Family Purity
Taharat Hamishpachah – the attitudes and practices the Torah prescribes for married life – help to develop genuine communication and love between husband and wife and bring to the world healthy and loving children. Couples from all walks of life have adopted this mitzvah as a means to enhance and enrich their married life. A rabbi should be consulted as to the details of these laws.
Marriage and family: Encouraging Jews to build strong and healthy families
Marriage and family are an important aspect of Jewish life and are seen as a way to fulfill the biblical commandment to "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28) and to create strong and healthy families.
In the Jewish tradition, marriage is seen as a sacred and holy institution that is based on mutual love, respect, and commitment. Jewish marriage is marked by the exchange of vows and the giving of a ring, and is traditionally performed under a chuppah, or wedding canopy. The purpose of marriage in Judaism is to create a loving and committed relationship between a man and a woman, and to establish a home and family that is based on Jewish values and traditions.
The Jewish concept of family is also central to the tradition, and includes not only one's immediate family, but also extended family and community. Building a strong and healthy family involves creating a loving and supportive environment, fostering open communication and mutual respect, and passing on Jewish values and traditions to future generations.
In the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, encouraged Jews to build strong and healthy families as a way to fulfill the biblical commandment and to connect to the Jewish tradition. The Rebbe emphasized the importance of marriage and family in Judaism and encouraged Jews to make them a meaningful and integral part of their lives.
Overall, marriage and family are an important aspect of Jewish life and are seen as a way to fulfill the biblical commandment to "be fruitful and multiply" and to create strong and healthy families. Building a strong and healthy family involves creating a loving and supportive environment, fostering open communication and mutual respect, and passing on Jewish values and traditions to future generations.
Mikvah: Encouraging Jewish women to use the mikvah (ritual bath)
The mikvah, or ritual bath, is an important aspect of Jewish life for many Jewish women and is seen as a way to fulfill the biblical commandment of taharat hamishpacha, or family purity. The mikvah is a pool of naturally-collected rainwater or other bodies of water that is used for the purpose of ritual immersion.
According to Jewish tradition, the mikvah is used by married women to ritualistically purify themselves after menstruation and before resuming intimacy with their husbands. The mikvah is also used by men and women for other purposes, such as before the High Holidays, after conversion, and after coming into contact with a corpse.
In the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, encouraged Jewish women to use the mikvah as a way to fulfill the biblical commandment of taharat hamishpacha and to connect to the Jewish tradition. The Rebbe emphasized the importance of the mikvah and encouraged women to make it a meaningful and integral part of their lives.
Overall, the mikvah is an important aspect of Jewish life for many Jewish women and is seen as a way to fulfill the biblical commandment of taharat hamishpacha, or family purity. It is a pool of naturally-collected rainwater or other bodies of water that is used for the purpose of ritual immersion and is used by married women to ritualistically purify themselves after menstruation and before resuming intimacy with their husbands. It is also used by men and women for other purposes, such as before the High Holidays, after conversion, and after coming into contact with a corpse.
Back in that monastery, achieving higher consciousness, they’re pretty celibate. But we’re into discovering higher consciousness in everything—and there’s no place of greater spiritual energy and beauty than in the union of a man and a woman. After all, what could be more spiritually nurturing than the source of life? However, some conditions do apply. Here are the basic elements:
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A marriage. Actually, the Hebrew word for this is kiddushin, which means sanctified. A Jewish marriage is a statement that this union is for a higher purpose.
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A mikvah. That’s a pool designed around a natural flow of water, such as a spring or rain water. Today’s mikvahs are heated and outfitted with every convenience.
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Separation. From the time of menstruation until immersion, marital relations are off-bounds. Certain other precautions are taken as well, to create a sort of “buffer zone.”
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Seven days. That’s how long a woman counts after menstruation before immersing in a mikvah.
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Preparations. Before immersing in the mikvah, a woman must wash thoroughly so that nothing separates between the woman’s body and the water.
As we exist in G‑d’s mind, male and female is a single whole. So none of us can achieve wholeness until we regain that original oneness in both body and soul. That is why the union of man and woman is so powerful. If treated callously and selfishly it becomes destructive and ugly. But within the right boundaries and conditions, there is nothing more beautiful and uplifting.
—the Kabbalah
The idea of the mikvah is so natural, so ingenious. Women—and men, too—need this cycle. What an amazing way to keep a marital union fresh and well-oiled!
—John Gray, author of Woman Are From Venus, Men Are From Mars