Why the obsession with women's menstrual cycles in the Abrahamic faiths?

[MatthiasGould]

I've often tried (and failed) to understand why the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism and Islam more than Christianity) have such a major issue with what is really a natural part of biology.

The Tanakh declares a woman as being unclean during her menustrual cycle, gives various prohibitions on activities she can/cannot do, and she must then enter the mikveh after it finished to be clean again.

Islam has something of the same, with a woman unable to pray, attend mosque or even handle/read a Qur'an during her period. After it is finished, she must then take a full bath (ghusl) to then be considered pure again.

Even Christianity, where there is no specific scriptural rules, had for centuries specific theories as to how the womb/periods caused hysteria, fever and other illnesses, including the famous 'moving womb' which was supposed to cause mental illness.

I've tried researching this and I can't seem to find a logical basis for these rules, and yet it seems odd that three major religions have had something of the same beliefs.

Does anyone know why?

 

[Nyingjé Tso]

Vanakkam _/\_

I think maybe it comes from "fear what you don't understand". I mean, when humanity didn't had the means to determine that it's a natural cause and what cause it, well, it must have disturbed many mens and womens from ancient times

There are many opinions in my faiths about this, womens are traditionnally not allowed to worship during their periods, but that does not mean hell or anything. Personally I don't worship during periods, but more for the reason that I acknowledge that the whole hormonal stuff is causing me to be more irritated and agitated than usual, thus I'm not able to fully concentrate on Sadhana and meditation.

That's just my personnal opinion :0


Aum Namah Shivaya

 

[Levite]

I've often tried (and failed) to understand why the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism and Islam more than Christianity) have such a major issue with what is really a natural part of biology.

The Tanakh declares a woman as being unclean during her menustrual cycle, gives various prohibitions on activities she can/cannot do, and she must then enter the mikveh after it finished to be clean again.

Islam has something of the same, with a woman unable to pray, attend mosque or even handle/read a Qur'an during her period. After it is finished, she must then take a full bath (ghusl) to then be considered pure again.

Even Christianity, where there is no specific scriptural rules, had for centuries specific theories as to how the womb/periods caused hysteria, fever and other illnesses, including the famous 'moving womb' which was supposed to cause mental illness.

I've tried researching this and I can't seem to find a logical basis for these rules, and yet it seems odd that three major religions have had something of the same beliefs.

Does anyone know why?

I can't speak for Islam or Christianity, but in Judaism, the issue has to do with ritual purity. The word for this, tum'ah, is frequently mistranslated as "unclean" or similar words, but those all imply some sort of physical filthiness, none of which is implied by the Hebrew word, which refers to a state of being, of metaphysical energy.

People are mekablei tumah (they acquire ritual impurity) in several ways, and in differing degrees. One of these is by emission of fluids associated with sexuality and reproduction: for women, this means their menses and the bleeding associated with giving birth. For men, this means ejaculations of semen. In both cases, the individual is ritually impure afterward: they must go to the mikveh (ritual immersion pool), and after a certain set time, they return to ritual purity. The only differences between ritual purity and impurity is that a person could not go to the holy Temple (when it stood) while ritually impure, and one should ideally not do certain ritual activities when ritually impure; and that a man and woman may not have sexual intercourse while she is menstruating, or recovering from giving birth.

But menstrual ritual impurity is just one subset of a whole genre of metaphysical states of being, the full range of which encompass both women and men, at different times and in various degrees.

Now, it is true that in some Jewish communities, customs that have grown up around the original laws of ritual impurity have come to introduce elements of stigma and sexism into those Jewish communities. But these are not inevitably and directly linked to the original laws of ritual impurity so much as their interpretation in some circles, and the additional customs of the communities in question.

 

[BSM1]

Could the answer be simply that by putting a woman away during menstruation kept primitive men from having to deal with any PMS issues?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I've often tried (and failed) to understand why the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism and Islam more than Christianity) have such a major issue with what is really a natural part of biology.

First, from Wikipedia:In the Hindu faith, women are prohibited from participating in normal life while menstruating. She must be "purified" before she is allowed to return to her family, which has been presented as a negative view of menstruation.

This follows description in Puranas about Indra's 'Brahmahatya' (act of killing of Brahmin) and the mitigation of the sin. Part of this sin was taken by women and is considered to be active during menstrual period. Therefore menstruating woman are forbidden from performing any rituals and contact with menstruating woman is also forbidden (with exception of small children).

