The Evolution of the Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography

The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography

Varvara Redmond, University of Warsaw, Poland

Abstract

The concept of purity exists in many cultures all over the world. This article investigates the idea of Jewish female purity – niddah. The word “purity” itself suggests its connotation to physical and ritual hygiene. This paper shows that even though the concept of “ritual purity” in might have started as an ancient form of hygiene, nowadays it functions as sexual restriction and biopower over Jewish women. Rabbinical sexual prohibitions have drastically transformed the initial practice in an effort to control female gendered behavior. Due to the sensitivity of the subject matter, this essay is written using the methodology of digital ethnography. The digital research was conducted in several Facebook groups of mainly English-speaking Orthodox women. The online research provides an insight into Jewish practices related to niddah, which are not traditionally spoken of freely and demonstrates how the contemporary concept of niddah affects women’s lives severely.

1. Methodology: The Ethics and Challenges of Digital Ethnography Without a doubt, online culture and its practices provide a window into the most private and confidential aspects of a person’s life. studies researchers, Catherine Driscoll and Melissa Gregg, from the University of Sydney, write that online culture extends to the spheres of life without separating them by time or space, different behaviors or identities (Biale, 1984). During the current research of niddah practices and their effect on women’s lives, the author was able to access intimate details and information about women from exclusively Jewish Orthodox female groups. The digital research of Facebook groups and other online forums allow researchers to search for posts and collect information from several years back when the group or forum was just opened. Earlier, anthropologists were expected to go to a designated place for their field research, and collect the data by capturing a very specific social group in a defined period of time (Hine 2000). Digital ethnography researcher Pink writes that during the twentieth century, community studies meant that “it was commonplace for ethnographers to go to particular and often geographically remote localities, and to stay in those locations for a determined period of time” (Pink 2016, 155). During digital research, on the contrary, the relationship between the past and present, local and global are not that clear.

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The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography

In terms of the digital research of Jewish communities, the researcher can not only access the data from years back but also cross the boundaries of localities and communities. Hence, digital research allows the researchers to reach and analyze global trends, which could not be represented in some specific Jewish communities. In the past Jewish tradition could be traced to a specific place and community. Nowadays, Pink quotes Meyrowitz – “we no longer live in localities.” Instead, in the digital era, people live in so-called “glocalities.” In these “glocalities” he suggests, a “global matrix” of interconnections overlays the local experience (Pink 2016, 155). The glocalities are driven by global trends and global consciousness, which can be accessed by digital ethnographers. In this article, thanks to the methodology of digital ethnography, the research provides the necessary insight into how the Jewish law (Halacha) is lived and embodied by women. Another advantage of digital ethnography in the case of research into the practices and theories behind the concept of family purity is that researching female Orthodox groups, the researcher accesses exclusively female voices. It is important that in these groups male Rabbinical authorities are excluded from the conversations about ritual purity, which allows the researcher to analyze which narratives are transmitted by women and which practices are really observed. Digital ethnography allows for observation and data collection with a minimal effect on the informants, by simply collecting the data without engaging or interacting with other members of the group or forum. Another very important issue that cannot be overlooked is the ethics and anonymity of the informants. The majority of observant Jewish Facebook groups require their members to sign up and often respond to several questions, checking their level of religiosity. In the case of digital research, the majority of the informants are not aware that the research is being held. If the researcher decides to announce that they are in fact collecting the data it often leads to them being removed from the group, which puts the whole research at risk. Even if the researcher is allowed to proceed with the fieldwork, it would require them to post the information about the research being held, quite regularly in order to inform newcomers. In that case, it is easy to assume that users’ expressions could be self-censored and affected by the presence of the researcher. As one can see, the boundaries between what is public and what is private online could become quite challenging and problematic. It is crucial for the researcher to use field material carefully without providing any personal details of the informants and check if the researched group can be easily Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 16 Number 2 (2019) 2 ISSN 1209-9392 © 2020 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography found online, which can lead to the exposure of the research community or the informant (Fielding 2008, 23-41). Svenningsson Elm proposed the idea of “fuzzy boundaries” (Markham & Baym 2009, 69-87), which does not provide users with the full information about how public their private posts and comments are. In the majority of exclusively female observant online groups researched for this article, there was an actively used option of an anonymous post. The option of the anonymous posts was very frequently used for posts related to intimate lives, ritual purity, and other personal topics. The comments to these posts, however, were public and often even more personal than the initial post, which enabled the researcher to access more personal data about the users. “Fuzzy Boundaries” – Private/Public British anthropologist, Mary Douglas, explains that pollution ideas function on two levels: instrumental and expressive. At the instrumental level, people try to influence one another’s behavior. These beliefs reinforcing social pressures function as what Michel Foucault would define as biopower coming not only from the Rabbinical authorities but fellow women as well. The high amount of anonymous posts in regards to female mitzvot could be explained by mutual control and censorship performed by other observant women, and also by the fear that someone from their own community will see their post and discuss it with others. That way the mutual control will leak from the online space to the real world. For example, one female user of the group writes: Unfortunately, I know people in real life in this group and it takes a lot of guts to post this. Please don’t talk to me about this post in real life.

