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179-551: A niddah (or nidah ; Hebrew : נִדָּה ), in traditional Judaism , is a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation ), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirement of immersion in a mikveh (ritual bath). In the Book of Leviticus , the Torah prohibits sexual intercourse with a niddah . The prohibition has been maintained in traditional Jewish law and by

358-637: A mikveh was controversial and was rejected by the majority of rabbinic authorities at the time and afterwards. Frozen water (snow, ice and hail) is exceptional in that it may be used to fill the mikveh no matter how it was transported. The laws for a mikveh are slightly different from those of a spring. Mikveh water must be at rest, while spring water can still be flowing. Thus, flowing rivers may only be used for immersion when most of their water comes from springs, rather than rainfall or snowmelt . Oceans and seas may always be used (even if waves are present). A mikveh must contain enough water to cover

537-522: A spa . Traditionally, the mikveh was used by both men and women to regain ritual purity after various events, according to regulations laid down in the Torah and in classical rabbinical literature. Cases where Jews commonly immerse in a mikveh nowadays, in order to fulfill a requirement of Torah or rabbinic law , include: Other cases where immersion in a mikveh would be required to become pure, but have not generally been practiced since destruction of

716-411: A tampon ), consequently known as a moch dachuk , for between 18 minutes and an hour, to ensure that there is no blood; this must be done carefully, as it could otherwise irritate the mucous membrane , causing bleeding unrelated to menstruation. If there is any fear of irritation causing bleeding, a rabbi may waive this practice. The "bedikah" is repeated each morning and evening of the seven days after

895-685: A Hebrew form. Medieval Hebrew added 6421 words to (Modern) Hebrew. The approximate number of new lexical items in Israeli is 17,000 (cf. 14,762 in Even-Shoshan 1970 [...]). With the inclusion of foreign and technical terms [...], the total number of Israeli words, including words of biblical, rabbinic and medieval descent, is more than 60,000. In Israel, Modern Hebrew is currently taught in institutions called Ulpanim (singular: Ulpan). There are government-owned, as well as private, Ulpanim offering online courses and face-to-face programs. Modern Hebrew

1074-470: A blood stain. The daughters of Israel have behaved stringently with themselves, insofar that even if they should see a drop of blood as a mustard grain, they would wait over it seven days of cleanness Although the Written Law ( Leviticus 15:25–28 ) explicitly enjoins women to count seven days of cleanness (see infra ) when they have seen irregular blood sightings (the irregularity occurring only from

1253-522: A bloodstain of uncertain origin, for example on her underclothing, there are a series of complicated criteria used by rabbinical law to determine whether she is niddah or not; the woman herself is not expected to know these criteria, and must seek the assistance of a rabbi . According to the Torah, the niddah period is 7 days; however, in Ashkenazi communities, the Rabbis added a stringency increasing

1432-448: A building. Portable receptacles, such as bathtubs, whirlpools or Jacuzzis, can therefore never function as mikvoth. Mikveh water must have collected naturally ( bidei shamayim ) rather than by human action. Thus, mikveh water must flow naturally to the mikveh from the source (rain or a spring). This essentially means that it must be supplied by gravity or a natural pressure gradient, and cannot be pumped there by hand, or carried. As

1611-595: A century ago, was fluent enough in this idiom to be able to follow the Mishna Berurah without any trouble." Hebrew has been revived several times as a literary language, most significantly by the Haskalah (Enlightenment) movement of early and mid-19th-century Germany. In the early 19th century, a form of spoken Hebrew had emerged in the markets of Jerusalem between Jews of different linguistic backgrounds to communicate for commercial purposes. This Hebrew dialect

1790-661: A corollary Hebrew ceased to function as a spoken language around the same time. Moshe Zvi Segal , Joseph Klausner and Ben Yehuda are notable exceptions to this view. During the latter half of the 20th century, accumulating archaeological evidence and especially linguistic analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls has disproven that view. The Dead Sea Scrolls, uncovered in 1946–1948 near Qumran revealed ancient Jewish texts overwhelmingly in Hebrew, not Aramaic. The Qumran scrolls indicate that Hebrew texts were readily understandable to

1969-513: A custom of keeping their times of niddah secret from the general public. Conservative Judaism authorities teach that the laws of family purity are normative and still in force, including the requirement to refrain from sexual relations during niddah , yet there is a difference of opinions over how much other strictures need to be observed, such as whether there should be complete prohibition on any touching during niddah and whether women are required to count seven "clean" days before immersing in

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2148-507: A detailed ritual purification process. Since the late 19th century, with the influence of German Modern Orthodoxy, the laws concerning niddah are also referred to as Taharat haMishpacha ( טָהֳרַת הַמִּשְׁפָּחָה ‎, Hebrew for family purity ), an apologetic euphemism coined to de-emphasize the "impurity" of the woman (a concept criticized by the Reform movement) and to exhort the masses by warning that niddah can have consequences on

2327-579: A distinct style of philosophical Hebrew. This is used in the translations made by the Ibn Tibbon family. (Original Jewish philosophical works were usually written in Arabic. ) Another important influence was Maimonides , who developed a simple style based on Mishnaic Hebrew for use in his law code, the Mishneh Torah . Subsequent rabbinic literature is written in a blend between this style and

2506-408: A divorce or medical treatment, to find closure after an abortion , or to celebrate a life transition, among other reasons. Progressive Jews may also use the mikveh for conversion. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan connects the laws of impurity to the narrative in the beginning of Genesis . According to Genesis, by eating of the fruit, Adam and Eve had brought death into the world. Kaplan points out that most of

2685-479: A few families in Baghdad , was later rejected and abandoned by many, as Maimonides calls it an errant practice. Because the night that the woman ritually traditionally immerses is about 12 days after menstruation began, it often coincides with a woman's ovulation , and thus improves the chances of successful conception if sexual relations occur on that night. However, for certain women, this period extends far past

2864-594: A gradually accepted movement. It was not, however, until the 1904–1914 Second Aliyah that Hebrew had caught real momentum in Ottoman Palestine with the more highly organized enterprises set forth by the new group of immigrants. When the British Mandate of Palestine recognized Hebrew as one of the country's three official languages (English, Arabic, and Hebrew, in 1922), its new formal status contributed to its diffusion. A constructed modern language with

3043-518: A higher entry fee than other mikveh sites. Orthodox Judaism generally adheres to the classical regulations and traditions, and consequently Orthodox Jewish women are obligated to immerse in a mikveh between niddah and sexual relations with their husbands. This includes brides before their marriage , and married women after their menstruation period or childbirth. In accordance with Orthodox rules concerning modesty , men and women immerse in separate mikveh facilities in different locations, or else use

3222-427: A home mikveh using tap water, for those women who did not have access to a standard mikveh . As water flows through only pipes that open at both ends, the municipal and in-home plumbing would be construed as a non-vessel. So long as the pipes, hoses, and fittings are all freestanding and not held in the hand, they could be used to fill a mikveh receptacle that met all other requirements. The use of tap water for such

3401-404: A human, would render the mikveh unfit for use, regardless of whether water from a natural source was then added to make up 40 seahs from a natural source; a mikveh rendered unfit for use in this way would need to be completely drained away and refilled from scratch in the prescribed way. To avoid issues with these rules in large cities, various methods are employed to establish a valid mikveh. One

3580-468: A literary language down through the Byzantine period from the 4th century CE. The exact roles of Aramaic and Hebrew remain hotly debated. A trilingual scenario has been proposed for the land of Israel. Hebrew functioned as the local mother tongue with powerful ties to Israel's history, origins and golden age and as the language of Israel's religion; Aramaic functioned as the international language with

3759-536: A literary language, especially in Spain, as the language of commerce between Jews of different native languages, and as the liturgical language of Judaism, evolving various dialects of literary Medieval Hebrew , until its revival as a spoken language in the late 19th century. In May 2023, Scott Stripling published the finding of what he claims to be the oldest known Hebrew inscription, a curse tablet found at Mount Ebal , dated from around 3200 years ago. The presence of

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3938-551: A man who has sexual relations with her is rendered ritually impure for seven days—as opposed to one day of impurity for coming into contact with her or her midras ( Leviticus 15:24 ). During a woman's menstrual cycle, she is still permitted to cook and bake for her husband, and to separate the dough-portion (Challah), but is restricted from arranging her husband's bed linen in his presence, from mingling his cup of wine with water, and from washing her husband's face, feet and hands, since these actions are thought to arouse affection. It

