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family taharahWe're still mapping where this idea was first discussed. Key passages and related ideas below.

Bedikah (Internal Examination Cloth)

The examination-cloth check central to niddah practice — used to check for the onset of menstruation, for hefsek taharah, and through the seven 'clean' days.

A bedikah is a cloth check a woman performs to see whether menstrual bleeding has begun or fully stopped. In the laws of family purity (niddah), this small examination carries real weight: it checks for the onset of menstruation, it marks the hefsek taharah that ends the bleeding, and it confirms each of the seven 'clean' days that follow.

Key passages(1)

Mishnah Niddah · 190 CE

Very high

כָּל הַיָּד הַמַּרְבָּה לִבְדֹּק בְּנָשִׁים, מְשֻׁבַּחַת. וּבַאֲנָשִׁים, תִּקָּצֵץ. הַחֵרֶשֶׁת וְהַשּׁוֹטָה וְהַסּוּמָא וְשֶׁנִּטְרְפָה דַעְתָּהּ, אִם יֶשׁ לָהֶן פִּקְחוֹת, מְתַקְּנוֹת אוֹתָן וְהֵן או

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