This example demonstrates that posting something publicly, without making it anonymous, which is often an option, becomes a conscious decision. In that case, public/private boundaries online over cross the accepted in the offline world order. Another writes: Okay, first time posting. I’m terrified to write this and almost went as ‘anonymous’ for it, but too many people know me. Just... be nice, please. And even more importantly, please be discreet. I can’t afford for the wrong eyes to see this. If you find it funny or ridiculous, please laugh quietly about it - I don’t need to know…

This also demonstrates the awareness of a choice between anonymous and public posting and the difference between what is acceptable online and offline. Many women wrote that they are

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The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography afraid of criticism, gossiping and especially information leakage to their real-life community and locality Even though the Rabbinical authorities due to their gender are excluded from these online discussions, many of the women did not only embodied but also impersonalized the further stringencies over marital relations. Also, there are many members of the observant groups who are in fact in a position of authority. There are many women who are mikvah-attendants, kallah- teachers and even yoatzot halacha – female halachic consultants. This creates the culture of mutual encouragement of strengthening the observance of the Halacha, while critical voices are discouraged. One woman addressed the issue of silencing critical voices towards niddah observance: ...This is the thread where one is "allowed" to be positive and the other is the thread where one is "allowed" to be negative. That's nonsense. Both can be true at the same time. "Keeping the focus of the thread" is another way of saying "policing speech we don't like." Not impressed with that rationalization. Not a very developed way of discussing such a central of frum adult life. I actually don't think it's hugely helpful to intentionally send yet another generation of single into this without some acknowledgment of reality, that it can be VERY challenging, that if you think it's going to solve your relationship problems that are in fact NOT what this mitzvah is capable of, that you need a CAPABLE Kallah teacher and good mentors in your life to help you with these issues. If single girls buy into the fairy dust, they are in for the rude awakening that marriage is EVEN in the best of circumstances. Marriage is hard. TH is a challenging mitzvah. THAT is reality.

While many religious women encourage the observance of the laws of niddah, the religious authorities also attempt to control female gendered behavior. 2. From Ritual Hygiene to Biopower – The Evolution of the Concept The contemporary concept of ritual purity is centered around female , while the rest of the impurity laws barely function in modern-day Judaism. In her noteworthy book, Mary Douglas presents the purification practices as an attempt to cultivate cleanliness by adding a spiritual value to it and trying to maintain a collective order. Douglas writes that “dirt offends against order. Eliminating it is not a negative movement, but a positive effort to organize the environment” (Douglas 2001, 2). The washings and separations serve the practical purpose that may be apt to express religious themes at the same time (Douglas 2001, 30). In this article, the approach towards the “ritual purity” in Judaism as both practical (cleanliness) and the ritual ceremony is challenged. Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 16 Number 2 (2019) 4 ISSN 1209-9392 © 2020 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography

Main Thesis This author suggests that even if the concept of ritual purity had pragmatic value in the past, now it functions as biopower aimed at controlling female gendered experiences; Jewish women are defined by their marital and maternal status. Halacha is designed by men, who seek to domesticate women and limit their ritual expression to their marital life; Transformed laws of ritual purity mainly affect women and often create emotional and practical difficulties, which lead to a tendency to control one’s bodily expression by controlling the menstruation; The niddah policies can be viewed as an attempt to guarantee the continuation of the Jewish nation, the Orthodox prevalence in the State of Israel and the prevention of intermarriage and assimilation. Since the laws of niddah prevent relationships with , who are according to the Halacha are impure, therefore not kosher for intercourse even after marriage (Klawans 1995, 285-312). The Rabbinical authorities also enforce the observance of niddah. For example, the mikvah certificate is required in order to married religiously (Cicurel 2000). In Israel, inter- religious marriages are illegal as well as the lack of institutions officiating secular weddings. Only religious marriages are allowed (Cicurel 2000). It is important to highlight that the concept of niddah only applies to married women. Unmarried women are always niddah because they cannot go to the ritual bath – mikvah. They are also limited in their access to information about the niddah. Even the formulation of the “family” purity laws emphasizes that these laws regard the family as a unit but not a man and a woman separately. Interestingly, niddah only affects relationships between a woman and her husband; she can still touch her children. As a matter of fact, her social life remains almost the same. One of the users writes: It's funny because niddah doesn't exist in any realm except for in front of him, so if you avoid him, you're basically not niddah.

This shows how the laws of niddah affect only intimate relationships between a husband and a . If a woman would really be perceived as “unclean,” one would assume the rest of her physical contacts should be prohibited, which also demonstrates how the laws of niddah function more as sexual restrictions and do not have much to do with the traditional concept of ritual purity.

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The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography

The Evolution of the Laws of Niddah Lately, Jewish law is often presented in the context of legal formalism - a school of thought that perceives the law as an autonomous system of rules and norms under which all that is expected of a judge is to engage in deductive reasoning independent of values, goals, or interpretive methods (Irshai 2012, 13) (Schauer 1988, 509-548). Halachic formalism portrays Jewish law as a static concept, as an objective legal system (Irshai 2012, 12-13). Analyzing the legal formalism in halachic discourse Ronit Irshai writes that formalism ascribes certainty, stability, and, especially, authenticity to the halakhic system (Irshai 2012, 13). The commandments and their practices become unquestionable and people start to believe that this is the way Judaism always worked. Though Halacha regulates the lives of both men and women alike, it has been composed and interpreted for hundreds of years exclusively by male scholars (Irshai 2012, 1). The texts have been written by men for a mostly male audience (Wasserfall 1999, 8) guiding them on how to manage their cattle (the laws of ) and their women (the laws of niddah). The rhetoric in both cases is similar. In Jewish rituals, women occupy a position inferior to that of men. For example, women are not required to observe the majority of mitzvot – Jewish religious commandments – to protect the woman's role as a and to assure that she is free to perform this important role without any outside interruptions (Wasserfall 1999, 8). Even in terms of the laws of niddah, the female position is more of a “servant,” rather than the participant. For example, if during the mikvah-night when a woman should purify herself, the husband is out of town, a woman should wait for him to come back and go to the mikvah a night before her husband is supposed to come back (Yosef 1988 vol.3, 277-278). However, if there is a chance that her husband might come home earlier or would want to surprise her and return at any time, she might cleanse herself, when her seven clean days [of bleeding] are over. Another exception to this rule is if her husband is sick and cannot be intimate. In such a situation she also can purify in order to take care of him, which could include physical touch (Yosef 1988 vol.3, 276). These Halakhot – Jewish religious laws – view a woman in an instrumental way. It seems to be an instruction on how to "operate a woman" in a kosher way instead of treating her as a first-class subject of the law. It demonstrates how a woman’s responsibilities and her legal status are defined by her husband and his actions.