4117-473: A menstruant ( niddah ) has ceased altogether, shortly before sunset she performs on herself a "cessation of uncleanness", known by its Hebrew euphemism hefseq be-ṭaharah ( הפסק בטהרה ‎ = lit. "cessation of purification"), during which time she checks herself to verify that all uterine bleeding has indeed stopped. This is done by bathing, and, afterwards, inserting a clean piece of white cotton or linen cloth within her vagina and examining it after swiping

4296-480: A mikveh are based on those specified in classical rabbinical literature . Numerous biblical laws indicate that one must "bathe their flesh in water" to become purified from ritual impurity. The type of bathing is specified in Leviticus 11:36 , which states that "a spring, or a cistern, a gathering ( mikveh ) of water" is a source of purity. A mikveh must be built into the ground or built as an essential part of

4475-587: A mikveh ceremony. However, there are growing trends toward using mikveh for conversions, wedding preparation, and even before holidays. In the 21st century the mikveh is experiencing a revival among progressive Jews who view immersion as a way to mark transitions in their lives. By 2001, the Central Conference of American Rabbis began to recommend a mikveh ceremony for converts. "Open" mikvoth welcome Jews to consider immersion for reasons not necessarily required by Jewish law; they might immerse following

4654-488: A mikveh space that felt accessible to transgender people, including training mikveh guides on gender issues. There is some controversy within the Jewish transgender community about the use of mikvah to mark gender transitions. Some feel uncomfortable in a space that is traditionally so highly gendered and that requires complete nudity. Others still see mikveh as a place for married women to go after their periods, and therefore

4833-434: A piece of white cloth into her vagina and having it come out free of blood, in order to begin on the following day her seven days of cleanness. Traditionally, this pause is observed even if no blood is discovered, though some Conservative authorities have ruled that a woman is not a niddah in such a case unless bleeding is observed. Out of tzniut (Hebrew for "modesty"), many Orthodox Jews and some Conservative Jews follow

5012-515: A range of approaches from an opinion reaffirming the traditional ritual to an opinion declaring the concept of ritual purity does not apply outside the Temple in Jerusalem , proposing a new theological basis for the ritual, adapting new terminology including renaming the observances related to menstruation from taharat hamishpacha family purity to kedushat hamishpaha [family holiness] to reflect

5191-414: A red or black blood stain on her body, or on her white garment or sheet, and which blood stain is larger in diameter than a fava bean (about 20 mm), in which case she must separate herself from her husband until she can complete seven clean days and can be purified in a ritual bath ( mikveh ). A blood stain that is a dark brown color leaning towards the color of coffee and the color of chestnuts defiles

5370-411: A remembrance for diasporic Jews so as to not forget the purity laws. This encouragement was only for the biblically prescribed seven-day period, not for the latter days that were added as part of certain rabbinical stringencies . The Lubavitcher rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson discouraged abstaining from the midras of a niddah in modern times. Leviticus further prohibits sexual intercourse with

5549-403: A result of her hymenal blood flow ( Hebrew : דם בתולים , romanized :  dam betulim , lit.   'virginal blood'). However, a bride observes only four days of hefsek taharah ( Hebrew : הפסק טהרה , lit.   'pause of purity'), instead of the usual five. The woman performs hefsek taharah by checking to make sure that all bleeding has stopped by inserting

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5728-475: A result, tap water cannot be used as the primary water source for a mikveh, although it can be used to top the water up to a suitable level. The water is also forbidden to pass through any vessel which could hold water within it or is capable of becoming impure (anything made of metal); however, pipes open to the air at both ends are fine so long as there is no significant curvature). Although not commonly accepted, at least one American Orthodox rabbi advocated

5907-435: A ritual bath ( mikveh ) that has been constructed in accordance with the Jewish laws of ritual purity. After concluding her seven days of cleanness, she is not allowed to immerse during the daytime, even on the eighth or ninth days, because of a rule introduced on account of her daughter's immersion ( Hebrew : סרך בתה ) and which was enacted for the sake of conformity, so that the daughter will not see her mother immerse during

6086-548: A set of dialects evolving out of Late Biblical Hebrew and into Mishnaic Hebrew, thus including elements from both but remaining distinct from either. By the start of the Byzantine Period in the 4th century CE, Classical Hebrew ceased as a regularly spoken language, roughly a century after the publication of the Mishnah, apparently declining since the aftermath of the catastrophic Bar Kokhba revolt around 135 CE. In

6265-615: A spoken language, it continued to be used as a lingua franca among scholars and Jews traveling in foreign countries. After the 2nd century CE when the Roman Empire exiled most of the Jewish population of Jerusalem following the Bar Kokhba revolt , they adapted to the societies in which they found themselves, yet letters, contracts, commerce, science, philosophy, medicine, poetry and laws continued to be written mostly in Hebrew, which adapted by borrowing and inventing terms. After

6444-420: A truly Semitic vocabulary and written appearance, although often European in phonology , was to take its place among the current languages of the nations. While many saw his work as fanciful or even blasphemous (because Hebrew was the holy language of the Torah and therefore some thought that it should not be used to discuss everyday matters), many soon understood the need for a common language amongst Jews of

6623-558: A vernacular in Judea until it was displaced by Aramaic, probably in the 3rd century CE. Certain Sadducee , Pharisee , Scribe , Hermit, Zealot and Priest classes maintained an insistence on Hebrew, and all Jews maintained their identity with Hebrew songs and simple quotations from Hebrew texts. While there is no doubt that at a certain point, Hebrew was displaced as the everyday spoken language of most Jews, and that its chief successor in

6802-479: A woman and renders her niddah , on the condition that she feels its discharge. However, if she saw the same color while checking herself with an inspection cloth, but had not felt any discharge of blood, she is clean. Conversely, a vaginal discharge that is white in color, or either light yellow, green or blueish in color, does not render the woman niddah . There are, yet, many other conditions that need to be met, by rabbinic ordinances, in order to render uncleanness to

6981-398: A woman who is in her niddah state. "And to a woman in her (state of) niddah impurity you should not come close (with intent to) reveal her nudity" ( Leviticus 18:19 ). The Torah concludes by imposing the punishment of kareth on both individuals (man and woman) if the prohibition is violated ( Leviticus 20:18 ) This issur (prohibition) component of physical relations with the niddah

7160-518: Is 8198, of which some 2000 are hapax legomena (the number of Biblical Hebrew roots, on which many of these words are based, is 2099). The number of attested Rabbinic Hebrew words is less than 20,000, of which (i) 7879 are Rabbinic par excellence, i.e. they did not appear in the Old Testament (the number of new Rabbinic Hebrew roots is 805); (ii) around 6000 are a subset of Biblical Hebrew; and (iii) several thousand are Aramaic words which can have

7339-644: Is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family . A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages , it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until after 200 CE and as the liturgical language of Judaism (since the Second Temple period ) and Samaritanism . The language was revived as a spoken language in the 19th century, and

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7518-402: Is also prohibited unto the man to touch his wife during these days. While the purity laws still exist in theory, in modern times there is generally no practical consequence to becoming impure (as, e.g., the Temple in Jerusalem cannot be visited), so the laws have no practical expression. Some later rabbinic authorities encouraged (but did not require) avoiding the midras of the niddah , as

7697-470: Is clean of any marks, colored threads, or specks; the cloth itself can be any clean white cloth, although there are small cloths designed for this ritual known as bedikah cloths, meaning "checking". In the Orthodox Jewish community, further rituals are practiced toward assurance regarding the cessation of the menstrual flow. After the hefsek taharah , some women insert a cloth (or, in modern times,

7876-433: Is considered in full effect and mandatory for all children of Israel. According to rabbinical law, a woman becomes a niddah when she is aware that blood has come from her womb , whether it is due to menstruation, childbirth , sexually transmitted disease , or other reasons. If menstruation began before she sees evidence of it, the rabbinic regulations regard her as not being niddah until she notices. Until this point,

8055-567: Is fighting to stop businesses from using only English signs to market their services. In 2012, a Knesset bill for the preservation of the Hebrew language was proposed, which includes the stipulation that all signage in Israel must first and foremost be in Hebrew, as with all speeches by Israeli officials abroad. The bill's author, MK Akram Hasson , stated that the bill was proposed as a response to Hebrew "losing its prestige" and children incorporating more English words into their vocabulary. Hebrew

