[Avodah] halachic infertility

[Ilana Elzufon]

RYS:12 is the absolute requirement for most people,

> : but it can be reduced, a bit, in certain cases, such as these, See as an
> : example the treatment given in Halachos of Niddah by Rabbi Binyomin Forst
> : (need to find the chapter again).
>

Rav Forst, vol 2 (green version, not ladies' version), page 148, mainly in
footnote. In some Sephardi communities, all women only count a 4-day
minimum, and sometimes from the previous biah rather than onset of niddah.
There are poskim who will allow some/all of this for all women in
extenuating circumstances, even if they normally wait 5 days from the onset
of niddah for a hefsek.

Another important, but sometimes overlooked, solution is to remind women to
ask a she'elah on a hefsek attempt from day 5 even if it is stained,
explaining to the rav the halachic infertility situation. This is the
solution of FIRST RESORT. There are women who are convinced they have
halachic infertility, who could go to the mikvah a day or two earlier
simply by asking she'elot.

By the way, ovulation testing kits are now readily available over the
counter or by ordering online, and are not expensive, so a woman can verify
fairly easily whether she is indeed ovulating before mikvah. This should be
done over several months, as most women do not have completely regular
cycles and may ovulate before mikvah some months but not others.

>
> RMB: The impression I got from RARakeffetR was that now that the option
> exists,
> some poesaqim prefer IVH (in vitro fertilization with the husband's sperm)
> to being meiqil. (For anyone. Doubly so if rumor of this heter might
> relay the message that 7 neqi'im isn't "real".) If that's the route
> they take, it's likely the poseiq would advise two tevilos:
> Once, after niddah deOraisa, so that any consequent velad would definitely
> not have the pegam of being a ben niddah; and
> A 2nd time as per most couples, to fulfil the minhag Yisrael of 5 +
> 7 neqi'im.
>

AIH, not IVH. Just artificial insemination, infinitely cheaper and less
complicated than IVF. Medically, it's basically the same procedure used
(l'havdil) by women who do not have husbands but wish to have babies.
However, it comes with its own set of significant halachic problems related
to the method of obtaining the zera.

The heter you are referring to - tevilah during shivah neki'im, i.e.,
tevilah after niddah d'Oraita - is indeed a much, much more significant
kula than that mentioned above in the name of Rav Forst, where the
compromise is only the minimum days before the start of shivah neki'im.
Such a heter, if issued, would be based on the judgment of the individual
posek, taking into account all aspects of the couple's particular situation.

- Ilana
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