However in some respects Indians view menstruation, especially first menstruation or menarche, as a positive aspect of a girl's life. In South India and also in the Assamese community, girls who experience their menstrual period for the first time are given presents and celebrations to mark this special occasion, though women who are menstruating are not allowed in the household for a period of 3 nights. This certainly does not mean that they are driven away from the house during the cycle of their menstruation. According to Kerala Architecture in a 'naalu kettu' which means house with four blocks; 'dakkini' the south block is for women and during the menstrual cycle women would confine themselves within the block and would not even enter kitchen or go to the north and east sides of the house nor would go near a temple.[/quote][/indent]Focusing on "the three Abrahamic Faiths" is simply uninformed.

There is a very obvious association between blood and life. To bleed for no known reason must have been deeply unnerving to our ancient ancestors. Looking down on them through our twenty-first century lens seem more than a little thoughtless.

 

[Skwim]

People are mekablei tumah (they acquire ritual impurity) in several ways, and in differing degrees. One of these is by emission of fluids associated with sexuality and reproduction: for women, this means their menses and the bleeding associated with giving birth. For men, this means ejaculations of semen. In both cases, the individual is ritually impure afterward: they must go to the mikveh (ritual immersion pool), and after a certain set time, they return to ritual purity.

So is it correct that after every masturbation and intercourse event a male has to go to the mikveh?

But menstrual ritual impurity is just one subset of a whole genre of metaphysical states of being, the full range of which encompass both women and men, at different times and in various degrees.

In what manner or sense is menstrual ritual impurity a metaphysical state?

 

[Rakhel]

My personal opinion on the matter is that it is not just the woman menstruating that makes her ritually unclean. It is the blood, itself.
It's my understanding that even the priests were considered ritually unclean if they had any type of sore. Bleeding or not. Further, I also believe, they also had a time period after that sore healed before they were considered ritually clean.
so it would stand to reason that any woman, who will menstruate anywhere from 3 to 10 days, that she will be considered ritually unclean until a predetermined time.

 

[MatthiasGould]

Thank you to everyone who answered so far.

 

[Andal]

I cannot answer for the Abrahamic faiths but we have similar prohibitions.

In Hinduism we do not conduct puja (although we can pray, study, have darshan) and in very traditional Indian homes women don't cook or clean. The ritual prohibition is impurity not because it is woman or menstruation. It is because something from the inside is coming outside. Men have the same prohibition. If they are bleeding from and injury or have diarrhea or vomiting, all of these things make someone ritually impure.

In traditional times when women's lives were very difficult in terms of the distribution of labor, menstruation provided women a short break from the domestic responsibilities. So that is a plus side.

Interestingly enough, menstruation also has links with the Goddess and there are places where you can go specifically to worship the menstruating Devi.

Aum Hari Aum!

 

[Maya3]

Vanakkam _/\_

I think maybe it comes from "fear what you don't understand". I mean, when humanity didn't had the means to determine that it's a natural cause and what cause it, well, it must have disturbed many mens and womens from ancient times

There are many opinions in my faiths about this, womens are traditionnally not allowed to worship during their periods, but that does not mean hell or anything. Personally I don't worship during periods, but more for the reason that I acknowledge that the whole hormonal stuff is causing me to be more irritated and agitated than usual, thus I'm not able to fully concentrate on Sadhana and meditation.

That's just my personnal opinion :0


Aum Namah Shivaya

That is interesting, I cannot concentrate before my period. But as soon as I get it I'm relaxed and feel good again. My hormones go highwire before my period not during it, so it would make more sense for me not to go to temple before my period.

Maya

 

[Levite]

So is it correct that after every masturbation and intercourse event a male has to go to the mikveh?

In theory, yes. In practice, very few people-- men or women-- go to the mikveh after every sexual intercourse or masturbation event: most go weekly, if they go at all. Ritual impurity carries no effective consequences-- and even when the Temple stood, the only effective consequence was that one couldn't go to the Temple while ritually impure.

In what manner or sense is menstrual ritual impurity a metaphysical state?

