Mikveh 101

(1) The Eternal spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: (2) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When any man has a discharge issuing from his member, he is unclean. (3) The uncleanness from his discharge shall mean the following—whether his member runs with the discharge or is stopped up so that there is no discharge, his uncleanness means this: (4) Any bedding on which the one with the discharge lies shall be unclean, and every object on which he sits shall be unclean. (5) Anyone who touches his bedding shall wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening. (6) Whoever sits on an object on which the one with the discharge has sat shall wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening. (7) Whoever touches the body of the one with the discharge shall wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening. (8) If one with a discharge spits on one who is clean, the latter shall wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening. (9) Any means for riding that one with a discharge has mounted shall be unclean; (10) whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until evening; and whoever carries such things shall wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening. (11) If one with a discharge, without having rinsed his hands in water, touches another person, that person shall wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening. (12) An earthen vessel that one with a discharge touches shall be broken; and any wooden implement shall be rinsed with water. (13) When one with a discharge becomes clean of his discharge, he shall count off seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in fresh water; then he shall be clean. (14) On the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and come before the Eternal at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and give them to the priest. (15) The priest shall offer them, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. Thus the priest shall make expiation on his behalf, for his discharge, before the Eternal. (16) When a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and remain unclean until evening. (17) All cloth or leather on which semen falls shall be washed in water and remain unclean until evening. (18) And if a man has carnal relations with a woman, they shall bathe in water and remain unclean until evening. (19) When a woman has a discharge, her discharge being blood from her body, she shall remain in her impurity seven days; whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. (20) Anything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; and anything that she sits on shall be unclean. (21) Anyone who touches her bedding shall wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; (22) and anyone who touches any object on which she has sat shall wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening. (23) Be it the bedding or be it the object on which she has sat, on touching it he shall be unclean until evening. (24) And if a man lies with her, her impurity is communicated to him; he shall be unclean seven days, and any bedding on which he lies shall become unclean. (25) When a woman has had a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her impurity, or when she has a discharge beyond her period of impurity, she shall be unclean, as though at the time of her impurity, as long as her discharge lasts. (26) Any bedding on which she lies while her discharge lasts shall be for her like bedding during her impurity; and any object on which she sits shall become unclean, as it does during her impurity: (27) whoever touches them shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening. (28) When she becomes clean of her discharge, she shall count off seven days, and after that she shall be clean. (29) On the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, and bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. (30) The priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering; and the priest shall make expiation on her behalf, for her unclean discharge, before the Eternal. (31) You shall put the Israelites on guard against their uncleanness, lest they die through their uncleanness by defiling My Tabernacle which is among them. (32) Such is the ritual concerning him who has a discharge: concerning him who has an emission of semen and becomes unclean thereby, (33) and concerning her who is in menstrual infirmity, and concerning anyone, male or female, who has a discharge, and concerning a man who lies with an unclean woman.

Rav Yosef said in the name of Rav Yehuda who said in the Name of Rav: Rebbi enacted this in in the fields: If she saw one day, she waits six. Two, she waits six. Three, she waits seven clean days. Rav Zeira said: The daughters of Israel took it upon themselves that if they see even a drop of blood the size of a mustard seed, they wait seven clean days.(see Leviticus 15:25).

(12) It is obviously clear that the laws concerning defilements and purities are biblical decrees, and not things which the human mind can determine; they are classified as divine statutes. So too, immersion as a means of ridding oneself from defilement is included among the divine statutes. Defilement is not mud or filth to be removed with water, but is a matter of biblical decree; it depends on the heart's intent. Accordingly, the sages have declared: If a man immersed himself, but without a definite purpose in view, it is as though he had not immersed himself at all. Nevertheless, there is some ethical allusion to this: just as one who sets his mind on becoming clean becomes clean as soon as he has immersed himself, even though nothing new is produced in his physical being, so one who sets his mind on purifying himself from all the spiritual defilements, namely wrongful thoughts and evil traits, becomes clean as soon as he made up his mind to abstain from those notions, and brought his soul into the waters of reason. Indeed, Scripture declares: "I will pour clean water over you, and you shall be clean; from all your impurities and idolatries I will cleanse you" (Ezekiel 36:25).