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.
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Psalm 27:14 – Hope in Adonai
In Hebrew, there are two words for ‘hope’ that have the same root: quavah meaning ‘twist or weave’ as in a ‘cord’ that holds expectation. Rahab dropped a scarlet cord from her window with the expectation that her family would be saved when Jericho was destroyed by the Israelites.