438 US Ambassador to Australia opens Jewish ritual bath (Mikveh) in Canberra

US Ambassador to Australia opens Jewish ritual bath (Mikveh) in Canberra

Canberra is the capital of Australia; its population is  347,000.

Is it appropriate for an Ambassador to be so actively involved with a particular religion?

Do US Ambassadors open Churches and Mosques too?

For Orthodox Jews, no Ritual Bath means no Sex.

Menstruating women must have a ritual bath (with full-body immersion) after their period; they are not allowed sex, or any phyical contact, beforehand. Some Jewish women in Canberra have been travelling to Sydney or Melbourne to have a ritual bath.

In the past, Jewish men had to take regular ritual baths too - after seminal emissions - but it seems that this is no longer done. Only women still have to take regular ritual baths.

Islam has very similar practices. These two religions, despite their mutual hostility, are much alike.

(1) New U.S. Ambassador to Australia is Jewish
(2) US Ambassador Jeff Bleich opens Canberra ritual bath; he was active in ADL & AJC
(3) Canberra ritual bath saves women a trip to Sydney (3 hours) or Melbourne (9 hours) each month
(4) Regular Ritual Baths for men no longer required
(5) Niddah - the  ritual impurity of menstruating women. If in doubt whether menstruation has ceased, consult a Rabbi
(6) Orthodox Jews regard a Mikveh (ritual bath) as even more essential than a Synagogue
(7) The Ritual Bath in Islam; a menstruating woman should not read the Qur'an

(1) New U.S. Ambassador to Australia is Jewish

http://www.jwire.com.au/news/new-u-s-ambassador-to-australia-is-jewish/4432

September 13, 2009

by Henry Benjamin

Jeff Bleich has been appointed the new U.S. Ambassador to Australia.

The new Ambassador is a 48-yr-old lawyer from San Francisco who will fill the diplomatic position, vacant since January.

Bleich qualified in Law from Harvard University with the highest possible honors.

This is what U.S.-based website Jweekly had to say in January: "Attorney Jeffrey Bleich of Piedmont has known the president-elect a bit longer. The two first became acquainted in 1991, long before a then-30-year-old Obama started pondering a run for the Oval Office. Bleich most recently served as California co-chair for the Obama campaign. He is also active with the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League.
"I helped him out in his U.S. Senate race," says Bleich, 47, who will attend the inauguration. "We stayed in touch. I’ve been to his house. Obviously I’m a little biased, but he is even better in person than all the public hype."

Backing that up, Bleich recalls a book-signing event he organized for Obama several years ago, held in his law offices. He says Obama took time to chat with everyone, from the senior partners to the receptionists. "He wasn’t looking for the most important person," Bleich says. "He was looking for real people. No pecking order."
Anita Shroot heads the small Canberra Jewish community. She told J-Wire: "I was at the Embassy on 9/11 representing our community and asked about a new ambassador. They told me it would be announced soon and I heard the very next day through the media. I look forward to welcoming Ambassador Bleich to Canberra."
Mel Sembler, U.S. Ambassador to Australia 1989-1993, was also Jewish.

(2) US Ambassador Jeff Bleich opens Canberra ritual bath; he was active in ADL & AJC

http://www.jewishjournal.com/articles/item/canberra_opens_ritual_bath_20110114/

JTA  January 14, 2011

Canberra opens ritual bath

http://jta.org/news/article/2011/01/14/2742558/canberra-opens-ritual-bath

For the first time, Orthodox Jews in Australia’s capital city have a ritual bath.

Mikvah Chaya Mushka Canberra opened its doors in Canberra this week for the small Jewish community of about 600 people.

There is no Jewish school or kosher butcher, and Orthodox and Progressive Jews share a community center for prayer services, but local Jews believe a mikvah will attract more Jews to the capital.

Chabad-Lubavitch, which sponsored the project, recently sent a young couple, Rabbi Dan and Naomi Avital, from Melbourne to assist the community and run the mikvah. Rebbetzin Naomi Avital has undergone training in one of Melbourne’s many ritual bathhouses.
 