In the same manner or sense that any kind of ritual impurity is a metaphysical state. Tum'ah doesn't mean that a person is physically unclean in some way, or that there is some kind of problem with them. No one is a hundred percent certain precisely how our remotest ancestors really conceived of tuma'ah worked; but Rabbinic Judaism has always understood the phenomenon to be something spiritual. That it is correlated with physical symptoms-- blood, body fluid release, birth, death, certain kinds of illness-- is generally thought to signify something along the lines of conditions wherein one's consciousness is deeply rooted in physical, material, everyday phenomena. Thus, one must be past the physical symptom, and a certain amount of time must pass, before going to the mikveh can make one tahor (ritually pure) again. This would seem to indicate that part of taharah (ritual purity) is supposed to be a condition wherein one's consciousness is, or is able to be, more rooted in spiritual phenomena, not in the material world.

It's my understanding that even the priests were considered ritually unclean if they had any type of sore. Bleeding or not. Further, I also believe, they also had a time period after that sore healed before they were considered ritually clean.

Very true, since priests were held to standards of ritual purity well over and above the standards of most Jewish men and women.

 

[Maija]

If you imagine that in those times that they were using rags and not absorbent pads which mask odors, the situation becomes understandable. Undeniably, smells do travel- the most likely reason for a special hut for them. if i was using a cloth rag, as natural as menses may be i would keep out of holy places. i dont feel impure, but i can understand how those smells would have disturbed worship and focus. its not meant to be insulting, in many of these religions that we speak of, you are meant to shower to remove other sweat and filth anyway before you present yourself before prayer

 

[Andal]

If you imagine that in those times that they were using rags and not absorbent pads which mask odors, the situation becomes understandable. Undeniably, smells do travel- the most likely reason for a special hut for them. if i was using a cloth rag, as natural as menses may be i would keep out of holy places. i dont feel impure, but i can understand how those smells would have disturbed worship and focus. its not meant to be insulting, in many of these religions that we speak of, you are meant to shower to remove other sweat and filth anyway before you present yourself before prayer

Agreed 100% I cannot even imagine how horrendous the smell would have been especially since we are talking about mostly hot climate religions in their foundings. If I was a woman living back then with only rags and no pain reliever you better believe I wouldn't want to go to temple, cook, or clean!

Aum Hari Aum!

 

[Musty]

If it's not already been mentioned there is also the ick factor. It's not a nice sight and humans often develop elaborate means of avoiding things they consider icky.

 

[Wherenextcolumbus]

Why can't a husband and wife touch when she's on her period?

 

[Wherenextcolumbus]

If it's not already been mentioned there is also the ick factor. It's not a nice sight and humans often develop elaborate means of avoiding things they consider icky.

Hhhuummm I don't know, its not icky to me, it's an inconvenience but I'm used to it and every time I have it I'm not like "eeeeeewwww" lets be honest it's men who developed elaborate means of avoiding it.

 

[Levite]

Why can't a husband and wife touch when she's on her period?

In Judaism, at least, it is only some Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) communities where husbands and wives do not touch while she's got her period. In Modern Orthodox and some Conservative communities, husbands and wives touch, they merely refrain from any sexual activity. In other Conservative communities, and amongst such Reform Jews as still observe these laws, only vaginal intercourse is abstained from, but other kinds of sexual contact are not deemed prohibited.

 

[Wherenextcolumbus]

In Judaism, at least, it is only some Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) communities where husbands and wives do not touch while she's got her period. In Modern Orthodox and some Conservative communities, husbands and wives touch, they merely refrain from any sexual activity. In other Conservative communities, and amongst such Reform Jews as still observe these laws, only vaginal intercourse is abstained from, but other kinds of sexual contact are not deemed prohibited.

Ok cool, thanks for the info

 

[Maija]

It's a very personal thing- some while romanticize it or see the beauty in it while others shy away from it.

I personally feel plenty of room for discomfort re: anything that comes or goes into our body (yes sex included can be icky) but I can also find meaning in all these symptoms of health and fertility to some degree.

However, that just means higher levels of hygiene levels and frankly, back then they didn't have the same accessibility to soaps, cleansing towelettes, tampons, laundry machines, multiple pairs of clothes and everything else that someone could possibly use to deter smell.

 

[Musty]

em

Hhhuummm I don't know, its not icky to me, it's an inconvenience but I'm used to it and every time I have it I'm not like "eeeeeewwww" lets be honest it's men who developed elaborate means of avoiding it.

I imagine most women are fairly matter of fact about the whole thing because as you say you deal with it on a regular basis. I can only really speak for myself because a friend of mine seems to be completely unaffected by his ladies periods.