8234-475: Is furthermore strongly recommended that women make an effort to refrain from looking at the toilet paper after wiping to avoid possible resultant questions. As with most forbidden relationships in Judaism , all physical contact in an affectionate or lustful manner is rabbinically forbidden when a woman is in her niddah status. Such contact is forbidden whether or not the man and woman are husband and wife. In

8413-446: Is inserted into the vagina , and if no blood is found, the woman may start counting the seven blood-free days. On each of these days, she performs this examination in the morning and in the later afternoon before sunset. If no blood is found, she may go to the mikveh on the eighth evening after nightfall, and then engage in intercourse with her husband. Such cloths are about two by four inches, and are available at local Judaica stores,

8592-424: Is known as ḥaṣīṣah = "interposing objects" (e.g. clay, dough, paint, gum resin, etc.). At the mikveh itself, a female attendant is present to make certain that the woman immerses herself fully, including her hairs. Though that is the attendant's foremost duty, she may also help by checking a woman's back or answer questions regarding proper ritual protocol. The classical regulations also forbid sexual relations on

8771-517: Is one of several languages for which the constitution of South Africa calls to be respected in their use for religious purposes. Also, Hebrew is an official national minority language in Poland , since 6 January 2005. Hamas has made Hebrew a compulsory language taught in schools in the Gaza Strip. Mikveh In Orthodox Judaism , these regulations are steadfastly adhered to; consequently,

8950-558: Is subject to more stringent requirements, depending on the duration of said abnormal blood flow. In the days of the Amoraim , because of possible confusion in determining when menstruation began and ended and hence whether blood was normal menstrual ( niddah ) or abnormal ( zavah ) blood, it became the accepted practice and practical halacha, that all women treat any emission as a continued abnormal flow ( zavah gedolah —זבה גדולה), which requires counting seven abnormal-discharge-free days from

9129-770: Is supposed to be no barrier between the person immersing and the water. The person should be wearing no clothes, jewelry, makeup, nail polish, fake nails, false eyelashes, contact lenses, or grooming products on the hair or skin. The person should carefully wash the hair and the body, removing calluses and dead skin prior. Some trim nails prior to immersion. Hair on the head and body is to be thoroughly combed, although exceptions are sometimes made for hair styled in dreadlocks. The mouth should be thoroughly cleaned and removable dental appliances are usually taken out. The person should carefully check their body after preparation, and sometimes an attendant will also check to ensure these requirements are met. Showering or bathing and carefully checking

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9308-414: Is that Jews used natural water sources such as springs for immersion, rather than building dedicated mikvoth. Alternatively, according to many Halakhic authorities the prohibition on using pumped water for a mikveh is rabbinic, not biblical. Prior to the creation of such a rabbinic decree around 100 BCE, Jews may have immersed in above-ground basins that were built as part of buildings, or affixed to

9487-518: Is that tap water is made to flow into a kosher mikveh, and through a conduit into a larger pool. A second method is to create a mikveh in a deep pool, place a floor with holes over that and then fill the upper pool with tap water. In this way, it is considered as if the person dipping is actually "in" the pool of rain water. Additionally, the hashoko method involves using two pools: one filled with at least 40 seahs of natural water and one filled with tap water. A hole at least 5 cm (2 in) wide on

9666-465: Is the custom of many in the Orthodox community to immerse at least twice. Accordingly, they would immerse, recite the blessing, then immerse again. The other opinion states that like other commandments, here too the blessing should be recited before performing the commandment. Immediate preparation for a mikveh includes a bath or shower wherein every part of the body (including the ears and underneath

9845-573: Is the only successful large-scale example of linguistic revival . It is the only Canaanite language, as well as one of only two Northwest Semitic languages, with the other being Aramaic , still spoken today. The earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date back to the 10th century BCE. Nearly all of the Hebrew Bible is written in Biblical Hebrew , with much of its present form in the dialect that scholars believe flourished around

10024-457: Is the primary official language of the State of Israel. As of 2013 , there are about 9 million Hebrew speakers worldwide, of whom 7 million speak it fluently. Currently, 90% of Israeli Jews are proficient in Hebrew, and 70% are highly proficient. Some 60% of Israeli Arabs are also proficient in Hebrew, and 30% report having a higher proficiency in Hebrew than in Arabic. In total, about 53% of

10203-403: Is to remove anything that could prevent full-body contact with the waters of the mikveh. After preparation, users typically signal to the mikveh attendant that they are ready for immersion. The user will check themselves for anything missed in preparation, and the attendant will offer to check as well. The attendant leads them to the pool. The ritual of immersion varies, but a blessing is said and

10382-547: Is used to pronounce the Hebrew Bible; however, properly it should be distinguished from the historical Biblical Hebrew of the 6th century BCE, whose original pronunciation must be reconstructed. Tiberian Hebrew incorporates the scholarship of the Masoretes (from masoret meaning "tradition"), who added vowel points and grammar points to the Hebrew letters to preserve much earlier features of Hebrew, for use in chanting

10561-650: The Chayei Adam in Hebrew, as opposed to Yiddish , as a guide to Halacha for the " average 17-year-old" (Ibid. Introduction 1). Similarly, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan 's purpose in writing the Mishnah Berurah was to "produce a work that could be studied daily so that Jews might know the proper procedures to follow minute by minute". The work was nevertheless written in Talmudic Hebrew and Aramaic, since, "the ordinary Jew [of Eastern Europe] of

10740-727: The Ancient Greek Ἑβραῖος ( hebraîos ) and Aramaic 'ibrāy , all ultimately derived from Biblical Hebrew Ivri ( עברי ), one of several names for the Israelite ( Jewish and Samaritan ) people ( Hebrews ). It is traditionally understood to be an adjective based on the name of Abraham 's ancestor, Eber , mentioned in Genesis 10:21 . The name is believed to be based on the Semitic root ʕ-b-r ( ע־ב־ר ‎), meaning "beyond", "other side", "across"; interpretations of

10919-643: The Ashkenazim and the Sephardic Jewish communities as to when to begin the counting of seven days of cleanness if she cohabited with her husband within those 72 hours (three days) prior to her seeing blood. For the Sephardic Jewish community, waiting four days before beginning to count seven days of cleanness only refers to when there were conjugal affairs between a man and his wife, leading up to her menstrual period. If, however, there

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11098-477: The Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz , according to which one seah is 14.3 litres, and therefore a mikveh must contain approximately 575 litres . This volume of water can later be topped up with water from any source, but if there were less than 40 seahs of water in the mikveh, then the addition of 3 or more pints of water that was at any time intentionally collected in any vessel or transferred by

11277-547: The Canaanite group of languages . Canaanite languages are a branch of the Northwest Semitic family of languages. Hebrew was the spoken language in the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the period from about 1200 to 586 BCE. Epigraphic evidence from this period confirms the widely accepted view that the earlier layers of biblical literature reflect the language used in these kingdoms. Furthermore,

11456-625: The Chief Rabbinate and the Jerusalem Religious Council , insisting that women be allowed to use the mikvah "according to their personal customs and without supervision, or with their own attendant if they wish". The complaint charged that the Chief Rabbinate is ignoring directives passed in 2013 that allow women to use the mikvah facilities without being asked intrusive questions by attendants. In June 2016,

11635-572: The Gospel of Matthew . (See the Hebrew Gospel hypothesis or Language of Jesus for more details on Hebrew and Aramaic in the gospels.) The term "Mishnaic Hebrew" generally refers to the Hebrew dialects found in the Talmud , excepting quotations from the Hebrew Bible. The dialects organize into Mishnaic Hebrew (also called Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic Hebrew I), which

11814-495: The Latin alphabet of ancient Rome . The Gezer calendar is written without any vowels , and it does not use consonants to imply vowels even in the places in which later Hebrew spelling requires them. Numerous older tablets have been found in the region with similar scripts written in other Semitic languages, for example, Proto-Sinaitic . It is believed that the original shapes of the script go back to Egyptian hieroglyphs , though

11993-682: The Maccabean Revolt (167–160 BCE) and the emergence of the Hasmonean kingdom , the Great Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE), and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE). The nationalist significance of Hebrew manifested in various ways throughout this period. Michael Owen Wise notes that "Beginning with the time of the Hasmonean revolt [...] Hebrew came to the fore in an expression akin to modern nationalism. A form of classical Hebrew