Rabbi Avital said: "We have seen a tremendous growth in the community and participation in our events over last year and we believe this is the right time for this extraordinary development."
 
The building contains two ritual baths and three bathrooms and will be officially opened next month by U.S. Ambassador Jeff Bleich, who was active with the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee before he took up his post in Australia in 2009.

(3) Canberra ritual bath saves women a trip to Sydney (3 hours) or Melbourne (9 hours) each month

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/purity-bath-a-boon-for-acts-orthodox-jews/2048901.aspx

Purity bath a boon for ACT'S Orthodox Jews

BY STEPHANIE ANDERSON

17 Jan, 2011 01:00 AM

For Naomi Avital, the installation of a ritual bath is a big step forward for Canberra's Orthodox Jews.
The Mikvah Chaya Mushka Canberra will allow Jewish women in Canberra to partake in the monthly ritual bath, or mikvah.

Rebbetzin Avital said the ritual allowed spiritual renewal after menstruating, as Orthodox Jewish women could not touch their husband until they had immersed in the mikvah.

"The mikvah is the time that allows [a married couple to be] together again and that's the real significance," she said.

"Without a mikvah in the community, it makes family life very difficult. It's very hard to have children and it can put a strain on family life."

She and her husband, Rabbi Dan Avital, moved to Canberra almost two years ago, but it has taken until now to build the facility because of costs and the expertise required.

US ambassador Jeff Bleich will be among those attending the bath's official opening next month, an event Rabbi Avital said would be important to Canberra's 600-strong Jewish community.

"I think it will have a very significant impact on Canberra's Jewish community," he said.

"The very idea and premise behind the mikvah is based around spiritual purity."

The facility is expected to boost Canberra's Jewish population, cutting the need to live in or travel to Sydney or Melbourne each month.

(4) Regular Ritual Baths for men no longer required

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_washing_in_Judaism

Ritual washing in Judaism

Ritual washing, or ablution, takes two main forms in Judaism: tevilah full body immersion in a mikvah, and netilat yadayim, washing the hands with a cup. The first written records for these practices are found in the Hebrew Bible, and are elaborated in the Mishnah and Talmud. They have been codified in various codes of Jewish law and tradition, such as Maimonides's Mishneh Torah (12th century) and Joseph Karo's Shulchan Aruch (16th century.) These customs are most commonly observed within Orthodox Judaism. In Conservative Judaism, the practices are normative with certain leniencies and exceptions. Ritual washing is not generally performed in Reform Judaism. ...

Both traditional religious and secular scholars agree that ritual washing in Judaism was derived by the Rabbis of the Talmud from a more extensive set of ritual washing and purity practices in use in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, based on various verses in the Hebrew Bible and received traditions. There is disagreement, however, about the origins and meanings of these practices.  ...

There are several occasions on which biblical or rabbinical regulations require immersion of the whole body, referred to as tevilah. Depending on the circumstances, such ritual bathing might require immersion in "living water" - either by using a natural stream or by using a mikvah (a specially constructed ritual bath, connected directly to a natural source of water, such as a spring).

This article discusses the requirements of immersion in Rabbinic Judaism and its descendents. Some other branches of Judaism, such as Falasha Judaism, have substantially different practices including the requiriment of an actual spring or stream. ...

Men experiencing a seminal discharge, including through regular marital intercourse, were prohibited from entering the Temple in Jerusalem were required to immerse in a mikvah and remained ritually impure until the evening. The Talmud ascribes to the Great Assembly of Ezra a Rabbinic decree imposing further restrictions on men ritually impure from a seminal discharge, including a prohibition on studying Torah and from participating in services.

Maimonides wrote a responsum lifting the decree of Ezra, based on an opinion in the Talmud stating that it had failed to be observed by a majority of the community and the Jewish people found themselves unable to sustain it. However, Maimonides continued to follow the Keri restrictions as a matter of personal observance. Since the decree of Maimonides, observance of the rules of Keri and hence regular Mikwah use by men fell into disuse in many communities.[citation needed] Hasidic Judaism, however, revived the practice of regular mikva use, advocating regular daily mikwa use as a way of achieving spiritual purity. The growth of Hasidic Judaism resulted in a revival of mikwa use by men. In addition, some Sephardic and Mizrahi communities continued to observe the rules of Keri throughout. ...

