Niddah 67 – נדה סז

The Gemara discusses various leniencies regarding leaving a time-gap in between the chafifa and tevilah, in some cases as much as three days.  If the point of joining the chafifa as close as possible to tevilah is to ensure that no chatzitza arrives in between, and we therefore require ‘samuch lechafifah tevilah’ (see 68a).  If so how do we allow (it seems even lechatchila) for such time-gaps which result in the chafifah not being done samuch letvilah?

One thought on “Niddah 67 – נדה סז

  1. The requirement of chafifa in close proximity to the tevilah is based on two reasons. Aside from the practical aspect (leaving liitle time for a chatzitza to surface) as a result of the fact that she is required to join the two, she now views the chafifah as part one of the tevillah process and will serve as a catalyst to maintain her vigilance and avoid chatzitzos until tevillah. Therefore even when there is an unavoidable gap between the two (ex. Motzei Shabbos) nevertheless since the chafifah was required to be performed as close as possible to the tevillah, it still retains the same status in her eyes i.e. part of the two part process, and she maintains her vigilance. Rav Huna takes this a step further; apparently these time gaps still allow for the chafifa to be considered ‘connected’ to the tevillah and is thus acceptable even during weekdays.

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