[Avodah] Halachic Infertility, or, Abolishing Shivah Neki'im

[Ilana Sober]

Moderators - this thread started on Areivim so I'm cc'ing both lists - feel
free to reject from Areivim.

The seven clean days requirement is based on a SAFEK D'ORAITA. We can no
longer distinguish niddah from zivah, because we have lost the mesorah of
which precise four shades of red and one of black render a woman niddah
d'oraita. This makes it impossible to pinpoint the halachic onset of
bleeding, which means we can no longer keeep an accurate niddah-zivah
calendar. Based on this safek d'oraita, a woman needs to count six clean
days whenever she experiences ANY bleeding, and seven clean days when she
bleeds for at least three days. This is the takanah of Rebbi baSadot. The
chumra of b'not yisra'el, cited by Rabbi Zeira, is actually a rather a small
extension of that decree - she counts an extra clean day even if she bleeds
only for one or two days, so that she consistently counts seven no matter
what.

Dr. Rosenak sounds unusually cautious in his attitude towards hormones. I
cannot tell you how many kallot I have met who have been using birth control
pills since adolescence for acne, painful periods, and who knows what else.
Physicians are usually quite willing to prescribe hormones for "lifestyle"
concerns, and I don't know why religious concerns should be any less
serious.

In any case, physicians have no more business paskening halacha (which
requires a level of knowledge and shikul daat that Dr. Rosenak seems unable
even to conceive of - "research" is insufficient) than rabbis do prescribing
hormones. I am glad he trembles at the risk of a stroke from hormones (IIUC,
this risk is statistically quite low, especially with proper advance
screening for risk factors). Does he also tremble at the risk of violating
an issur karet if a woman who halachically really is a zavah immerses
without the shivah neki'im?

The problem of halachic infertility should certainly not be minimized.
Fundamentally, it is a result of churban, galut, the lack of a sanhedrin,
etc. No - the halachic system is not perfect and even causes suffering. Dr.
Rosenak is correct that in this case, as in others, the problem is not that
G-d designed an imperfect system, but that the system has deteriorated. He
misidentifies the cause of the deterioration as "the rabbis." The cause of
the deterioration is churban and galut - the rabbis are those who saved the
system from total disintegration. Perhaps, rather than secretly breathing a
sigh of relief that we are no longer burdened with primitive practices like
animal sacrifice, we should take note of the broader implications of
churban.

Yh"r sheyibaneh beit hamikdash bimhera b'yamenu.

Note: Any woman who suspects she has halachic infertility should confirm
that she is, in fact, ovulating early. Ovulation tests are commercially
available. If this does turn out to be the problem, there are some halachic
interventions that should be tried before medical interventions such as
hormones.
1) Asking a she'elah on attempts at a hefsek as early as day four/five (see
#2) - making sure that the Rav is aware of the halachic infertility problem.
A hefsek does not have to be pure white!!! Some browns are in fact
permissible, especially b'shaat hadchak. Similarly, questions should be
asked about any other problematic stains or bedikot during shivah neki'im.
2) Asking a she'elah about reducing the minimum days before shivah neki'im
from five to four, even for Ashkenazim. In extreme situations, it may be
possible to devise strategies for further reduction if bleeding stops early
enough.

- Ilana