Traditional Sephardi Feminist

"The women of Damascus went to the miqweh, by day as a matter of course. When rabbis joseph ibn tzayyah and Rabbi Moses Barukh realized what was going on, they had a lock installed on the miqwe door. The key was handed over for safekeeping to a few trustworthy women who were responsible for ensuring no one entered before sundown. Undaunted some women broke the lock to the door and continued immersing themselves by day." - Ruth Lamdan, A Separate People: Jewish Women in Palestine, Syria and Egypt This snippet is based on a teshuva from Avkat Rochel by Joseph Caro ,author of the shulhan arukh, who elsewhere states ver certainly that women may not immerse in the daytime. Caro refers to them as Mordot. I rather think of them as poskot. To paraphrase AJH, poskot with their feet. The Rebellious Women of Damascus were merely following in the footsteps of their illustrious aunts, The Rebellious Women of Cairo, castigated by Maimonides for going to the Miqweh 7 days after their pe...

... And if there is, why didn't I grow up with one? See this article: Is there a Sephardic Mikveh culture?

Important note: This post deals with single women using the mikveh as a prelude to sexual intercourse. It does not address women using the mikveh for reasons not associated with sex, as a way of enriching their ritual life, or as a way of marking other occasions in a spiritual way. While I personally don't find things practices meaningful, I think its great if other women do and they should be encouraged. The rest of the article will deal with going to the miqweh as a practice related to sex. Should single women engaged in a sexual relationship use the Miqweh? Most Orthodox Rabbis say no. Some go so far as to actively bar single women and refuse them entry. Allowing them to use the Miqweh is akin to condoning sex outside of marriage. Some more progressive orthodox Rabbis say otherwise. They reason that sexual relations while in Niddah status is an "Issur Caret", a vague but frightening concept of being "cut off," considered the most serious transgre...

Some years back, a woman named Hagit created an  art exhibit  featuring Bedika cloths. I actually met this woman last year although it was in a completely different context having nothing to do with niddah or art- or sephardim for that matter. I believe Hagit happens to be a Traditional Sephardi (not sure which edah specifically) although like me she seems to have been raised in an Ashkenazi environment. Hagit's simultaneous rebellious-in-attitude- but-obedient-in-practice is similar to what I see amongst many Orthodox Ashkenazi women: Resentment, but sucking it up. Many women try to infuse the experience with spiritual meaning, and use it as a medium for some sort of communion between them and god, but that takes great effort for them. To explain via contrast; few people talk about how they have to overcome their difficulty going to synagogue or lighting shabat candles by trying to view it as a moment of communion with god. Perhaps even a better comparison is Pesah cle...