Glossary of Hebrew Terms
Terms specific to taharat hamishpacha are in bold.
Avodat Hashem
service of God
Bedikah
an internal examination
Chametz
leavened bread
Chatzitzah/chatzitzot
physical barrier(s) to immersion
Chumrah/chumrot
stringency/stringencies
Frum (Yiddish)
religious
Halacha/halachic
(relating to) Jewish law
Harchakot
the laws limiting physical contact and other interactions
between a husband and wife during the niddah period. While in reality the laws
against physical contact are a separate (and more serious) prohibition, all the
rules regulating the niddah period are often colloquially lumped together as
“harchakot.”
Hefsek
the internal examination that establishes that a woman’s
bleeding has ceased
Heter
special permission
Karet/issur karet
“cutting off,” or a transgression punishable by “cutting
off”; this punishment is spiritual rather than legal, and while its exact
meaning is subject to various interpretations, it is considered one of the
severest punishments in the Jewish tradition.
Kedusha
holiness
Machmir
stringent
Mikvah
a ritual bath
Mitzvah/Mitzvot
commandment(s)
Moch
a bedikah cloth customarily inserted for a specified amount of
time after a woman has performed a hefsek
Niddah
the halachic status of a woman who has experienced uterine
bleeding
Peru U’revu
the commandment to procreate
Pesach
Passover
Posek
a decisor of Jewish law
Psak
a legal decision
Taharat Hamishpacha
the laws of family purity
Tehorah
the halachic status of a woman who is not in niddah, having
followed the correct procedures and immersed in a mikvah.
Tevilah
immersion
Yimei Taharah
the period of time during which a woman does not have
the status of niddah
Yimei Tumah
the period of time during which a woman has the status
of niddah
Yoetzet
a woman trained in the laws of taharat hamishpacha