Contact with a carcass

According to Leviticus, anyone who comes into contact with or carries any creature that hadn't been deliberately killed by shechita was regarded by the biblical regulations as having made themselves unclean by doing so, and therefore was compelled to immerse their entire body.[13] This regulation is immediately preceded by the rule against eating anything still containing blood, and according to biblical scholars this is also the context of the regulation about not eating non-sacrifices - that the regulation only treats such consumption as unclean if there is a risk of blood still remaining within the carcass.[14] In the version of this regulation in Deuteronomy, eating the bodies of such creatures isn't described as making an individual ritually impure, nor requires the eater to wash their body, but instead such consumption is expressely forbidden, although the creature is allowed to be passed on to a stranger, who is permitted to eat it.[15]

[edit]Contact with a corpse

Anyone who came into contact with a human corpse, or grave, was so ritually impure that they had to be sprinkled with the water produced from the red heifer ritual, in order to become ritually pure again;[16] however, the person who carried out the red heifer ritual and who sprinkled the water, was to be treated as having become ritually impure by doing so.[17] ...

No explicit regulations are expressed in the bible concerning the treatment of a corpse itself, although historic rabbinical sources saw an implication that the dead should be thoroughly washed, in the from Ecclesiastes,[25] as children are washed when born;[26] according to Eliezer ben Joel HaLevi, a prominent rishon, argued that the corpse should be cleansed carefully, including the ears and fingers, with nails pared and hair combed, so that the corpse could be laid to rest in the manner that the person had visited the synagogue during life.[23] Washing of corpses was not observed among the Jews living in Persian Babylon, for which they were criticised as dying in filth, without a candle and without a bath;[27] at the time, the non-Jewish Persians were predominantly Zoroastrian, and consequently believed that dead bodies were inherently ritually unclean, and should be exposed to the elements in a Tower of Silence to avoid defiling the earth with them.

In the early periods the body was washed in a standard mikvah,[23] and this is frequently the form of the ritual in the present day, but the traditional washing ceremony, known as tahara, became quite detailed over time. A special building for the corpse-washing existed in the cemetery in 15th century Prague,[28] a practice which obtains in many Jewish communities today; a mikvah is provided at a number of ancient tombs. Female corpses are traditionally cleaned only by other females, and males only by other males.[23] ...

This page was last modified on 23 December 2010 at 22:54.

(5) Niddah - the  ritual impurity of menstruating women. If in doubt whether menstruation has ceased, consult a Rabbi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niddah

Niddah is a Hebrew term describing a woman while she is menstruating, or who has menstruated without yet completing the associated ritual requirements. Literally, niddah means separation, and generally refers to separation from ritual impurity;[1] The term is overwhelmingly used in Judaism to refer to the rules of Jewish law concerning menstruation.

The avoidance of sexual contact with a niddah is considered in the Orthodox Jewish community a benchmark characteristic of being an observant Jew (the other two being Kashrut, and the observance of Shabbat and Jewish Holidays)[citation needed].  ...

The term niddah appears in the Hebrew Bible in the description of the red heifer ceremony,[2] in the phrase waters of [niddah]; the septuagint renders this as waters of sprinkling.

Medieval Biblical commentator Abraham ibn Ezra argued that niddah is related to the term menaddekem, meaning cast you out.[1]

Niddah is also the name of the Talmudic tractate (volume) that deals almost exclusively with this subject. Niddah is the main category of Jewish law concerning sexual matters - also referred to as taharát haMishpachá, Hebrew for family purity. ...