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The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography

The development of the laws of niddah is a result of Rabbinical polemics and reinterpretation. A step-by-step radicalization of the law written by male authorities directly affects women’s gendered and body experiences. In the introduction to the book “Women and Water” Rahel Wasserfall writes: They (author: the laws of niddah) have been revered as part of a symbolic order but also manipulated and contested as part of the concrete order of power relations between husbands and , and women, and rabbis and physicians. Traditions are not static. On the contrary, when we see how rituals were used, resisted, and manipulated, we understand traditions to be culture(s) in motion (Wasserfall 1999, 5).

The halachic laws and their development are very well known; however, it is not quite clear how they are actually implemented. There are feelings one cannot experience without a ritual, which creates, shapes and controls the experience (Douglas 2001, 65). It is interesting how many women observing the laws of niddah share a common bond, despite this, they rarely talk about their individual experience. Traditionally, the observance of the laws of niddah is not spoken of openly. Even when a woman goes to the mikvah, in the Ashkenazi tradition she is expected to hide it from her family members. According to the Halacha, going to the mikvah should be performed in secrecy and a woman should try her best in order to preserve the secret status of immersion. Halacha even permits a woman to lie if someone asks her where she is going (Yosef 1988 vol.3, 190). These stringencies are related to the Jewish laws of modesty. One woman said that when her children ask her where she is going on mikvah night, she has three answers she uses trying to keep it secret: a) “See if my prescription is ready;” b) “Need to give someone a check (cheque);” c) “Promised a friend I'd check in on them” (IMG_3308). Other women also shared their excuses with the group. Instead of telling the truth, the majority would say that they are going to the shop, gym or swimming pool. Some said that they would tell the truth when the children are old enough (IMG_3308-3313). Jewish purification laws are not fully known to observant women. The majority of children do not know about the niddah separation since their parents keep it a secret. Sexual subjects are not often spoken about in Orthodox communities and the practical details about the niddah concept are taught to a woman only a couple of months before getting married in special “kallah classes.” During the classes all the practicalities are disclosed and the brides are actively encouraged to observe the laws of family purity. One of the group members, who is not engaged and tried to sign up for kallah classes was refused (IMG_3448). A consulted said this is common practice Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 16 Number 2 (2019) 7 ISSN 1209-9392 © 2020 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography since these laws do not relate to her. The secrecy around niddah and mikvah experiences makes the authorities such as match-makers, mikvah-consultants, kallah teachers (bridal teachers) almost sole transmitters of the information about niddah observance and its challenges. In her article "The Rabbinate Versus the Israeli (Jewish) Women" Inbal E. Cicurel describes methods used by the halachic authorities in order to convince women to use the mikvahs and observe the rules of the family purity. Firstly, it is a legal necessity to present a certificate confirming immersion before the wedding. She points out active pro-niddah campaigning and easy access to niddah rulebooks. Women are often told that it is healthier for them and their future children if a mother observes niddah. Brides are often told that their husband will desire them more if they abstain from sexual relations during niddah. Women are made to believe that the presence of the – divine presence of God – is dependent on family purity. The necessity of male rabbis to perform the examining of the bloodstains is promoted (Cicurel 2000). While the authorities often present the niddah observance in a positive light, the voices of real women and their challenges are not exposed. Here the use of the methodology of digital ethnography could be a useful tool in order to extract real lived halacha, as it is perceived by women – its observers, but not by men and religious authorities. It is important to mention that digital research of female Orthodox groups and forums is not only a male-free space, but also a virtual space in which researchers can access and analyze online dialogues happening between women online. While using the methodology of traditional fieldwork, the majority of the dialogues between informants are influenced by the presence of the researcher. On the other hand, Facebook groups and forums have their own authorities – often represented by the administrators of the group. For example, below an administrator of one of the female religious groups posted this warning above the anonymous post from the user: Note: Anyone who speaks against mikvah or encouraging anyone to refrain from the mitzvah will be removed without warning. This is not a democracy, it's a cheerocracy.

