Menstruation & Shabbat

Menstruation plays an essential role in human reproduction. On a roughly monthly basis, a fertile woman’s uterine lining thickens, sheds, and begins to thicken again to allow for the possibility of embryo implantation. The days of bleeding are part of an ongoing cycle of possibility and renewal.

Women relate to these monthly rhythms in a range of ways. For some, the menstrual cycle is a mere quirk of biology. Others find spiritual significance in building awareness of the cycle. Israeli educator Rut Lazare penned the following prayer for a mother to recite at her daughter’s menarche. It expresses a range of sentiments about the menstrual period in a religious framework to which women, mothers or not, may relate:

Halachic discussions of menstruation typically focus on the laws of nidda, and the experience of menstruation usually remains private. For these reasons, it can be difficult to learn Shabbat and Yom Tov halachot relevant to menstruation – either textually or mimetically. Here, we explore common practical halachic questions that arise for someone menstruating on Shabbat: the parameters of seeking pain relief, washing, and the use of menstrual products.

In the days leading up to menstruation and during the days of the menstrual period, some degree of achiness, mood swings, or cramping are common. Popular treatments include hot water bottles, pain relievers, and diuretics. Women with more severe symptoms may use anti-depressant and contraceptive pills preventively.

Taking Pills

The halachot of refu’a (healing) on Shabbat complicate the use of medications. The Mishna presents a number of restrictions on undertaking refu’a during Shabbat. For example, a person can consume a food or drink with healing properties on Shabbat only if it’s an item that healthy people also consume:

The Talmud cites a rabbinic decree that can explain this mishna and others like it,¹ and Rashi fills in the details of what it means:

Before the advent of modern pharmaceuticals, medicines were often prepared by grinding or crushing ingredients for immediate use. The decree restricts the pursuit of physical healing on Shabbat, lest one come to grind medicinally active materials on Shabbat. Grinding, tochen, is one of the thirty-nine main categories of prohibited labor on Shabbat.²

The decree is widely understood to remain in force today, even though most people no longer prepare their own medications.³

From its inception, the decree has not applied when a person is dangerously ill (choleh she-yesh bo sakana).⁴

There is also a widespread consensus⁵ that the decree does not apply when a person is bedridden or cannot function normally because of illness,⁶ even when not in danger (choleh she-ein bo sakana).

This means, for example, that a woman with a migraine or cramping that leads to overall pain or weakness related to menstruation is permitted to take pills that will help alleviate these conditions on Shabbat.

Additionally, someone who has reason to suspect that her symptoms will lead her to become a chola she-ein ba sakana if they go untreated, may take a pill on Shabbat from the onset of symptoms to prevent this from happening:^{7 8}

Meichush Be-alma

Rambam, and Shulchan Aruch paraphrasing him, rule that the decree against healing applies only to the generally healthy person (bari), who can function fairly normally, even in the presence of a minor ailment (meichush be-alma).

Light cramping, or a light headache that is not expected to worsen greatly, would usually be considered a meichush be-alma. It should follow that a woman with such a condition should not take pain relievers on Shabbat.

As Rav Neuwirth notes, however, there are exceptions to this rule. If we look again at Rambam and Shulchan Aruch, they both specify that the decree applies to healing .⁹ Rav Eliezer Waldenberg argues that pills taken solely for pain relief or as relaxants are permissible even for a meichush be-alma, because they do not truly heal, but merely alleviate symptoms.

It can sometimes be helpful for a person concerned that pain will develop or worsen over Shabbat to take a pill before Shabbat comes in. This could head off discomfort for some. When it doesn’t, having begun treatment before Shabbat helps establish that one will not come to grind medicine on Shabbat, so it provides somee grounds for leniency.¹⁰ Tzitz Eliezer and other authorities also mention possible alternative grounds for leniency, such as taking medicine in an unusual fashion,¹¹ or treating cases of distress more leniently than those of minor discomfort.¹²

Ongoing Treatment

The Talmud notes that a medical treatment begun prior to Shabbat may be compromised if discontinued on Shabbat.