12172-595: The Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible . The majority of these uses refer to forms of uncleanliness in Leviticus. For example, in Leviticus, if a man takes his brother's wife, then that is "uncleanness", niddah. The five uses in Numbers all concern the red heifer ceremony ( Numbers 19:1 ) and use the phrase mei niddah , "waters of separation". 2 Chronicles 29:5 includes a single exhortation of Hezekiah to

12351-450: The Sages did not make any distinction, but have prohibited all women from immersing themselves during daylight hours of the eighth day, or of any day. Under extenuating circumstances, however, the rabbis have also permitted to immerse in the day, after fully completing seven days of cleanness. There are differing customs about how many immersions are performed at each visit to a mikveh . It

12530-540: The Samaritans . It has largely been rejected by adherents of Reform Judaism and other liberal branches. In rabbinic Judaism , additional stringencies and prohibitions have accumulated over time, increasing the scope of various aspects of niddah, including: duration (12-day minimum for Ashkenazim, and 11 days for Sephardim); expanding the prohibition against sex to include: sleeping in adjoining beds, any physical contact, and even passing objects to spouse; and requiring

12709-536: The Second Aliyah , it replaced a score of languages spoken by Jews at that time. Those languages were Jewish dialects of local languages, including Judaeo-Spanish (also called "Judezmo" and "Ladino"), Yiddish , Judeo-Arabic and Bukhori (Tajiki), or local languages spoken in the Jewish diaspora such as Russian , Persian and Arabic . The major result of the literary work of the Hebrew intellectuals along

12888-520: The Second Temple period have been discovered so far across the Land of Israel , in locations including Jerusalem , Hebron , Masada , and Hannaton . The absence of dedicated mikvoth prior to the first century BCE is surprising, given that laws of purification were in fact observed by many Jews in earlier periods, as indicated by Biblical narratives and the Elephantine papyri . One suggestion

13067-521: The Semitic root ק-ו-ה ( q-w-h , "collect"). In the Hebrew Bible , the word is employed in the sense of "collection", including in the phrase מקוה המים ( miqwêh hammayim , "collection of water") in Gen . 1:10, Ex. 7:19, and Lev. 11:36. Ben Sira is the earliest author to use מקוה as a word for "pool" (Ecclus 43:20, 48:17) and the Mishnah is the earliest text to use it in the sense of "ritual bath". Before

13246-688: The United Synagogue Review that focused on issues of mikvah and niddah (published in conjunction with the passing of the responsa mentioned above, in Fall/Winter 2006), Rabbi Myron S. Geller, a member of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, wrote about an upswing in the observance of the laws of family purity within the Conservative Jewish community: Conservative Judaism has largely ignored this practice in

13425-462: The literary and liturgical language into everyday spoken language . However, his brand of Hebrew followed norms that had been replaced in Eastern Europe by different grammar and style, in the writings of people like Ahad Ha'am and others. His organizational efforts and involvement with the establishment of schools and the writing of textbooks pushed the vernacularization activity into

13604-480: The mikveh . The majority of orthodox rabbis contend that the seven days of cleanness still apply to all menstruant women today, even though it is only a rabbinic injunction. According to two lesser opinions representing the movement of Conservative Judaism, one by Grossman and the other by Reisner, whose views are not shared by orthodox Jewish circles, the "seven clean days" need not be observed today and women may immerse and resume sexual relations after seven days from

13783-620: The official language of the State of Israel . Estimates of worldwide usage include five million speakers in 1998, and over nine million people in 2013. After Israel, the United States has the largest Hebrew-speaking population, with approximately 220,000 fluent speakers (see Israeli Americans and Jewish Americans ). Modern Hebrew is the official language of the State of Israel, while pre-revival forms of Hebrew are used for prayer or study in Jewish and Samaritan communities around

13962-543: The ostraca found near Lachish , which describe events preceding the final capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian captivity of 586 BCE. In its widest sense, Biblical Hebrew refers to the spoken language of ancient Israel flourishing between c.  1000 BCE and c.  400 CE . It comprises several evolving and overlapping dialects. The phases of Classical Hebrew are often named after important literary works associated with them. Sometimes

14141-441: The vaginal circumference. If the cloth shows only discharges that are white, yellow, or clear, then menstruation is considered to have ceased. If the discharge is red or pink, it indicates that menstruation continues. If it is any other color, like brown, it is subject to further inquiry, often involving consultation with a rabbi. The ritual requires that the cloth used to perform this test is first checked carefully to ensure that it

14320-607: The 10th century BCE at the beginning of the Monarchic period , the traditional time of the reign of David and Solomon . Classified as Archaic Biblical Hebrew , the calendar presents a list of seasons and related agricultural activities. The Gezer calendar (named after the city in whose proximity it was found) is written in an old Semitic script, akin to the Phoenician one that, through the Greeks and Etruscans , later became

14499-555: The 1980s in the USSR , Hebrew studies reappeared due to people struggling for permission to go to Israel ( refuseniks ). Several of the teachers were imprisoned, e.g. Yosef Begun , Ephraim Kholmyansky , Yevgeny Korostyshevsky and others responsible for a Hebrew learning network connecting many cities of the USSR. Standard Hebrew, as developed by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, was based on Mishnaic spelling and Sephardi Hebrew pronunciation. However,

14678-611: The 19th century was a lexical modernization of Hebrew. New words and expressions were adapted as neologisms from the large corpus of Hebrew writings since the Hebrew Bible, or borrowed from Arabic (mainly by Ben-Yehuda) and older Aramaic and Latin. Many new words were either borrowed from or coined after European languages, especially English, Russian, German, and French. Modern Hebrew became an official language in British-ruled Palestine in 1921 (along with English and Arabic), and then in 1948 became an official language of

14857-604: The 6th century BCE, during the time of the Babylonian captivity . For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as Lashon Hakodesh ( לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶש , lit.   ' the holy tongue ' or ' the tongue [of] holiness ' ) since ancient times. The language was not referred to by the name Hebrew in the Bible , but as Yehudit ( transl.  ' Judean ' ) or Səpaṯ Kəna'an ( transl.  "the language of Canaan " ). Mishnah Gittin 9:8 refers to

15036-766: The Aramaized Rabbinic Hebrew of the Talmud. Hebrew persevered through the ages as the main language for written purposes by all Jewish communities around the world for a large range of uses—not only liturgy, but also poetry, philosophy, science and medicine, commerce, daily correspondence and contracts. There have been many deviations from this generalization such as Bar Kokhba 's letters to his lieutenants, which were mostly in Aramaic, and Maimonides' writings, which were mostly in Arabic; but overall, Hebrew did not cease to be used for such purposes. For example,

15215-687: The British Mandate who at the turn of the 20th century were arriving in large numbers from diverse countries and speaking different languages. A Committee of the Hebrew Language was established. After the establishment of Israel, it became the Academy of the Hebrew Language . The results of Ben-Yehuda's lexicographical work were published in a dictionary ( The Complete Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Hebrew , Ben-Yehuda Dictionary ). The seeds of Ben-Yehuda's work fell on fertile ground, and by

15394-628: The Chief Rabbinate agreed to allow women to use a mikveh without an attendant. Some transgender people have adopted the practice of mikveh immersion to mark a gender transition. However, many Orthodox authorities who control mikvoth only permit immersions that adhere with Jewish law. Therefore, other Jewish organizations strive to create mikvoth that allow for different uses, such as marking any important life transitions. Mayyim Hayyim, an organization in Newton, Massachusetts, collaborated with Keshet, one of Boston's LGBT Jewish organizations, to actively create

15573-529: The Conservative movement are required to immerse themselves in a mikveh. Two Jews must witness the event, at least one of which must actually see the immersion. Immersion into a mikveh has been described as a very emotional, life-changing experience similar to a graduation. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism do not hold the halachic requirements of mikveh the way Conservative and Orthodox Judaism do, but some Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis recommend

15752-526: The Great conquered Babylon, he allowed the Jewish people to return from captivity. In time, a local version of Aramaic came to be spoken in Israel alongside Hebrew. By the beginning of the Common Era , Aramaic was the primary colloquial language of Samarian , Babylonian and Galileean Jews, and western and intellectual Jews spoke Greek , but a form of so-called Rabbinic Hebrew continued to be used as

15931-432: The Hebrew name of god , Yahweh, as three letters, Yod-Heh-Vav (YHV), according to the author and his team meant that the tablet is Hebrew and not Canaanite. However, practically all professional archeologists and epigraphers apart from Stripling's team claim that there is no text on this object. In July 2008, Israeli archaeologist Yossi Garfinkel discovered a ceramic shard at Khirbet Qeiyafa that he claimed may be