The Biblical regulations of Leviticus specify that a menstruating woman must separate from other people for seven days;[3] anything she sat on, or lay upon, becomes ritually impure during this period, and anyone who comes into contact with these things, or her, during this period also becomes ritually impure until evening, and the person making contact has washed themselves and their clothes in water.[4]

A man who shares the same bed with a niddah and thereby comes into contact with her menstrual blood is rendered ritually impure for seven days, rather than just one;[5] Leviticus further contains a prohibition against sexual contact with a woman who is currently separated from the people due to menstruation,[6] and imposes the punishment of both individuals being cut off from the people if the prohibition is violated.[7]

[edit]Practical laws

Although there are different Biblical regulations for normal menstruation - Niddah, and abnormal menstruation - Zavah, these became conflated during the classical era, and the Talmud relates that menstruating women always followed the requirements imposed by both; the reasons for this were the subject of debate between some medieval Jewish commentators. See the section, below, on Historical study of the seven extra days.
As a result of the conflation, the practice was to wait seven days after menstruation ceases, and for the woman to then immerse herself in water.[8] This also means that women were considered ritually impure as a result of any vaginal discharge. ...

In the Orthodox Jewish community, women may test whether menstruation has ceased; this ritual is known as the hefsek tahara. The woman takes a bath or shower near sunset, wraps a special cloth around her finger, and swipes the vaginal circumference. If the cloth shows only discharges that are white, yellow, or clear, then menstruation is considered to have ceased. If discharge is bright red, it indicates that menstruation continues. If it is any other color, it is subject to further inquiry, often involving consultation with a rabbi. ...

As with most of the Arayot (Biblically forbidden sexual relationships), all physical contact "Derech Chiba v'Taavah" (in an affectionate or lustful manner) is forbidden when a woman is niddah status[10][11] Such contact is forbidden whether or not the man and woman are husband and wife.[12]

In the case of husband and wife, however, the Sages added on extra restrictions, including touch that is not Derech Chiba v'Taavah,[13] passing of objects even without touching, and sleeping in the same bed; these restrictions are to avoid the risk of leading to sexual contact.[14] These laws are termed harchakot, meaning spacers, and result in a need for relationships to be able to develop in non-physical ways, such as emotional and spiritual connections. ...

The classical regulations also forbid sexual relations on the day that a woman expects to start menstruating ...

[edit]Niddah and fertility

As the night that the woman ritually traditionally immerses is about 12 days after menstruation began, it often coincides with a woman's ovulation, and thus improves the chances of successful conception if sexual relations occur on that night. However, for certain women, this period extends far past the date of ovulation, and in combination with the ban on sexual relations during the niddah state, effectively results in the woman being unable to conceive. In the case of this effective infertility, Rabbis will try on a case-by-case basis to find halachic (legal) leniencies to remove this impediment. There have been some calls within Orthodox Judaism for the custom to be modified so that the gap between the end of menstruation and the end of niddah isn't as long for these women.[20]

[edit]Checking by bedikah

The bedikah cloth or "checking cloth," called an eid ["witness"] in Hebrew, is a clean piece of white cloth used in the process of purifying a niddah. It is used by observant Jewish women to determine whether they have finished menstruation. The cloth is inserted into the vagina, and if no blood is found, the woman may start counting the seven blood-free days. On each of these days, she performs this examination in the morning and in the later afternoon before sunset. If no blood is found, she may go to the mikveh on the eighth evening after nightfall, and then engage in relations with her husband.[21]

This practice is also occasionally used by Jewish men to check if he has gotten blood on himself from his wife after relations to determine whether she menstruates during relations.[22]

Such cloths are about two by four inches, and are available at local Judaica stores, the local mikvah, stores in Orthodox neighborhoods in Israel, or may be cut from clean all-white soft cotton or linen fabric.[23]

[edit]Immersion in water

Main article: Mikveh

There are differing customs about how many immersions are performed at each visit to a mikvah. It is the custom of many in the Orthodox community to immerse at least twice.[24] Accordingly, they would immerse, recite the blessing, then immerse again. This order is in deference to two opinions in the codes. One compares this immersion to that of a convert, who cannot recite the blessing before immersing as s/he is not yet Jewish. The other opinion states that like other commandments, here too the blessing should be recited before performing the commandment.[25]

Immersion at the mikvah is preceded by an ordinary bath or shower, involving the cleaning of every body cavity, including the ears, and of the nails, as well trimming all nails (toenails as well as fingernails), removal of food from between the teeth, and combing of the hair. There is usually a female attendant at mikvahs to help women to ensure that they are prepared for immersion.