This demonstrates an attempt to silence the negative voices about the niddah observance. 3. The Effect of Purity Laws on Female Lives: The Centralization of Female Life Around One’s

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The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography

The development of the idea of menstrual impurity in Judaism starts from Leviticus 15. From here the reader learns about the menstrual prohibitions: sex and any sexual contact with a menstruating woman (Scherman & Goldwurm & Danziger 1989, 18:19, 20:18). While reading Leviticus, it would appear that the concept of niddah indeed concerns physical cleanliness: touching a woman who is niddah, touching an object she has sat or laid on, or having intercourse with her also makes a person ritually unclean (Leviticus 15); this fits Douglas’s approach towards ritual purity. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw the introduction of a new definition of menstrual laws: Taharat haMishpaha or family purity (Wasserfall 1999, 32). However, again, the concept was branded as "purity" laws regarding cleanliness; these restrictions would become nothing more than extended sexual stringencies. Anthropology professor Jen Pylypa (Pylypa 1998, 21-36) explains Michel Foucault’s definition of biopower. Foucault coined the term "biopower" – she writes – to define the ways in which power manifests itself in the form of daily practices and routines. Through these “micro practices,” individuals engage in self-surveillance and self-discipline, and thereby subjugate themselves (Wasserfall 1999, 32). The category of biopower becomes useful in anthropology of the body because it makes the body the central actor of self-subjugation. Biopower operates in a person's own body through self-disciplinary practices. Individuals – writes Pylypa – voluntarily control themselves by self-imposing conformity to cultural norms through self-surveillance and self-disciplinary practices, especially those of the body such as the self-regulation of hygiene, health, and sexuality (Wasserfall 1999, 32). In this study, the laws of niddah will be fragmented into the micro practices they constitute, in order to show how the laws of niddah are embodied and also to demonstrate how much they penetrate woman’s intimate life. The following practices covering the majority of the spheres of one’s intimate lives function as restrictions of female gendered behavior, and have nothing to do with ritual purity in its initial stage. The observance of niddah laws requires the abstention from sex and physical contact during menstruation plus seven clean days following. After a woman stops bleeding, she should examine herself with a special cotton cloth bedikah: a small piece of material commonly used by the Orthodox women. It can be easily purchased on Amazon or many other websites. A woman should inspect herself by inserting her finger wrapped in this cloth, inside her as deeply as Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 16 Number 2 (2019) 9 ISSN 1209-9392 © 2020 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography possible and rotate it, pressing it into all crevices. Then she should check if there is any left on the cloth (Yosef 1988 vol.3, 292, 297-300). There is a spectrum of colors "allowed" by the law. If a woman is not sure about the stain, she should consult a Rabbi. In practice, normally the husband brings her bedikah cloths to the Rabbi in the envelope signed with her name and the date the cloths were presented. There should be two cloths, one from the evening and one from the morning (Nacson 2018, 43-49). This can delay the start of seven clean days. In the 12 years I’ve been married, I can count on my fingers how many times I’ve gotten a clear bedika when making a hefsek [author: inspection]. I almost always get a color that for the first couple of days of nekiim [author: seven clean days], getting lighter every time until it clears completely. (Anonymous Post)