16110-602: The Hebrew Bible. The Masoretes inherited a biblical text whose letters were considered too sacred to be altered, so their markings were in the form of pointing in and around the letters. The Syriac alphabet , precursor to the Arabic alphabet , also developed vowel pointing systems around this time. The Aleppo Codex , a Hebrew Bible with the Masoretic pointing, was written in the 10th century, likely in Tiberias, and survives into

16289-510: The Israeli Supreme Court ruling that public ritual baths must accept all prospective converts to Judaism, including converts to Reform and Conservative Judaism. In his 2016 ruling, Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein said barring certain converts amounts to discrimination. Until this ruling, Orthodox officials barred non-Orthodox converts from using any mikveh, as their traditions do not technically conform to Jewish law, and

16468-454: The Israeli population speaks Hebrew as a native language, while most of the rest speak it fluently. In 2013 Hebrew was the native language of 49% of Israelis over the age of 20, with Russian , Arabic , French , English , Yiddish and Ladino being the native tongues of most of the rest. Some 26% of immigrants from the former Soviet Union and 12% of Arabs reported speaking Hebrew poorly or not at all. Steps have been taken to keep Hebrew

16647-426: The Jewish rabbinic writings are almost entirely made-up of "fences" ( Hebrew : סייגים ), or safeguards, built around the Torah . The general rule which applies is that a woman is clean from the standpoint of the Torah until she feels uterine blood discharge from its source within her body. However, the rabbis have declared a woman to be unclean although she has not felt any discharge of blood, but has merely seen either

16826-612: The Levites, to carry forth the niddah (translated: "filthiness"), possibly idols of his father Ahaz , out of the temple in Jerusalem . Usage in Ezekiel follows that of Leviticus. Finally, the Book of Zechariah concludes with an eschatological reference to washing Jerusalem: "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin ( ḥaṭ'at ) and for uncleanness ( niddah )" ( Zechariah 13:1 ). The copious laws of niddah contained in

17005-477: The Middle East was the closely related Aramaic language, then Greek , scholarly opinions on the exact dating of that shift have changed very much. In the first half of the 20th century, most scholars followed Abraham Geiger and Gustaf Dalman in thinking that Aramaic became a spoken language in the land of Israel as early as the beginning of Israel's Hellenistic period in the 4th century BCE, and that as

17184-516: The Orthodox one, and does not address the leniencies and views those opinions reflected. Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz's recent book Taking the Plunge: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to the Mikveh (Jerusalem: Schechter Institute, 2007) offers a comprehensive discussion of contemporary issues and new mikveh uses along with traditional reasons for observance, details of how to prepare and what to expect, and how

17363-589: The Supreme Court to forbid attendants from asking intrusive questions of women at state-funded and -operated mikvot. In response, the Chief Rabbinate said it would forbid questioning of women about their marital status before immersion. The complaint had charged that the practice represented unacceptable discrimination. In 2015, however, the ITIM Advocacy Center filed a complaint with the Israeli Supreme Court on behalf of 13 Orthodox women against

17542-621: The Talmud, the Gemara , generally comments on the Mishnah and Baraitot in two forms of Aramaic. Nevertheless, Hebrew survived as a liturgical and literary language in the form of later Amoraic Hebrew, which occasionally appears in the text of the Gemara, particularly in the Jerusalem Talmud and the classical aggadah midrashes . Hebrew was always regarded as the language of Israel's religion, history and national pride, and after it faded as

17721-460: The Talmud, various regional literary dialects of Medieval Hebrew evolved. The most important is Tiberian Hebrew or Masoretic Hebrew, a local dialect of Tiberias in Galilee that became the standard for vocalizing the Hebrew Bible and thus still influences all other regional dialects of Hebrew. This Tiberian Hebrew from the 7th to 10th century CE is sometimes called "Biblical Hebrew" because it

17900-623: The Temple (as a state of purity is generally not required outside the Temple), include: Customs exist to immerse in a mikveh in some of the following circumstances, with the customs varying by community: Immersion for men is more common in Hasidic communities, and done rarely in others, like German Jewish communities, where it is generally done only before the High Holidays . There

18079-488: The ability to speak the language and attempted to promote its use. According to the Jerusalem Talmud , Megillah 1:9: "Rebbi Jonathan from Bet Guvrrin said, four languages are appropriate that the world should use them, and they are these: The Foreign Language (Greek) for song, Latin for war, Syriac for elegies, Hebrew for speech. Some are saying, also Assyrian (Hebrew script) for writing." The later section of

18258-478: The above phases of spoken Classical Hebrew are simplified into "Biblical Hebrew" (including several dialects from the 10th century BCE to 2nd century BCE and extant in certain Dead Sea Scrolls) and "Mishnaic Hebrew" (including several dialects from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE and extant in certain other Dead Sea Scrolls). However, today most Hebrew linguists classify Dead Sea Scroll Hebrew as

18437-422: The area inside, followed by leaving in that place a snugly fitting cotton wad for the duration of about 20 minutes (preferably during the evening twilight). When there are no signs of blood, the woman begins counting seven days of cleanness on the following day, during which seven days she is still prohibited to have any physical contact with her husband. During each of the seven days, the woman checks herself once in

18616-506: The average Jew, and that the language had evolved since Biblical times as spoken languages do. Recent scholarship recognizes that reports of Jews speaking in Aramaic indicate a multilingual society, not necessarily the primary language spoken. Alongside Aramaic, Hebrew co-existed within Israel as a spoken language. Most scholars now date the demise of Hebrew as a spoken language to the end of the Roman period , or about 200 CE. It continued on as

18795-534: The basis that In mikvaot for women, visitors at a mikveh are usually assigned a private room to prepare for immersion. This room will have a shower or bath and the visitor may be provided with toiletries and supplies to clean and prepare the body. Typically, hair will be washed and combed, nails will be trimmed, calluses and dead skin are removed, and teeth will be cleaned. Contact lenses, jewelry, non-essential medical appliances, and cosmetics are removed. Lotions and conditioners are not to be used. The goal of preparation

18974-413: The beginning of menstruation, or after its cessation, if it lasts longer than seven days. Grossman and Berkowitz ruled that women may rely on their own discretion about when menstruation has ended, and need not routinely engage in bedikah as described above. Despite the official stance, the practices related to family purity have often not been widely followed by Conservative Jews. However, in an issue of

19153-547: The beginning of the 20th century, Hebrew was well on its way to becoming the main language of the Jewish population of both Ottoman and British Palestine. At the time, members of the Old Yishuv and a very few Hasidic sects, most notably those under the auspices of Satmar , refused to speak Hebrew and spoke only Yiddish. In the Soviet Union, the use of Hebrew, along with other Jewish cultural and religious activities,

19332-399: The beginning of the first century BCE, neither written sources nor archaeology gives any indication about the existence of specific installations used for ritual cleansing. Mikvoth appear at the beginning of the first century BC, and from then on, ancient mikvoth can be found throughout the land of Israel , as well as in historic communities of the Jewish diaspora . Hundreds of mikvoth from

19511-422: The beginning of the following one. If the woman is not actually menstruating during a veset day, then there are certain circumstances wherein sexual activity is permitted according to most authorities, for example, if a woman's husband is about to travel, and will return only after menstruation has begun. According to all Orthodox authorities, the first time a virgin has intercourse, she also becomes niddah as

19690-497: The biblical corpus, this meaning was extended to include concepts of sin and impurity, which may be related to ancient attitudes towards menstruation. Literally, the feminine noun niddah means moved (i.e., separated ), and generally refers to separation due to ritual impurity . Medieval Biblical commentator Abraham ibn Ezra writes that the word niddah is related to the term menadechem ( מנדיכם ‎), meaning those that cast you out . The noun niddah occurs 25 times in

19869-508: The blood has ceased to appear, she waits 5 days before beginning to count her seven days of cleanness. Maimonides mentions a former custom where the menstruants of some Jewish communities would wait a standard 7 days before beginning to count seven days of cleanness, even if the woman had seen blood for only one or two days. This custom, though widely practised in the 20th century among the Jews of Yemen , Djerba , parts of Morocco , as also with

20048-523: The body, and therefore water is required to touch all parts of it, meaning that braids cannot be worn during immersion. This has resulted in debate between the various ethnic groups within Judaism, about whether hair combing is necessary before immersion. The Ashkenazi community generally supports the view that hair must be combed straight so that there are no knots, but some take issue with this stance, particularly when it comes to dreadlocks . A number of rabbinical rulings argue in support of dreadlocks, on

