| Chapter 2 DONNING THE WHITE AND THE EXAMINATION AT THE START OF THE CLEAN DAYS
The Day of Donning White I. When a woman becomes a Nidah whether as a result of her monthly period, or because she found something on the examination cloth, or because she found a stain (Chapter 1, par. 4), or for any other reason she must wait at least until the fifth day before she can "don the white." ("Donning the white" in addition to its literal meaning, is a term used to indicate the entire required procedure which takes place prior to beginning the observance of the clean days, as outlined in the following paragraphs.) During these initial five days, it is useless to bother with examinations, because even if she initially found only one drop of blood and no more, she must, nevertheless, wait these five days before donning white. It is important to keep in mind that, in matters of Jewish law, the night is considered part of the following day. Therefore, if, for example, she becomes a Nidah on Saturday night or on Sunday while it is still day, her fifth day is Thursday. On that day, if her staining has ceased completely, she may "don the white" towards evening before sundown. 2. If she examined herself on the fifth day before evening and did not find herself clean, she must postpone the donning of white until the day she finds herself perfectly clean., If she has any doubt about the color on the examination cloth, she should show it to a qualified Rabbi. Should this be impossible, she should do as stated in Chap. 3, par. 7 or postpone donning the white until the day she finds herself perfectly clean, as above. The examination and its proper time 3. This "donning the white" examination is a most important and decisive procedure, which determines a woman's readiness to commence counting the clean days. It therefore demands conscientious attention and extreme care. Furthermore, if this procedure is not properly performed, all subsequent counting of clean days is null and void, and the counting must be restarted after proper examination.
The examination should be made shortly before sunset. She can ascertain the time of sunset according to the candle-lighting time for Erev Shabbos (Friday) of that week. She should first clarify how many minutes before sunset it is the local custom to light candles. (Then add the same number of minutes to the candle-lighting time to arrive at the time of sunset.) On Friday and the day before Yom Tov, the examination should be performed before candle-lighting. However, if she forgot to examine herself or if the examination cloth was not perfectly clean, she is permitted to try to don the white even after she lit candles, but only according to the laws of donning the white on Shabbos, and only. up to the time it is still permitted to don the white (see pars. 5, 6, 7). The manner of the examination 4. The examination must be made in the following manner. She must prepare a piece of linen or cotton cloth (approximately 3” x 3" or 8 cm x 8 cm, or slightly larger). This cloth must be completely white and washed completely clean, not new or coarse, but used, soft, and laundered well. Nothing else may be used without first asking a Rabbi. (Before every examination, she should examine the cloth carefully to make sure that it is completely clean.)
Before the examination, the lower part of the body should be washed with warm water, and the undergarments changed to completely clean white ones. For the examination, it is advisable to stand with one foot raised on a footstool (or the like), and to insert the soft white cloth wrapped around her finger into her body as far as possible. She must move the cloth to and fro, into every fold and crevice, as far as her finger can penetrate. (it is preferable that she remove the cloth, examine it, and insert another cloth.) This cloth should, if possible, remain there until it is surely night. If it is difficult for her to tolerate it there so long, she may take it out (only if she had no bleeding on that day, see further par. 5) and examine it thoroughly. If it is not perfectly white, whatever the color may be, a competent Rabbi must be consulted. If the cloth is found to be perfectly white, she may begin,the counting of the clean days. If she did not keep the cloth inside until night, it is preferable that she again insert a soft, clean examination cloth fifteen minutes before night and keep it there until the stars appear. After the cloth is removed, it should be examined thoroughly and carefully put away in a clean place until the next morning and then reexamined by daylight. On the night of donning the white if she found herself clean she must put a clean white sheet on her bed and also change the rest of her bed linen to clean ones. During the clean days following this donning of white, she must not use any bed linen or any underwear which is not white.
If she had bleeding an that day 5. If she saw or if she knows definitely that she experienced bleeding on the day she intends to don the white, this examination is valid only if she keeps the cloth inside her body from the time of the examination until it is positively night. Should she be unable to keep it there until stars appear, she must postpone donning the white until the next day. (Nevertheless, it is advisable to consult a Rabbi.) 6. This donning the white examination which prepares her for the clean days, must not be made too early before evening, and obviously not after the prescribed time which, as previously mentioned, is shortly before sunset. If she delayed the examination until a short time after sunset (while it is still daylight), she should note the exact time of her examination and ask a Rabbi whether it was valid. If there is the slightest possibility that darkness had commenced to set in, she must postpone donning the white for the following day at the proper time. Similarly, according to those who rule that the donning of white is not valid unless the examination cloth was inserted before sunset (so as to determine that the bleeding had stopped by then) if she inserted it after sunset she must postpone donning the white until the following evening.
Donning the white on Shobbos or Yom Tov 7. If the day of donning the white falls on Shabbos, then it depends on the custom of her community. In communities where donning the white is performed on Shabbos, and similarly when donning the white falls on Yom Tov, water may not be heated for the required washing. It is also prohibited to use a washcloth or soap. Only water that has been kept warm from before the Shabbos or Yom Tov, in a permissible manner may be used. She is permitted to wash only by hand, only between the thighs and in the immediate area of the examination. If warm water is not available, she may wash with cold water. (On Yom Tov, if she feels that she must have warm water for this purpose, she must consult a Rabbi.)
In those communities where the custom is not to don the white on Shabbos, the donning of white is postponed to the following day. |