After the examination is completed and Rabbinical approval is received a woman will begin "seven clean days." Only after seven blood-free days, a woman can go to the mikvah, where she should immerse fully and pronounce a blessing ending this period of niddah (Karo 1565, Yoreh De'ah 197:1 via Sefaria). These twelve-fourteen days of separation and daily micro practices can become a central aspect of female ritual life, which is centered around her physiological potential as a mother and spouse. The presence of obligatory vaginal inspection indicates the importance of the laws and the high level of self-discipline. On one hand, a woman is expected to perform the inspection on her own, without any authority involved. On the other hand, she is encouraged to consult a Rabbi in the situation of doubt over the color of the discharge, which shows a very high level of involvement and penetration of the religious authorities into a woman's body and sexual life. In the majority of cases the period of niddah lasts for twelve to fourteen days. Nonetheless there are multiple cases of prolonged niddah, normally due to postpartum spotting or health issues. One of the group members asked the others what was the longest time they were niddah after having a baby. There were women who responded: a couple of months, eleven weeks, twelve weeks, three months and almost four months. Many women expressed frustration over long niddah due to medical reasons, since the concept of niddah covers not only menstrual blood but any kind of vaginal discharge (1). I've been in niddah for five weeks with no signs of stopping. (I'm in touch with both a (author: Rabbi) and a doctor so not looking for medical or halachic advice.) It has been very

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The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography stressful and a strain on my marriage. I'm looking for suggestions or advice from anyone who may have gone through this. I'm feeling so frustrated and helpless (IMG_3767). (Anonymous Post)

Many religious authorities present the time of niddah as an intimate time, during which spouses have space to reconnect emotionally. Halachically acclaimed author Tehilla Abramov in her book "The secret of Jewish femininity," which was recommended by six Rabbinical authorities disagrees with this approach. Abramov writes that the marriage will really suffer if you do not observe the law. Abramov argues that when physical intimacy is not available the other forms of communication will suffice (Abramov 2005, 103). A majority of the Rabbis encourage their students to cultivate non-physical intimacy with their spouses while she is niddah, such as going for dinner, taking her for a movie or playing board games. “Handling the Body” Practices Despite commonly promoted “coping strategies,” cultivating non-physical closeness, there are multiple posts and women writing that the niddah time is "the worst time for their marriage.” The emotional challenges during niddah also tie a woman's mental and emotional well-being to her menstrual cycle. Niddah experience does not only control female body expression, but also takes away non-romantic physical support often very important in marital relationships: Married almost 11 years and still dread being a nidda. I also find Mikva day very anxiety provoking. I have a "nidda bear" he's really big and fluffy and I used to hug him a lot when I needed a hug and hubby couldn't hug me. I didn't have children for 10 years so nidda was extra hard but my stupid bear really helped (IMG_2385). (Anonymous Post)

For some women niddah time can be psychologically traumatic, which leads them to try to “control” their body by controlling their menstrual cycle: I got married a few months ago and after being in Nidda right after the wedding, I have had extreme anxiety about being in it again. So much so I've done everything I can to avoid it. Doubled up on my birth control pack, taken the magic stopper pill, you name it. I was planning on having my period two months ago but the night before I was going to stop my BC pill I had a panic attack and had to get a refill to be able to calm down, and I skipped it again. It's been a couple months and I know its time to let my body do its thing but I have this crippling anxiety and I can't exactly put my finger on why. We're taught in Kallah [author: bridal] classes that nidda is a beautiful thing and great for a marriage but I'm having a really hard time seeing how and am dreading the inevitable. Has anyone else ever experienced this anxiety and what can I do to cope with it? (IMG_2374) (Anonymous Post)

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The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography

The contraceptive pills, which prevent a woman from bleeding, became a common way many women “handled” their body, striving to maintain their social order and emotional stability, which is often challenged during niddah separation. While some women turn to psychological coping mechanisms such as spending quality time with one’s husband trying to compensate for the lack of physical contact with emotional bonding, avoiding one’s spouse, writing each other little love notes, getting a “niddah bear” as described above, others try to handle their body. These women take oral contraceptives preventing them from bleeding in order to avoid niddah and possible pregnancies, which is especially common among newly-weds. The tendency to “handle the body” is also reinforced by Rabbinical prohibition of men from all forms of contraception such as oral contraceptives, condoms, vasectomies or castration ( 8:4 via Sefaria). As a result, full responsibility for potential pregnancy and contraception methods lays solely on women. While condoms and coitus interruption are forbidden, the recommended methods are oral contraceptives, chemical spermicides, diaphragms or cervical cups, which could be quite dangerous for a woman and literally penetrate female reproductive and endocrine systems (Rosner & Tendler 1990). Only in limited cases, are women allowed by the authorities to use contraception (Irshai 2012, 54). Not many women have rabbinical approval for using contraception, especially if they do not have children. The extreme forms of controlling one’s body, striving to avoid niddah, are not only inserting birth control implants inside the body, but also undergoing unnecessary hysterectomies. On 's Women’s Health and Halacha website one of the women asks anonymously for advice regarding her frustration with niddah practices. Question: I am 46 years old, and after observing Taharat HaMishpacha for all of my married life (24 years) I am having trouble with the concept lately. I seem to need more affection and closeness from my husband than when we were first married. (...)

I've had a thermal ablation and a microwave endometrial ablation, but still have periods. I want to plan a trip for our 25th anniversary next year, but I fear I will end up on a trip with my husband at a time when he won't be able to give me a hug or put his arm around me in a picture! (A good trip, like a kosher cruise, can't be booked at the last second). I am concerned that I may not reach for quite a few more years. I can't go on living like this. I've thought about a hysterectomy, but it doesn't seem fair that I should have to go through such major surgery to get a hug! My husband has some serious health issues. If he should die before I reach

Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 16 Number 2 (2019) 12 ISSN 1209-9392 © 2020 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography menopause, I see myself standing by his grave, thinking about all the times we should have held hands, kissed, etc., and didn't, because I hadn't been to the mikvah (2).

It is not known how many menstruating women undergo unnecessary hysterectomy, it is important however how much emotional pressure and responsibility lay on observant women. The niddah practices make menstruation and female procreation ability the central aspect of her existence. It also connects female body expression such as menstruation directly to her marital status and procreation ability. When a young woman starts to menstruate, she is not niddah and is not required to physically separate from other people. The ritual cleansing is required only after marriage, since a Jewish marriage is the only legitimate space for a Jewish woman to procreate. The purification ritual – mikvah – is required to enable a Jewish woman to be “consumed” by her husband in order to conceive. While religions often act through the body and are embodied, an observant Jewish woman is freed from the majority of mitzvot and only embodies practices confirming for ritual status as a mother and wife. Many women also plan medical procedures, such as PAP test for example, during seven clean days, trying to avoid prolonged niddah period. Multiple women asked online for recommendations for gynecologists who would know the laws of niddah. The centralization of female social and romantic life around her menstruation does not end there. Women plan their vacations, business trips or their husbands’ business trips around niddah time. Conclusion Presented fieldwork and empirical research demonstrate how useful the digital ethnography methodology is at discovering female voices and separating lived Halacha from the theory. It can also be established how a woman’s gendered experiences such as menstruation and birth are at the center of her ritual role. The laws of niddah are highly penetrative and are embodied by women practicing the laws of niddah. The observance of niddah affects women’s psychological and physiological wellbeing. Some women turn to psychological coping mechanisms, trying to replace the missing physical component; many women try to control their body, preventing the menstruation or restricting it. While originally the rules of niddah could be based on ritual hygiene, in the modern day they have been radicalized by additional stringency and expectations towards women. In reality niddah practices function as biopower, by embodied self-disciplinary micro practices, reminding a woman about her primary halachic role as a wife and a child-bearer.

Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 16 Number 2 (2019) 13 ISSN 1209-9392 © 2020 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

The Evolution of the Niddah Practice from Ritual Hygiene to Biopower: A Study in Digital Ethnography

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Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 16 Number 2 (2019) 15 ISSN 1209-9392 © 2020 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.