DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 1006 KB)
A Bride’s Requirement to Make “Bedikot”

Before a girl gets married, she must remove her Nidda status by going through the standard procedure that married women must go through after becoming a Nidda. This means that she must ascertain the cessation of bleeding through the "Hefsek Tahara," and then make two Bedikot (inspections) each day (morning and afternoon) for seven days. At the end of the seven days, she immerses in a Mikveh. The only difference is that a bride may immerse on the seventh day, whereas a married woman may immerse only after nightfall.

This information is well-known and taught in standard marriage preparation classes, but it has recently come to my attention that some people are under the misconception that a bride preparing for her wedding does not have to make internal inspections. This is entirely incorrect; a bride must make the same Bedikot as married women. It is true that a girl who had never been married might be physiologically unable to check herself the same way a married woman does. However, Halacha requires her to inspect to the extent that she can. If, for whatever reason, she is unable to make both daily inspections each of the seven days, she should consult with her Rabbi for guidance. In some situations, there is room to permit a woman to make fewer inspections. But a bride is certainly under the same obligation to make Bedikot as married women.

It is unclear where this misconception comes from, but it might have originated from the Bet Yosef (Yoreh De’a 192), who does not mention Bedikot when discussing a bride’s preparations for her wedding. However, the Bet Yosef was likely referring to the times when even single girls would immerse in the Mikveh after menstruation, and therefore a bride before her wedding could have already been Tehora (ritually pure). As such, Bedikot were unnecessary. Nowadays, however, girls do not immerse in a Mikveh until before their wedding, and thus their process of purification is required on the level of strict Torah obligation. Hence, their Bedikot are obligatory. This Halacha is mentioned explicitly by Hacham Ovadia Yosef, in his Taharat Ha’bayit (vol. 1, p. 471; listen to audio recording for precise citation).

Summary: Before a girl’s wedding day, she must perform Bedikot for seven days just as a married woman does after becoming a Nidda. If a bride cannot, for whatever reason, make all the required inspections, she should consult with her Rabbi for guidance.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
A Woman's Obligations When the Torah is Removed From the Heichal and During Torah Reading
Bringing Young Girls to the Synagogue
Must a Married Woman Cover Her Hair?
May one use Moist Towelettes for Mayim Aharonim?
How To Do Birkat Kohanim When There Are Only Kohanim Present In Shul
Do We Believe Somebody Who Says He’s a Kohen?
Must a Kohen Wash for Birkat Kohanim if He Had Already Washed Earlier
Wearing Tefillin at Minha on a Fast Day
May One Make a Bar Misva Celebration the Night Before a Fast Day?
Keeping Bread on the Table During Birkat Hamazon
The Status of Water Condensation Regarding Berachot, Mayim Acharonim and Shabbat
Mayim Acharonim- A Foul Spirit ?
The Obligation to Drive Responsibly
May a Third Party Pay Somebody to Lend Money to His Fellow?
May a Lender Charge the Borrower for Expenses Incurred as a Result of the Loan?
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found