A special type of bath, designed to be in direct contact with naturally gathered water, known as a mikvah, was created by the rabbis to simplify ritual washing, although certain forms of immersion in natural streams, lakes, and even the sea, if cleared by a rabbi, are still considered sufficient. ...

It is also customary for a specific Hebrew blessing to be recited during immersion:

(Hebrew) Baruch atah Ha-Shem, Elokainu Melech Ha'Olam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al ha-tevila

(translation) Blessed are you, the Name, our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with his commandments, and has commanded us regarding immersion. ...

The extent to which the rabbinical and Biblical laws of niddah are followed differ. Sephardic women, even apparently secular ones, are reputed to follow them strictly; on the other hand, the laws tend to be ignored by Conservative or Reform Ashkenazi women[35]. ...

This page was last modified on 17 November 2010 at 12:08.

(6) Orthodox Jews regard a Mikveh (ritual bath) as even more essential than a Synagogue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikveh

Mikveh (or mikvah, both also spelled without the ending -"h") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism. ...

Several biblical regulations specify that full immersion in water is required to regain ritual purity after ritually impure incidents have occurred. Most forms of impurity can be nullified through immersion in any natural collection of water. Some, such as a Zav, however require "living water,"[4] such as springs or groundwater wells. Living water has the further advantage of being able to purify even while flowing as opposed to rainwater which must be stationary in order to purify. The mikveh is designed to simplify this requirement, by providing a bathing facility that remains in ritual contact with a natural source of water.

Its main uses nowadays are:

 by Jewish women to achieve ritual purity after menstruation or childbirth

 by Jewish men to achieve ritual purity (see details below)

 as part of a traditional procedure for conversion to Judaism

 for utensils used for food.

In Orthodox Judaism these regulations are steadfastly adhered to, and consequently the mikveh is central to an Orthodox Jewish community, and they formally hold in Conservative Judaism as well. The existence of a mikveh is considered so important in Orthodox Judaism, that an Orthodox community is required to construct a mikveh before building a synagogue, and must go to the extreme of selling Torah scrolls or even a synagogue if necessary, to provide funding for the construction.[5] Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism regard the biblical regulations as anachronistic to some degree, and consequently do not put much importance on the existence of a mikveh. Some opinions within Conservative Judaism have sought to retain the ritual requirements of a mikveh while recharacterizing the theological basis of the ritual in concepts other than ritual purity.

Ancient mikvehs dating from before the late first century can be found throughout the land of Israel as well as in historic communities of the Jewish diaspora. In modern times, mikvehs can be found in most communities in Orthodox Judaism. Jewish funeral homes may have a mikveh for immersing a body during the purification procedure (tahara) before burial. ...

The traditional rules regarding the construction of a mikveh are based on those specified in classical rabbinical literature. According to these rules, a mikveh must be connected to a natural spring or well of naturally occurring water, and thus can be supplied by rivers and lakes which have natural springs as their source.[6] A cistern filled by the rain is also permitted to act as a mikveh's water supply. Similarly snow, ice and hail are allowed to act as the supply of water to a mikveh, as long as it melts in a certain manner.[7] A river that dries up on a regular basis cannot be used because it is presumed to be mainly rainwater, which cannot purify while flowing. Oceans for the most part have the status of natural springs.

A mikveh must, according to the classical regulations, contain enough water to cover the entire body of an average-sized person ...

There are also classical requirements for the manner in which the water can be stored and transported to the pool; the water must flow naturally to the mikveh from the source, which essentially means that it must be supplied by gravity or a natural pressure gradient, and the water cannot be pumped there by hand or carried. It was also forbidden for the water to pass through any vessel which could hold water within it, (however pipes open to the air at both ends are fine)[13] as a result, tap water could not be used as the primary water source for a mikveh, although it can be used to top the water up to a suitable level.[12] To avoid issues with these rules in large cities, various methods are employed to establish a valid mikveh. One is that tap water is made to flow over the top of a kosher mikveh, and through a conduit into a larger pool. A second method is to create a mikveh in deep pool, place a floor with holes over that and then fill the upper pool with tap water. Like this the person dipping is actually "in" the pool of rain water.

