Misva #182: The Tum’a Status of a Zaba

The Torah in Parashat Mesora (Vayikra 15:25) assigns a status of Tum’a (impurity) to a “Zaba” – to a woman who experiences menstrual bleeding “Be’lo Et Nidatah” – during a time in the month other than the time when normal menstruation is meant to occur. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that such bleeding signifies the presence of a contagious illness, and the Torah therefore commands that a Zaba is impure, so that people will keep a distance from here and thereby avoid exposure to this ailment. A woman becomes a Zaba is she experiences bleeding during the eleven days following the seven-day Nidda period. When a woman experiences regular menstrual bleeding, and thus becomes a Nidda, she may, according to Torah law, immerse after the seventh day – as long as the bleeding has ceased – and she then becomes Tehora (pure). During the eleven days following this seven-day period, any bleeding that occurs renders the woman a Zaba. If this occurs only once, then she is considered a “Zaba Ketana,” which means she is impure only through the following day (“Shomeret Yom Ke’neged Yom”). She may immerse the following day, and she is then considered Tehora. If the bleeding occurs for two days, then she is Teme’a (impure) through the third day. If, however, the bleeding occurs for three consecutive days, then she is considered a “Zaba Gedola,” and remains Teme’a until she completes a period of “Shiba Nekiyim” (“seven clean days”) – meaning, seven days during which she experiences no bleeding at all. If she bleeds after this period, then she becomes a Nidda, and the cycle begins anew. The Torah commands the woman to count the “seven clean days” (“Ve’safera Lah”), just as it commands counting the forty-nine days of the Omer period each year. However, the Ramban writes that unlike Sefirat Ha’omer, which requires verbally counting the number each day, a Zaba is not obligated to make a formal, verbal counting each day of the “Shiba Nekiyim.” Rather, she needs simply to keep track of the days so she knows when this period concludes. Tosafot, however, seem to have held a different position. In Masechet Ketubot, Tosafot raise the question of why a woman does not recite a Beracha when counting each day of the “Shiba Nekiyim,” just as we recite a Beracha each day of the Omer period. Tosafot answer that the woman might subsequently experience bleeding, thereby voiding the count to this point and necessitating the beginning of a new count, in which case the Berachot she had recited will turn out to have been recited in vain. This entire discussion, seemingly, reflects the perspective that a Zaba’s counting resembles Sefirat Ha’omer, and requires a formal, verbal counting, in contradistinction to the Ramban’s position. Nowadays, in order to avoid confusion, women observe a period of “Shiba Nekiyim” regardless of when or for how long bleeding occurs, and they abstain from marital relations until they immerse in a Mikveh following a period of “seven clean days.” This practice is mentioned already by the Gemara in Masechet Shabbat, which states that women took on the custom to observe “Shiba Nekiyim” even if they saw only “a drop of blood like a mustard seed.” No distinction is drawn between bleeding during the times when menstruation is expected, and bleeding during the subsequent eleven days; regardless, women observe a period of “Shiba Nekiyim” before immersing and regaining their status of Tahara (purity).