Q&A: Enactments
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Enactments
Question
If today all Jewish women were to decide to abolish the seven clean days, would that have any halakhic validity? And what is the law regarding enactments like those of Rabbenu Gershom and the like—can they be revoked?
Answer
The seven clean days are a Torah law and cannot be repealed. If you mean the custom of the daughters of Israel known as Rabbi Zeira’s stringency, then a custom can indeed be revoked. As for Rabbenu Gershom, the same applies. Admittedly, they placed a ban on anyone who violated it, but even that was only for a thousand years.