situation that has come about in recent generations, there are many Jews who haven't been correctly educated about some basic principles of their own religion, including the meaning and thoughtful and sensitive practice of niddah, which by the way serves to increase the affection and intimacy of a Jewish couple, when observed correctly.

(07-16-2011, 02:20 PM)Celine Bresette Wrote: Is this fair? I would have to agree with those who would take offense at this and admit that I thought it wasn't fair.

As I explained, your understanding was incorrect, so you should re-evaluate your reactive of offense and unfairness in light of corrected information.
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