Accordingly, many rule that the decree also does not apply to ongoing medical treatments, such as antibiotics, when the treatment’s efficacy may be negatively affected by missing a day.

Thus, for example, a person on a daily pill regimen is generally permitted to take them at the regularly scheduled time on Shabbat, when taking it just before Shabbat begins and right after it ends would not suffice medically.

Based on all that we’ve learned, there are a number of ways to permit taking medicines for pain relief on Shabbat, even for a meichush be-alma. A person in this situation should not assume that she cannot take pain medication on Shabbat without consulting a halachic authority.

Hot Water Bottle

The hot water bottle may entail other concerns, beyond refu’a. The Talmud quotes a baraita that permits using a dry, hot compress upon one’s stomach on Shabbat, but not a container filled with hot water:

The passage implies that there is an additional reason to prohibit using a hot water bottle on Shabbat, aside from concern for the danger of scalding.

Tosafot suggest two possible concerns: that one would come to violate the prohibition of sechita, wringing, on Shabbat, or that using a hot water bottle falls under the decree against refu’a on Shabbat.¹³

Now that we have more spill-proof containers, only the decree of refu’a remains potentially relevant.¹⁴ Some halachic authorities do not apply it here, since the pain remedy is not medicinal:

Others do view the decree of refu’a as a practical concern, but still permit using a hot water bottle on Shabbat for a choleh she-ein bo sakana, to whom the decree does not apply, or for a someone with a meichush be-alma in a case of great need,¹⁵ or in locales in which hot water bottles are also used for non-healing purposes:¹⁶

Menstrual blood can easily find its way onto the body and clothing, leaving women with the question of how best to clean it off on Shabbat. Before we look at the parameters for washing and wiping, we should note that Halacha makes special allowances for kevod ha-beriyot, human dignity. Kevod ha-beriyot overrides rabbinic injunctions in the case of great physical indignity¹⁷

For example, on account of of kevod ha-beriyot our sages permitted people of their day to bring the small stones that they used for wiping (as we use toilet paper) into a bathroom, even though moving them would otherwise be rabbinically prohibited as muktzeh. In the modern-day equivalent, we are permitted to tear toilet paper as necessary for wiping, in a way only prohibited rabbinically on Shabbat (e.g., with the back of one’s hands).

The need to clean off menstrual blood is analogous to the need to wipe after using the toilet. Moving forward, we should keep in mind that the halachic factor of kevod ha-beriyot can sometimes provide grounds for leniency with regard to rabbinic edicts on Shabbat.

Bathing

The melacha of bishul, cooking, limits heating water up on Shabbat. Even if water was heated up prior to Shabbat or in a permissible manner on Shabbat, bathing one’s whole body in hot water on Shabbat is prohibited by a rabbinic decree. This decree was instituted in response to unscrupulous bath attendants who would heat up water on Shabbat and lie about when they heated it:¹⁸

With menstrual blood, it is usually only necessary to clean off part of the body, so that will be our focus here. (Learn more about washing the whole body on Shabbat here.) What are the parameters of washing part of the body on Shabbat? For starters, the Talmud teaches that water heated in advance of Shabbat (and kept hot on Shabbat) may be used to wash one’s face, hands and feet:

We find a similar halachic discussion regarding bathing in water heated on Yom Tov. Rabbeinu Asher (Rosh) states that women preparing for immersion on Motza’ei Shabbat that falls out on Yom Tov would heat up water on Yom Tov to clean the body’s “hidden places and folds”:

One might have thought Rosh’s ruling would be limited to cases of washing for the sake of a mitzva, such as preparing for mikveh. Beit Yosef, however, applies Rosh’s ruling more broadly, to washing in general, and infers that the terms “face, hands, and feet” in the halachot of bathing on Shabbat includes other body parts as well.

Rema cites this ruling.¹⁹ His contemporary, Mas’at Binyamin, summarizes how these laws apply to a woman bathing in preparation for her clean days on Shabbat and Yom Tov:

Mas’at Binyamin writes that some women had the practice of delaying cleaning until after Shabbat or Yom Tov, though he makes it clear that this is not the fundamental law.