20227-554: The case of husband and wife, however, the sages added on extra restrictions, including touch that is not in an affectionate or lustful manner, passing of objects even without touching, and sleeping in the same bed; these restrictions are to avoid the risk of leading to sexual contact. These laws are termed harchakot , meaning "the laws of separation," and imply the prohibitive rules regulating the passing of objects from hand to hand, as well as to taking distinctive measures used to remind them of their separation, such as placing some object at

20406-602: The composition of 1 Maccabees in archaizing Hebrew, Hasmonean coinage under John Hyrcanus (134-104 BCE), and coins from both the Great Revolt and Bar Kokhba Revolt featuring exclusively Hebrew and Palaeo-Hebrew script inscriptions. This deliberate use of Hebrew and Paleo-Hebrew script in official contexts, despite limited literacy, served as a symbol of Jewish nationalism and political independence. The Christian New Testament contains some Semitic place names and quotes. The language of such Semitic glosses (and in general

20585-410: The content of Hebrew inscriptions suggests that the written texts closely mirror the spoken language of that time. Scholars debate the degree to which Hebrew was a spoken vernacular in ancient times following the Babylonian exile when the predominant international language in the region was Old Aramaic . Hebrew was extinct as a colloquial language by late antiquity , but it continued to be used as

20764-442: The counting of seven clean days (among Sephardic Jews) is that, had the woman merely found on her an unclean blood stain (where there was no sensation of any active blood flow), after concluding that all such sightings have stopped, she can begin to count seven days of cleanness after two days have passed since the last time she cohabited with her husband. However, among Ashkenazim, even if a woman merely saw an unclean blood stain, when

20943-467: The custom to be modified so that the time between the end of menstruation and the end of niddah is shorter for these women. Another suggestion is to take hormone tablets to lengthen the ovulation cycle. The bedikah cloth or "checking cloth", called an eid ["witness"] in Hebrew, is a clean piece of white cloth used in the process of purifying a niddah . It is used by observant Jewish women to determine whether they have finished menstruation . The cloth

21122-478: The date of ovulation, and in combination with the ban on sexual relations during the niddah state, effectively results in the woman being unable to conceive, a situation sometimes called "halachic infertility". In the case of this effective infertility, rabbis try on a case-by-case basis to relax halakhic strictures in order to facilitate conception. There have been some calls within Orthodox Judaism for

21301-455: The day that a woman expects to start menstruating. Generally speaking, there are three days that fall under this regulation, known as the veset , namely the same day of the month, (according to the Hebrew calendar ), as her previous menstruation began; the day exactly 30 days after the previous menstruation started; and the day that is of equal distance from the day of her previous menstruation as

21480-417: The daytime and wrongly presume that it was her mother's seventh day of counting, and think that it was alright to immerse on the seventh day before nightfall, without realizing that her mother had already concluded her seven clean days. This enactment, therefore, was to prevent an occasion for miscalculation and stumbling. Even if a woman has no daughter, this rule of immersing only in the night still applies, as

21659-532: The description of God in the Book of Jeremiah as the "Mikveh of Israel", and suggests that "just as a mikveh purifies the contaminated, so does the Holy One, blessed is he, purify Israel". The Reform Movement's Israel Religious Action Center sued the state on behalf of the Reform and Conservative/Masorti movements to allow members to use publicly funded mikvoth. The case, which took ten years to resolve, resulted in

21838-568: The dialects of Classical Hebrew that functioned as a living language in the land of Israel. A transitional form of the language occurs in the other works of Tannaitic literature dating from the century beginning with the completion of the Mishnah. These include the halachic Midrashim ( Sifra , Sifre , Mekhilta etc.) and the expanded collection of Mishnah-related material known as the Tosefta . The Talmud contains excerpts from these works, as well as further Tannaitic material not attested elsewhere;

22017-486: The dinner table which is not ordinarily placed there. The laws of separation ( harchakot ) are derived from a biblical command: "You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness so long as she is separated for her [menstrual] uncleanness" ( Leviticus 18:19 ). Some have suggested that by physically distancing oneself from his spouse there is an enhanced need for relationships to develop in non-physical ways, such as emotional and spiritual connections. When blood from

22196-423: The earliest Hebrew writing yet discovered, dating from around 3,000 years ago. Hebrew University archaeologist Amihai Mazar said that the inscription was "proto-Canaanite" but cautioned that "[t]he differentiation between the scripts, and between the languages themselves in that period, remains unclear", and suggested that calling the text Hebrew might be going too far. The Gezer calendar also dates back to

22375-513: The earliest speakers of Modern Hebrew had Yiddish as their native language and often introduced calques from Yiddish and phono-semantic matchings of international words. Despite using Sephardic Hebrew pronunciation as its primary basis, modern Israeli Hebrew has adapted to Ashkenazi Hebrew phonology in some respects, mainly the following: The vocabulary of Israeli Hebrew is much larger than that of earlier periods. According to Ghil'ad Zuckermann : The number of attested Biblical Hebrew words

22554-532: The early 6th century BCE, the Neo-Babylonian Empire conquered the ancient Kingdom of Judah , destroying much of Jerusalem and exiling its population far to the east in Babylon . During the Babylonian captivity , many Israelites learned Aramaic, the closely related Semitic language of their captors. Thus, for a significant period, the Jewish elite became influenced by Aramaic. After Cyrus

22733-406: The eighth day of the start of her regular period and ending with the conclusion of the eighteenth day), the Sages of Israel have required all women who have experienced even their regular and natural purgation to count seven days of cleanness before they can be purified. The Leviticus description of niddah is essentially composed of two parts: the ritual purity ( tumah and taharah ) aspect and

22912-511: The end of menstruation. Another tradition is the wearing of white underwear and use of white bedding during this period; conversely, the rest of the time, when not counting the "seven clean days", some women who suffer from spotting deliberately use coloured underwear and colored toilet paper, since it is only when blood is seen on white material that it has any legal status in Jewish law. When not during their seven "clean" days, all women are advised to wear colored undergarments, for this reason. It

23091-413: The end of menstruation. This lengthening of the niddah period is known as Rabbi Zeira's stringency . According to contemporary Halacha these "seven clean days" must be observed. In the Orthodox Jewish community, women may test whether menstruation has ceased; this ritual is known as the hefsek taharah . The woman takes a bath or shower near sunset, wraps a special cloth around her finger, and swipes

23270-399: The entire body of an average-sized person; based on a mikveh with the dimensions of 3 cubits deep, 1 cubit wide, and 1 cubit long, the necessary volume of water was estimated as being 40 seah of water. The exact volume referred to by a seah is debated, and classical rabbinical literature specifies only that it is enough to fit 144 eggs; most Orthodox Jews use the stringent ruling of

23449-711: The first Middle East printing press, in Safed (modern Israel), produced a small number of books in Hebrew in 1577, which were then sold to the nearby Jewish world. This meant not only that well-educated Jews in all parts of the world could correspond in a mutually intelligible language, and that books and legal documents published or written in any part of the world could be read by Jews in all other parts, but that an educated Jew could travel and converse with Jews in distant places, just as priests and other educated Christians could converse in Latin. For example, Rabbi Avraham Danzig wrote

23628-411: The fountain of living water Are there any of the worthless idols of the nations, that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? Is it not you, Hashem our God, and do we not hope [nekaveh] in you? For you have made all these things. In the Mishnah , following on from a discussion of Yom Kippur , Rabbi Akiva compares mikveh immersion to the relationship between God and Israel. Akiva refers to

23807-406: The generic term for these passages is Baraitot . The dialect of all these works is very similar to Mishnaic Hebrew. About a century after the publication of the Mishnah, Mishnaic Hebrew fell into disuse as a spoken language. By the third century CE, sages could no longer identify the Hebrew names of many plants mentioned in the Mishnah. Only a few sages, primarily in the southern regions, retained

23986-462: The language as Ivrit , meaning Hebrew; however, Mishnah Megillah refers to the language as Ashurit , meaning Assyrian , which is derived from the name of the alphabet used , in contrast to Ivrit , meaning the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet . Hebrew ceased to be a regular spoken language sometime between 200 and 400 CE, as it declined in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Bar Kokhba revolt , which

