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

Yoledet (Postpartum Ritual Status)

The halachic status of a woman after childbirth — the laws of her ritual purity, the period of 'pure blood' (dam tohar), and the offering she brought in Temple times — as set out in Leviticus 12.

A yoledet is a woman who has just given birth. The Torah (Leviticus 12) assigns her a distinct halachic status for a set period afterward — laws of ritual purity, the days of 'pure blood' (dam tohar), and, in Temple times, an offering she brought to mark her return.

Key passages(1)

Leviticus · 1400 BCE

Very high

דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אִשָּׁה֙ כִּ֣י תַזְרִ֔יעַ וְיָלְדָ֖ה זָכָ֑ר וְטָֽמְאָה֙ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֔ים כִּימֵ֛י נִדַּ֥ת דְּוֺתָ֖הּ תִּטְמָֽא׃

Tap to expand