Saw (Hebräisch)

Zav and Zavah are states of ritual impurity in Judaism arising from abnormal bodily discharges; for men the state is termed Zav, and for women it is termed Zavah. The Jewish regulations and existence of these states have a biblical basis in the Priestly Code, and further specification of these rules exists in the Jewish Oral Law; Orthodox Judaism views the Shulchan Aruch as being particularly authoritive on these matters (despite its author's view being of the contrary opinion), and it has extensive discussion about the subject.

Biblical regulations

A Zav is a man who has experienced multiple unwarranted emissions of semen from his penis. If the woman has a menstrual flow at an unexpected time, then she is considered a zavah.

Once the flow stops, a zav/zavah has to wait 7 days, and on the 7th day, should immerse themselves in a mikvah, and will become ritually pure that night. The person then has to bring sacrifices on the 8th day as specified in Leviticus chapter 15 verses 14 and 15.

Classical and Mediaeval Rabbinic literature

According to the Mishnah, the laws of zav/zavah only applied if the discharge in question had happened at least three times, whether thrice in one day, or over consecutive days. The Talmud adds the argument that normal menstruation and emission of semen differ from zavah and zav by being the reverse colours; it argues that red menstruation is normal, but any white discharge in women would be abnormal, and that normal emission of semen is white, but abnormality would be indicated by any red discharge.

In Modern Judaism

Due to the destruction of the Temple In Jerusalem, Judaism regards the sacrificial regulations as being in abeyance; rabbinical tradition subsequently differentiated less and less between the regulations of zav/zavah and those for keri and niddah. In modern Orthodox Judaism, women who experience normal menstruation are required to obey the non-sacrificial regulations for zavah, namely that they must wash in a mikvah seven days after menstruation; for men, modern Orthodox Judaism treats any form of nocturnal emission as ritually unclean, and multiple cases of nocturnal emission, and any other discharge of semen that doesn't result from sexual activity, as zav, requiring washing in a mikvah one week later.

Conversely, Reform Judaism regards such regulations as anachronistic; adherants of Conservative Judaism take a view somewhere between these views.

Footnotes

Vorlage:Jewish life