24165-465: The language spoken by Jews in scenes from the New Testament) is often referred to as "Hebrew" in the text, although this term is often re-interpreted as referring to Aramaic instead and is rendered accordingly in recent translations. Nonetheless, these glosses can be interpreted as Hebrew as well. It has been argued that Hebrew, rather than Aramaic or Koine Greek, lay behind the composition of

24344-471: The language. The revival of the Hebrew language as a mother tongue was initiated in the late 19th century by the efforts of Ben-Yehuda. He joined the Jewish national movement and in 1881 immigrated to Palestine , then a part of the Ottoman Empire . Motivated by the surrounding ideals of renovation and rejection of the diaspora " shtetl " lifestyle, Ben-Yehuda set out to develop tools for making

24523-448: The laws developed. Conservative Judaism encourages, but does not require, immersion before Jewish Holidays (including Yom Kippur), nor the immersion of utensils purchased from non-Jews. New uses are being developed throughout the liberal world for healing (after rape, incest, divorce, etc.) or celebration (milestone birthdays, anniversaries, ordination, or reading Torah for the first time). As in Orthodox Judaism, converts to Judaism through

24702-529: The laws of impurity relate to some form of death (or in the case of Niddah the loss of a potential life). One who comes into contact with one of the forms of death must then immerse in water which is described in Genesis as flowing out of the Garden of Eden (the source of life) in order to cleanse oneself of this contact with death (and by extension of sin). According to Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook , by immersing in

24881-415: The laws of the mikveh, and the seventh chapter starts with a discussion of substances which can be used as valid water sources for a mikveh—snow, hail, frost, ice, salt, and pourable mud . This alludes to the belief in resurrection , as "living water" in a lifeless frozen state (as ice ) can still become living water again (after melting ). The word mikveh makes use of the same root letters in Hebrew as

25060-415: The local mikveh, stores in Orthodox neighborhoods in Israel, or may be cut from clean all-white soft cotton or linen fabric. This practice is also occasionally used by Jewish men to check if he has gotten blood on himself from his wife after intercourse to determine whether she menstruated during intercourse. After a woman has counted seven days of cleanness (see supra ), she is then required to immerse in

25239-479: The menstruation before the last. For instance: If the interval between her last two periods was 28 days - the couple must refrain from sexual relations on the 28th day. According to most Orthodox authorities, this is measured from the beginning of the former period to the beginning of the latter. Yet some authorities, especially in Chabbad circles, rule that this is measured from the end of the preceding menstruation to

25418-458: The mikveh at different designated times. In a series of responsa in 2006, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of Conservative Judaism reaffirmed a requirement that Conservative women use a mikveh monthly following the end of the niddah period following menstruation , while adopting certain leniencies including reducing the length of the nidda period. The three responsa adopted permit

25597-442: The mikveh is central to an Orthodox Jewish community. Conservative Judaism also formally holds to the regulations. The existence of a mikveh is considered so important that, according to halacha , a Jewish community is required to construct a kosher mikveh even before building a synagogue , and must go to the extreme of selling Torah scrolls, or even a synagogue if necessary, to provide funding for its construction. Formed from

25776-475: The mikveh, "we are forced to recognize our existential estrangement from the physical universe. How long can we survive under water? The experience of submerging drives home the realization that our existence in this world is transient, and we should strive towards more lasting goals." A custom exists to read the seventh chapter of the Mikvaot tractate of the Mishnah following a funeral . This tractate covers

25955-434: The minimum duration period to 12 days. (See section "Seven days of cleanness" for differences in custom). The Biblical definition of niddah is any blood emission occurring within seven days from the beginning of the menstrual period. After this seven-day period, the woman may immerse in the mikveh immediately (if she has stopped menstruating). Any blood found after these seven days is considered abnormal ( zavah ) blood and

26134-520: The morning and once in the evening, by using a soft and white, absorbent cotton cloth. In Sephardic Jewish tradition, a woman who has had no physical contact with her husband within the 72 hr. period (3 days) prior to the start of her menstruation, she is permitted to immediately conduct the hefseq be-ṭaharah (see supra ) after all uterine bleeding has stopped, and, on the following day, she begins to count seven days of cleanness, which culminate in an immersion. Differences in custom, however, exist between

26313-400: The nails) is thoroughly washed; plus other routine hygiene practices which include trimming fingernails and toenails, brushing and flossing the teeth, and combing the hair. Prior to every immersion, the woman is required to inspect herself to make sure that there is nothing clinging to her skin and hair that would obstruct the water from making contact with it during her actual immersion, or what

26492-727: The newly declared State of Israel . Hebrew is the most widely spoken language in Israel today. In the Modern Period, from the 19th century onward, the literary Hebrew tradition revived as the spoken language of modern Israel, called variously Israeli Hebrew , Modern Israeli Hebrew , Modern Hebrew , New Hebrew , Israeli Standard Hebrew , Standard Hebrew and so on. Israeli Hebrew exhibits some features of Sephardic Hebrew from its local Jerusalemite tradition but adapts it with numerous neologisms, borrowed terms (often technical) from European languages and adopted terms (often colloquial) from Arabic. The literary and narrative use of Hebrew

26671-576: The past, but recently has begun to reevaluate its silence in this area and to consider the spiritual implications of mikvah immersion for human sexuality and for women. Reform Judaism and other liberal denominations have largely rejected many of the rituals and prohibitions associated with menstruation, particularly the use of a mikveh . Hebrew language Hebrew ( Hebrew alphabet : עִבְרִית ‎, ʿĪvrīt , pronounced [ ʔivˈʁit ] or [ ʕivˈrit ] ; Samaritan script : ࠏࠨࠁࠬࠓࠪࠉࠕ ‎ ʿÎbrit )

26850-584: The people they convert are therefore not technically Jews. Rubinstein noted: "Once it established public mikvahs, and put them at the service of the public—including for the process of conversion—the State cannot but be even-handed in allowing their use." He also said. "The State of Israel is free to supervise the use of its mikvahs, so long as it does so in an egalitarian manner." In 2013, the Israeli Center for Women's Justice and Kolech , an organization committed to Orthodox Jewish feminism , petitioned

27029-420: The person fully immerses in the water. The attendant watches to ensure all of the body is covered by the water. After immersion, the attendant usually collects a fee. Typical fees are between $ 18–36, but can cost more at luxury mikva'ot. Some modern 'luxury' mikveh sites have upscale preparation rooms and often provide toiletries to patrons, seeking to emulate a spa-like atmosphere. These mikveh typically require

27208-534: The phonetic values are instead inspired by the acrophonic principle. The common ancestor of Hebrew and Phoenician is called Canaanite , and was the first to use a Semitic alphabet distinct from that of Egyptian. One ancient document is the famous Moabite Stone , written in the Moabite dialect; the Siloam inscription , found near Jerusalem , is an early example of Hebrew. Less ancient samples of Archaic Hebrew include

27387-591: The present day. It is perhaps the most important Hebrew manuscript in existence. During the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain , important work was done by grammarians in explaining the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew; much of this was based on the work of the grammarians of Classical Arabic . Important Hebrew grammarians were Judah ben David Hayyuj , Jonah ibn Janah , Abraham ibn Ezra and later (in Provence ), David Kimhi . A great deal of poetry

27566-570: The primary language of use, and to prevent large-scale incorporation of English words into the Hebrew vocabulary. The Academy of the Hebrew Language of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem currently invents about 2,000 new Hebrew words each year for modern words by finding an original Hebrew word that captures the meaning, as an alternative to incorporating more English words into Hebrew vocabulary. The Haifa municipality has banned officials from using English words in official documents, and

27745-417: The prohibition of sexual intercourse aspect. The Biblical regulations of Leviticus specify that a menstruating woman must "separate" for seven days ( Leviticus 15:19 ). Any object she sits on or lies upon during this period is becomes a "carrier of tumah" ( midras uncleanness ). One who comes into contact with her midras, or her, during this period becomes ritually impure ( Leviticus 15:19–23 ) In addition,

27924-465: The purity of offspring. Niddah has the general meaning of "expulsion" and "elimination", coming from the root ndd , "to make distant" (the Aramaic Bible translations use the root rhq, "to be distant"), reflecting the physical separation of women during their menstrual periods, who were "discharged" and "excluded" from society by being banished to and quarantined in separate quarters. Later in

