Metzora 5771

This week's parsha introduces Taharat Hamishpacha (literally, family purity), a concept that is the cornerstone of the sanctity of Jewish family life. "If a woman has a [menstrual] discharge and her [uterus] discharges blood, she will remain in a state of nidah (physical separation from her husband) …When her discharge stops, she should count for herself seven days (devoid of any discharge) and after this, she can become ritually pure [by immersing in a mikvah (ritual bath.)]"

The function of mikvah is not to achieve physical cleanliness, but rather to achieve spiritual purity. Judaism teaches that the source of purity is life itself, and death brings impurity. Torah describes many types of ritual impurity; all are rooted in the absence of life or some hint of death.

Each month, the presence of potential life within fills a woman's body with holiness and purity. With the onset of menses, this potential departs. Impurity sets in, conferring upon the woman a state of spiritual impurity or, more specifically, nidah. Only immersion in the mikvah, following the requisite preparation, has the power to transform the status of the woman. After immersion, she may reunite with her husband in the ultimate holiness of marital intimacy.

Excerpted from Rivkah Slonin's introduction to Total Immersion: A Mikvah Anthology. Read the introduction in its entirety:
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/74986/jewish/The-Mikvah.htm

As parents, we may lose track of our individual identities, as well as our identities as husband and wife. We may even forget the reason for our union in the first place.
We may put our children's and our spouse's needs ahead of our own, and as a result, may feel as if we are being taken for granted. Taharat Hamishpacha is a monthly reminder of who we are as individuals and why we became a couple.

Nidah, the period of separation, of sexual abstinence, can be used to strengthen our marriages. Rather than distancing us, it helps to bring husband and wife closer together. Without the ability to rely on physical means to communicate love and affection, we cultivate the non-physical aspects of our relationship: companionship, conversation, understanding, consideration, friendship. When finally we are able to reunite physically, we do so with a renewed appreciation of one another, as individuals as well as partners.