Niddah is the Hebrew word describing the seven days when a woman is ‘unclean’ during her period and has not completed a mikveh or ritual bath. ‘Unclean’ means being ‘in a state of ritual impurity.’ These seven days are also known as tumah which refers to the period of time when sexual relations between a husband and wife are not to occur. Being ‘ritually impure’ or ‘unclean’ does not mean a woman is in a sinful state or inferior. It is quite the opposite. Scripture emphasizes the holiness inherent in a woman’s cycle to create and nurture a new life within her womb. When as woman is ‘ritually impure,’ it only means she is incapable of conceiving a child.
Tag: mikveh
Parashah 8: Vayishlach (He sent)
Circumcision was the ‘sign’ of the covenant given to Abraham, a symbol of his faith and obedience, and his heart for El Shaddai. Circumcision set Jacob’s sons apart from the uncircumcised men around them, a separation instituted by Elohim. Shechem and the men of the city did not have a heart for Elohim; therefore, circumcision was not something they should have been asked to do. The sons of Jacob perverted the act of circumcision and used it in a deceitful way, not only to humble the men of the city, but to destroy them.
Hebrews 6 – Elementary Teachings
The Complete Jewish Bible translates ‘baptism’ as ‘instructions about washings’ or a mikveh. A mikveh is an immersion for purification and done numerous times throughout a person’s life for various reasons. During the month of Elul (August/September) there was an immersion for the repentance of sins before the arrival of the Days of Awe and the Day of Atonement. This repentance immersion was nothing new. When John preached repentance from sins at the Jordan River, the men and women of Israel were taking part in the repentance immersion during the month of Elul. It was at this same time that Yeshua was immersed and the Spirit of Adonai came down and rested on him like a dove (Luke 3:20-22).