Q&A: A Secular Woman Who Observes Family Purity
A Secular Woman Who Observes Family Purity
Question
Hello and blessings,
There are women today who do not observe Torah and commandments, but at the request of their partner, who does observe Torah and commandments, they are careful about family purity. Is it enough for them to wait 4 or 5 days before counting the seven clean days because of emitting semen, or are they not considered precise in observing commandments, and so they fall under Rabbi Pappa’s doubt (Niddah 34b) regarding a non-Jewish woman? (And if they do not eat creeping and crawling creatures, then seemingly their time is certainly more than six time-periods.)
Answer
As I understand it, eating creeping and crawling creatures has no effect at all. And neither does precision in observing commandments.
Discussion on Answer
I don’t know. Maybe yes. But the effects on putrefaction don’t seem plausible to me.
In your view, does that mean Rabbi Pappa’s underlying assumption—that the six time-periods are because the semen becomes putrid—is also incorrect?