How is a hefsek taharah actually performed? For a long time I avoided writing about this out of modesty, assuming every woman knows how to do a bedikah. I have since understood that not every woman does, and that not every woman who doesn't know realises she doesn't. Where I use medical terms, it is not to question the importance of modest language, only for the sake of clarity.

“It is Torah, and I need to learn it.” — Masechet Berachot 62a

Preparations before the hefsek

Although we find no mention in the Gemara of preparations for a hefsek, the Rokeach writes that a woman should wash beforehand, to make sure old blood does not appear on her hefsek and lead her to think mistakenly that she is still bleeding. He continues that as long as she washed her lower parts (the intimate area), that is enough.

The Rema cites this custom.

What if there is no time or no way to shower?

Some women prefer to shower before a hefsek. Others find they achieve a clean hefsek sooner if they insert a wet bedikah cloth to clean gently, or sit in a warm bath. If for any reason a woman did not wash herself before the hefsek, the hefsek is still valid.

There is also the option of showering in the morning, if the bleeding has stopped, as preparation for a hefsek to be performed later that day.

Wait a few minutes

After washing, wait at least a few minutes before performing the hefsek. The reason is twofold.

First, the hefsek taharah is meant to describe the woman’s situation accurately. If she washes thoroughly and performs a hefsek immediately, she may catch a moment free of blood while her body continues to bleed a minute or two later. If she waits a few minutes, we can assume that what appears on the cloth genuinely reflects whether her body is still bleeding.

Second, we do not want her to injure herself. Performing a bedikah immediately, when all the natural moisture has been washed away, risks scratching herself with the cloth.

Views on the number of minutes required differ. Some say 5, some 8, some 10 or more. Most poskim would agree that 5 to 10 minutes suffices.

An exception — when time is short

If it is just before sunset and waiting between washing and the hefsek would push the hefsek past sunset, most poskim agree it is better to perform the hefsek immediately than to postpone it to the next day.

How the hefsek is performed

Masechet Niddah (12a) teaches that there are two kinds of examination:

The Baraita explains that the time a kinuach takes is significantly shorter than the time a bedikah requires.

On that basis, almost all the Rishonim agree that a hefsek taharah, which is a kind of bedikah, must be performed thoroughly. The Ra’avad, by contrast, holds that examinations whose purpose is to render a woman permitted to her husband need not be thorough, only deep.

“Thoroughly” means b’chorim u’sedakim (בְּחוֹרִים וּסְדָקִים) — in the folds and the crevices. That is, to perform a hefsek a woman cannot simply insert a bedikah cloth and remove it. To make sure she is genuinely examining herself properly, in the folds and crevices, she needs to rotate the cloth, so that it reaches all the folds and crevices of the vaginal walls.

The Shulchan Aruch rules with the majority of the Rishonim rather than the Ra’avad: a bedikah must be performed b’chorim u’sedakim.

The depth of the bedikah

The Rishonim also agree that the bedikah must be deep, though they discuss how deep the woman must insert the cloth.

Interestingly, the Beit Yosef (Rav Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Aruch) struggles considerably with the Rishonim who require her to insert the cloth deeply. He says that even if women manage it, it will certainly cause injury.

And yet in the Shulchan Aruch he rules with the majority of the Rishonim: the hefsek must be performed b’chorim u’sedakim, and as deep as is physically possible.

The Rema is lenient: b’dieved, as long as the bedikah was b’chorim u’sedakim, even if she managed only as far as she could, the hefsek is valid.

Practical halachah today

In practice we do not want a woman to injure herself. Most rabbanim today therefore instruct that the emphasis should be on b’chorim u’sedakim, which is the b’dieved position the Rema described. She should still try to insert the cloth as deeply as she comfortably can.

A woman who finds she cannot insert the cloth deeply should ask, since poskim hold differing views. (This does not apply to brides.)

A woman who finds bedikot painful can turn to a yoetzet for guidance on making them easier.

Practical halachah — summary

Before a hefsek taharah a woman should shower, or at least clean the intimate area. If she did not, the hefsek is still valid.

After cleaning, she should wait 5 to 10 minutes before performing the hefsek. Most poskim agree that if she did not wait, the hefsek is still valid.

To perform the hefsek, she should insert the bedikah cloth as deeply as she comfortably can, and rotate the cloth b’chorim u’sedakim (explained above), making sure as best she can that the cloth reaches all the crevices and folds of the vaginal walls.