A woman is thus permitted to use water heated in advance of Shabbat and Yom Tov to clean individual body parts of menstrual blood (or other matter), as necessary. This can be for her own hygiene or to attain a hefsek tahara, which is ideally preceded by washing up. () Cold or lukewarm water may be used more freely.²⁰ Lukewarm water is typically prepared on Shabbat by letting water from an urn cool, or by adding cool water to a container of water from an urn. (Using a hot water tap on Shabbat is usually prohibited, and entails questions beyond the scope of this piece.²¹ Whether a woman can use water heated on Yom Tov for this type of washing is a matter of debate.²²)

Washcloths and Wipes

Note that Mas’at Binyamin stipulates that a woman use her hands when cleaning herself with water, and not a cloth, lest she come to wring out the water.²³ Sechita, wringing, came up in Tosafot’s discussion of hot water bottles as well. It can describe extracting a liquid for use, like squeezing grapes for juice, which falls under the melacha of dash, threshing. Alternatively, it can describe a stage of laundering, melaben, where wringing is part of the cleaning process.²⁴

Water absorbed by a washcloth when washing would in some sense dirty the washcloth, so it would be difficult to characterize this sechita as a type of laundering of the cloth.²⁵ Rather, the concern about using a washcloth likely centers on sechita as a type of dash to retrieve liquid. Some early halachic authorities maintain that there is a Torah-level prohibition of sechita from a cloth, because typical use of a wet cloth involves pressing liquid out in order to make use of the water within it to clean the skin.

Therefore, one should not deliberately wring out even a cloth towel used for drying on Shabbat. Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, however, permits wiping on Shabbat with a wet paper product, in large part because he views any possible halachic concern as rabbinic. The water is not a natural part of the paper (in the way that juice is naturally part of a fruit) and paper, unlike cloth, is not typically wrung out:²⁶

Thus, wiping with wet paper is widely permitted, as long as one takes care not to wring it out:

Using wipes has historically been more contentious, though they have become more widely accepted in recent years. According to some authorities, they are permissible when merely damp and used without great force, since then it would be difficult to wring any liquid out.²⁷ According to others, they are generally so wet that it is impossible to avoid sechita:²⁸

Most recently, Rav Asher Weiss has conducted research on wipes and reached the conclusion that they do not result in sechita:

In recent years, increasing numbers of posekim and families follow views that permit wipes for babies. Baby wipes specially prepared to meet some authorities’ halachic specifications (e.g., all synthetic so there is no question whatsoever of their being cloth) have even begun to appear on the market with hechsherim, though many who permit wipes do not require certification. Kevod ha-beriyot is an additional consideration for leniency, especially for women who feel a need to clean off with them.

Tzovei’a, dyeing, is another prohibited labor of Shabbat. ²⁹ On a Torah level, it is typically defined as an act of dyeing which specifically serves to improve or beautify the object being dyed.³⁰ It is prohibited rabbinically when performed in a destructive manner.

Some halachic authorities, including Shulchan Aruch, ³¹ even rule that wiping a berry-stained mouth on a cloth napkin is prohibited rabbinically as tzovei’a:

Based on this ruling alone, we might be concerned that a woman’s options for wiping off menstrual blood are limited. Others, however, including Radbaz, rule against this stringent view:

Mishna Berura maintains that one may rely on Radbaz as necessary:

Therefore, a woman need not be concerned about wiping off her menstrual blood with any item when necessary. Even those who generally regard wiping off hands or face on a cloth as a rabbinic prohibition may limit the application of the prohibition to objects that are typically dyed . Shulchan Aruch Ha-Rav (the Alter Rebbe) points out that, without distinguishing between typically-dyed objects and other objects, it would be difficult to permit a woman to use menstrual protection on Shabbat. Since halachic authorities allow the use of menstrual protection on Shabbat, it must be that dirtying objects not typically dyed is fully permissible. (See more below.)