28103-417: The regulations do not come into force. It is not necessary for the woman to witness the flow of blood itself; it is sufficient for her to notice a stain that has indications of having originated in her womb; bloodstains alone are inadequate without such evidence, for example, if she finds a stain just after cutting her finger, she does not become a niddah , as the blood is not obviously uterine. If she notices

28282-674: The rest of the Middle East; and eventually Greek functioned as another international language with the eastern areas of the Roman Empire. William Schniedewind argues that after waning in the Persian period, the religious importance of Hebrew grew in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and cites epigraphical evidence that Hebrew survived as a vernacular language – though both its grammar and its writing system had been substantially influenced by Aramaic. According to another summary, Greek

28461-518: The roofs of buildings, and filled manually. Such structures, dating to the First Temple period, have been discovered in ancient Ashdod and possibly in Dan . The reason for such a rabbinic decree may have been to distance the practice of ritual immersion from the culture of bathhouses, which spread through the region during the Hellenistic period. The traditional rules regarding the construction of

28640-493: The southern villages of Judea." In other words, "in terms of dialect geography, at the time of the tannaim Palestine could be divided into the Aramaic-speaking regions of Galilee and Samaria and a smaller area, Judaea, in which Rabbinic Hebrew was used among the descendants of returning exiles." In addition, it has been surmised that Koine Greek was the primary vehicle of communication in coastal cities and among

28819-474: The spoken language of the Russian Jews, should be treated as their only national language, while Hebrew was to be treated as a foreign language. Hebrew books and periodicals ceased to be published and were seized from the libraries, although liturgical texts were still published until the 1930s. Despite numerous protests, a policy of suppression of the teaching of Hebrew operated from the 1930s on. Later in

28998-470: The term "Hebrew" generally render its meaning as roughly "from the other side [of the river/desert]"—i.e., an exonym for the inhabitants of the land of Israel and Judah , perhaps from the perspective of Mesopotamia , Phoenicia or Transjordan (with the river referred to being perhaps the Euphrates , Jordan or Litani ; or maybe the northern Arabian Desert between Babylonia and Canaan ). Compare

29177-580: The upper class of Jerusalem , while Aramaic was prevalent in the lower class of Jerusalem, but not in the surrounding countryside. After the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt in the 2nd century CE, Judaeans were forced to disperse. Many relocated to Galilee, so most remaining native speakers of Hebrew at that last stage would have been found in the north. Many scholars have pointed out that Hebrew continued to be used alongside Aramaic during Second Temple times, not only for religious purposes but also for nationalistic reasons, especially during revolts such as

29356-518: The view that the concept of ritual purity is no longer considered applicable, and adopting certain leniencies including reducing the length of the niddah period. Isaac Klein 's A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice , a comprehensive guide frequently used within Conservative Judaism, also addresses Conservative views on other uses of a mikveh, but because it predates the 2006 opinions, it describes an approach more closely resembling

29535-464: The wall of the pool filled with tap water connects it to the pool filled with natural water. When these two collections of water touch, the tap water pool is okay to use for ritual immersion. Most contemporary mikvoth are indoor constructions involving rainwater collected from a cistern and passed through a duct by gravity into an ordinary bathing pool; the mikveh can be heated, taking into account certain rules, often resulting in an environment not unlike

29714-409: The whole body is, therefore, part of the religious requirements before entering the water of a Mikveh. Although technically the requirements are the same for men and women, the common practice is that men do not go to great lengths to clean themselves before immersion since the immersion (with rare exceptions) is not Halakhically obligatory. According to rabbinical tradition, the hair counts as part of

29893-455: The word Habiru or cognate Assyrian ebru , of identical meaning. One of the earliest references to the language's name as " Ivrit " is found in the prologue to the Book of Sirach , from the 2nd century BCE. The Hebrew Bible does not use the term "Hebrew" in reference to the language of the Hebrew people; its later historiography, in the Book of Kings , refers to it as יְהוּדִית Yehudit " Judahite (language)". Hebrew belongs to

30072-457: The word for "hope", and this has served as the basis for homiletical comparison of the two concepts in both biblical and rabbinic literature. For instance, in the Book of Jeremiah , the word mikveh is used in the sense of "hope", but at the same time also associated with "living water": O Hashem, the Hope [mikveh] of Israel, all who forsake you will be ashamed... because they have forsaken Hashem,

30251-595: The world today; the latter group utilizes the Samaritan dialect as their liturgical tongue. As a non- first language , it is studied mostly by non-Israeli Jews and students in Israel, by archaeologists and linguists specializing in the Middle East and its civilizations , and by theologians in Christian seminaries . The modern English word "Hebrew" is derived from Old French Ebrau , via Latin from

30430-421: Was a spoken language , and Amoraic Hebrew (also called Late Rabbinic Hebrew or Mishnaic Hebrew II), which was a literary language . The earlier section of the Talmud is the Mishnah that was published around 200 CE, although many of the stories take place much earlier, and were written in the earlier Mishnaic dialect. The dialect is also found in certain Dead Sea Scrolls. Mishnaic Hebrew is considered to be one of

30609-457: Was carried out against the Roman Empire by the Jews of Judaea . Aramaic and, to a lesser extent, Greek were already in use as international languages, especially among societal elites and immigrants. Hebrew survived into the medieval period as the language of Jewish liturgy , rabbinic literature , intra-Jewish commerce, and Jewish poetic literature . The first dated book printed in Hebrew

30788-435: Was no sexual intercourse between the couple in the days leading up to her menstrual cycle, and, subsequently, there was no fear of her body discharging of her husband's copulative seed that had been mixed with her menstrual blood, there is no need for her to wait four days, but she may presently begin her hefseq be-ṭaharah (see supra ), followed by counting seven days of cleanness. Another factor used to determine when to begin

30967-491: Was now a more significant written language than Aramaic within Judaea." This nationalist aspect was further emphasized during periods of conflict, as Hannah Cotton observing in her analysis of legal documents during the Jewish revolts against Rome that "Hebrew became the symbol of Jewish nationalism, of the independent Jewish State." The nationalist use of Hebrew is evidenced in several historical documents and artefacts, including

31146-566: Was published by Abraham Garton in Reggio ( Calabria , Italy) in 1475. With the rise of Zionism in the 19th century, the Hebrew language experienced a full-scale revival as a spoken and literary language. The creation of a modern version of the ancient language was led by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda . Modern Hebrew ( Ivrit ) became the main language of the Yishuv in Palestine , and subsequently

31325-629: Was revived beginning with the Haskalah movement. The first secular periodical in Hebrew, Ha-Me'assef (The Gatherer), was published by maskilim in Königsberg (today's Kaliningrad ) from 1783 onwards. In the mid-19th century, publications of several Eastern European Hebrew-language newspapers (e.g. Hamagid , founded in Ełk in 1856) multiplied. Prominent poets were Hayim Nahman Bialik and Shaul Tchernichovsky ; there were also novels written in

31504-479: Was suppressed. Soviet authorities considered the use of Hebrew "reactionary" since it was associated with Zionism, and the teaching of Hebrew at primary and secondary schools was officially banned by the People's Commissariat for Education as early as 1919, as part of an overall agenda aiming to secularize education (the language itself did not cease to be studied at universities for historical and linguistic purposes ). The official ordinance stated that Yiddish, being

31683-437: Was the language of government, Hebrew the language of prayer, study and religious texts, and Aramaic was the language of legal contracts and trade. There was also a geographic pattern: according to Bernard Spolsky , by the beginning of the Common Era, " Judeo-Aramaic was mainly used in Galilee in the north, Greek was concentrated in the former colonies and around governmental centers, and Hebrew monolingualism continued mainly in

31862-408: Was to a certain extent a pidgin . Near the end of that century the Jewish activist Eliezer Ben-Yehuda , owing to the ideology of the national revival ( שיבת ציון , Shivat Tziyon , later Zionism ), began reviving Hebrew as a modern spoken language. Eventually, as a result of the local movement he created, but more significantly as a result of the new groups of immigrants known under the name of

32041-570: Was written, by poets such as Dunash ben Labrat , Solomon ibn Gabirol , Judah ha-Levi , Moses ibn Ezra and Abraham ibn Ezra , in a "purified" Hebrew based on the work of these grammarians, and in Arabic quantitative or strophic meters. This literary Hebrew was later used by Italian Jewish poets. The need to express scientific and philosophical concepts from Classical Greek and Medieval Arabic motivated Medieval Hebrew to borrow terminology and grammar from these other languages, or to coin equivalent terms from existing Hebrew roots, giving rise to

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