Q&A: Days of Purity
Days of Purity
Question
Hello, a woman who gave birth to a boy, according to Torah law and as stated in the Talmud, can immerse after seven days. Today people are stricter.
According to Maimonides, this is a custom, and everything depends on custom in this case, since the Talmud did not rule to be stringent.
Is a couple who want to be lenient and immerse after a week from the birth of a boy, or two weeks from the birth of a girl, permitted to conduct themselves this way from the outset?
I believe that if we factor in the practice of the entire Jewish people, it seems that most are lenient—certainly regarding physical contact. As for marital relations, people are not lenient, because medicine too does not permit it immediately after birth.
Answer
The Jewish law that has become accepted throughout all of Israel is that the woman must wait seven days after the bleeding stops. It is true that this appears to be only a custom, although some see it as an actual law. In any case, a custom is also binding.