It follows that a woman may perform a bedika, or absorb or wipe menstrual blood, with anything not typically dyed (e.g., an item designated for bedikot or wiping), without concern for a rabbinic-level violation of tzovei’a. By the same logic, tzovei’a is not even of rabbinic concern with respect to staining disposable products, since they are not typically dyed. A similar halachic ruling commonly applies to cleaning off a bleeding wound.³²

Washing Clothing

Washing clothing on Shabbat is typically prohibited under the melacha of melaben.³³

The Talmud draws distinctions, between hard and soft leathers, and between rinsing and rubbing. Hard leather is treated most leniently. Soft fabrics are subject to the most restrictions, since merely soaking them even without rubbing can be defined as laundering:

Therefore, clothing with blood on it (and reusable cloth menstrual pads, and period underwear) should generally be left until after Shabbat or Yom Tov. The best way to clean blood from fabric is typically by soaking or rinsing it as much as possible under a tap, and that is forbidden on a Torah level as melaben.

What other steps can be taken to mitigate a stain? It is permissible to remove the surface layer of wet blood from a garment with a paper towel or rag.

A baraita teaches that we may also scrape off a stain from fabric with our fingernails:

Halachic authorities permit scraping stains on fabric, certainly when they’re wet, and allow using a knife as well. Scraping can even be permitted on the outside of a garment, since it doesn’t resemble washing as rubbing does:

Synthetic Fabrics

Rav Moshe Feinstein writes that, in principle, the concept of laundering should not apply to non-absorbent synthetic materials like plastic. He permits cleaning objects made of such materials for same-day use on Shabbat:

Since it is a firm, hard surface, and the rinsing is to permit same-day use, this argument justifies rinsing out a menstrual cup with water, much as one can wash a dish with water for Shabbat use.

More to our point, based on this type of argument, one could also argue that it is permissible to rinse out a stain from a fully synthetic piece of fabric (e.g., 100% polyester) where the stain does not overlap natural fiber or thread at the seams.³⁴ Tzitz Eliezer explains that such a fabric is not absorbent and thus may be rinsed:

Rav Neuwirth rules accordingly, on condition that one not wring out or rub the fabric:

Opening

Tampons and pads often come individually wrapped. In general, opening packages on Shabbat raises questions about several melachot, including korei’a (tearing), asiyat petach (making an opening), and mochek (erasing).

The Mishna states that one may open a container of food as long as one does not intend to create a vessel:

Tosafot limit the permissibility of opening a container to a musteki, a flimsy one that will not be fit for future use:

In practice, it is preferable to open packages before Shabbat and Yom Tov when possible. However, many halachic authorities permit opening wrappings and packages on Shabbat and Yom Tov

Since the menstrual products will be used on Shabbat and their packages are designed to be thrown out after being emptied, both the larger and the individual packages may be opened on Shabbat as necessary. Both should preferably not be opened at a perforated opening. Many halachic authorities express a preference for the larger packages to be opened prior to Shabbat or in a destructive manner on Shabbat. Otherwise, opening them on Shabbat would enable them to function as receptacles in the future.³⁵

Sticking

Using a pad or pantyliner generally entails removing the covering from an adhesive strip, affixing the pad to a garment with the adhesive, and unsticking the pad from the garment after use. Here the melachot potentially involved include tofer, sewing, and korei’a, tearing. The primary melacha of tofer entails sewing with two or more stitches in a way that will be lasting:

Sticking objects together or separating them are toladot (Torah-level sub-categories) of tofer and korei’a. Depending on the circumstances, they can be considered a Torah-level violation as well:

The essential question becomes whether one may create or break a bond meant to be temporary.³⁶

Magen Avraham permits separating pages that became stuck together by wax on Shabbat, because the wax adhesion was not intended to bind the pages together or to be lasting:

Rav Moshe Feinstein adds that tofer and korei’a only apply when the objects are joined to the point that they become as one and separating them would tear a unified object. Otherwise, Rambam would have mentioned them as melachot performed when twining or separating strands of a rope:

Based on the above, and considering that the adhesive on pads is designed for the items to be separable and not truly to become as one, it is widely permitted for women to affix and remove adhesive pads on Shabbat:³⁷

Some authorities, including Rav Neuwirth, recommend un-sticking and re-sticking the adhesive covers before Shabbat where possible.³⁸

This preference reflects a concern that, since the covers are attached to the adhesive indefinitely (from the pads’ manufacture until their use), the bond is considered shel kayyama, long-lasting. This is another area in which kevod ha-beriyot might provide additional grounds for relying on lenient opinions.³⁹

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach argues that removing the covers is not of concern since the covers are made from the start to be separated. He adds that something used and disposed of within a day is not considered lasting:

It follows that there would be no concern with closing a used pad with adhesive fasteners before disposing of it. Nevertheless, it is common to be stringent not to seal used diapers and pads closed. Since those seals are meant to remain indefinitely, this could raise the question of a lasting bond:

Carrying

The Torah prohibits carrying on Shabbat in the public domain, and our sages extended the prohibition to intermediate spaces. In practice, many Jewish communities have established an eiruv that technically defines areas within it as a single “private domain” to allow carrying in settled areas. So, for example, it is prohibited to carry a pad or tampon in one’s pocket where there is no eruv. Does using menstrual products in a place without an eiruv violate the prohibition of carrying on Shabbat?

A series of mishnayot discuss the accoutrements with which a man or woman may leave the private domain:

Mishnayot on this model also take into account whether a person is likely to end up carrying an item they were originally wearing. For example, one might pick up and carry something that has fallen off. This concern takes central stage when the Talmud explains the rationale behind permitting a woman to go out with the menstrual wadding where it is prohibited to carry on Shabbat:

Because the wadding is soiled, a woman will not come to carry it, even if it falls as a result of not being tied in place.

But why isn’t having it on her person considered carrying to start with? Because she is wearing it. Ran explains, and he cites an important distinction along the way:

Something used to protect one’s clothing from becoming dirty is typically considered carrying and not wearing.⁴⁰ However, something used to protect one’s body from discomfort is effectively acting as an added layer of clothing, and thus permissible.

There is some halachic debate about carrying with respect to a moch dachuk (a cloth inserted vaginally right before the beginning of the seven clean days to establish that bleeding has ended), since it is not there to prevent discomfort but rather as a halachic measure.⁴¹ In practice, a woman who follows the stringent position, and has reason to go out in a place without an eiruv when the relevant evening falls on Shabbat, can usually omit inserting the moch dachuk that month.

The practical halachot of using menstrual products on Shabbat outside an eiruv derive from two rulings of Shulchan Aruch based on the Talmudic discussion. One, a woman is permitted to go out on Shabbat with wadding in place to prevent discomfort, since it fulfills a function of clothing.

Two, she can use a cloth even just to protect herself from soiling,⁴² so long as it’s so well attached that it can truly be considered a garment.

The rough equivalent nowadays would be considering a tampon or a pad or even a menstrual cup, as functioning like clothing , and thus not an issue of carrying, as long as the purpose is to prevent discomfort . One could also argue that a pad attached firmly to a garment temporarily attains the halachic status of an article of clothing , and thus is permissible to keep in place even if only to prevent soiling or as a precaution in case a period will begin.⁴³

A comment by Tosafot opens the door to defining discomfort more broadly:

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach expands on this logic. He explains that a woman’s sense of discomfort and embarrassment lead to permission to use menstrual products in general on Shabbat:

In practice, it is widely accepted that a woman in the midst of her period can go out even without an eiruv with a pad or tampon, etc.:

Concluding Thought

Some issues of women and mitzvot, like dancing with a sefer Torah, make the headlines. Others, like lighting Chanuka candles, find their way into conversation or shiurim. But there are also day-to-day questions that regularly affect the lives of halachically observant women that tend to fly under the radar, like the halachic parameters of dealing with menstruation on Shabbat. We hope that our study provides some peace of mind, and that those who read it will feel more confident about addressing personal concerns about discomfort and hygiene while remaining true to Halacha.