Zav/Zavah

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 [] , and is treated with separate requirements known as "niddah" [] [] ; only after the week's wait, the washing, and sacrifices, would the person become ritually clean once more. The state of uncleanliness was considered able to be transferred, such that if the person spat on another, or was touched by another, then the other person also became ritually unclean, although they could restore ritual cleanliness in a much simpler way, only having to wait until evening had come and then washing themselves in "running water" [] [] [] and the other kinds of abnormal discharge [] , although the regulations are essentially the same. According to textual scholars, the regulations concerning childbirth [] , which have a similar 7 day waiting period before washing, and the sin and whole offerings, were originally suffixed to those concerning abnormal menstruation, but were later moved ["Jewish Encyclopedia", "Leviticus"] . Although the regulations clearly have a sanitary benefit in the light of modern medical knowledge, Biblical scholars see these regulations as having originally derived from taboos against contact with blood and semen, because they were considered to house life itself, and were consequently considered sacred ["Peake's commentary on the Bible"] ; the seven day period is thought to exist to ensure that the abnormality has genuinely ceased, the "sin offering" is considered to have originally been made as an apology for violating the taboo ["Jewish Encyclopedia", "Sin Offering"] , and the "whole offering" is regarded as a later addition (before the Priestly Code was written) ["Jewish Encyclopedia", "Burnt Offering"] .

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 ["Zabim", 1] . 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 regard to the transmittability of "zav"/"zavah", the Mishnah argues that if a ritually clean person and a person suffering from an abnormal discharge both sat on an animal, or in a small boat, then the ritually clean person would become ritually unclean by doing so, regardless of how far apart they might sit ["Zabim", 3-4] ; however, if two people shared a wobbly bench, and one of them was ritually unclean, it was the opinion of Judah haNasi that it wouldn't cause the other person to also gain ritual uncleanliness ["Jewish Encyclopedia", "Zabim"] .

By the classical era, a type of specially designed bath, known as a "mikvah", was used for ritual washing; the mikvah is designed so that it is filled from a direct source of "running water".

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