Most contemporary mikvehs are indoor constructions, involving rain water collected from a cistern, and passed through a duct by gravity into an ordinary bathing pool; the mikveh can be heated, taking into account certain rules, often resulting in an environment not unlike a spa. ...

Traditionally, the mikveh was used by both men and women to regain ritual purity after various events, according to regulations laid down in the Torah and in classical rabbinical literature. The Torah requires full immersion

 after Keri[14] — normal emissions of semen, whether from sexual activity, or from nocturnal emission; bathing in a mikveh due to Keri is known as tevilath Ezra (“the immersion of Ezra”)

 after Zav/Zavah[15] — abnormal discharges of bodily fluids

 after Tzaraath[16] — certain skin condition(s). These are termed lepra in the Septuagint, and therefore traditionally translated into English as leprosy; this is probably a translation error, as the Greek term lepra mostly refers to psoriasis, and the Greek term for leprosy was elephas/elephantiasis.

 by anyone who came into contact with someone suffering from Zav/Zavah, or into contact with someone still in Niddah (normal menstruation), or who comes into contact with articles that have been used or sat upon by such persons.[17][18]

 by Jewish priests when they are being consecrated[19]

 by the Jewish high priest on Yom Kippur, after sending away the goat to Azazel, and by the man who leads away the goat[20]

 by the Jewish priest who performed the Red Heifer ritual[21]

 after contact with a corpse or grave,[22] in addition to having the ashes of the Red Heifer ritual sprinkled upon them

 after eating meat from an animal that died naturally[23]

Classical rabbinical writers conflated the rules for zavah and niddah. It also became customary for priests to fully immerse themselves before Jewish holidays, and the laity of many communities subsequently adopted this practice. Converts to Judaism are required to undergo full immersion in water. ...

Orthodox Judaism generally adheres to the classical regulations and traditions, and consequently Orthodox Jewish women are obligated to immerse in a mikveh between Niddah and sexual relations with their husbands. This includes brides before their marriage, and married women after their menstruation period or childbirth. In accordance with Orthodox rules concerning modesty, men and women are required to immerse in separate mikveh facilities in separate locations, or to use the mikveh at different designated times. ...

In a series of responsa on the subject of Niddah in December 2006, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of Conservative Judaism reaffirmed a requirement that Conservative women use a mikveh monthly following the end of the niddah period following menstruation, while adapting certain leniencies including reducing the length of the period. The three responsa adapted permit a range of approaches from an opinion reaffirming the traditional ritual to an opinion declaring the concept of ritual purity does not apply outside the Temple in Jerusalem, proposing a new theological basis for the ritual, adapting new terminology including renaming the observances related to menstruation from taharat hamishpacha family purity to kedushat hamishpaha [family holiness] to reflect the view that the concept of ritual purity is no longer considered applicable, and adopting certain leniencies including reducing the length of the niddah period. ...

This page was last modified on 9 January 2011 at 05:18.

(7) The Ritual Bath in Islam; a menstruating woman should not read the Qur'an

http://www.alavibohra.org/GHUSL.htm

Ghusl
(The Ritual Bath)

There are two types of ghusl, the obligatory (compulsory) ones (farz) and the recommended ones (sunnat). There are seven obligatory ritual baths. The ritual bath should be preceded by Istinjaa and wuzu as described earlier. While doing wuzu you should take the name of the ghusl for which you are purifying yourself. Certain important guidelines are been set by our Imaams for the obligatory ghusl which should be followed strictly.

First the impurity should be removed from the private parts with water and thereafter water should be poured freely over the whole body. The hands should be used to cleanse that part of body, which they can reach. No part of the body should remain dry and being not washed by water and massaged by the hand. Water should reach the skin underneath the hairs. You should turn your bracelet or a ring or any other ornament so that water reaches the skin beneath it. Maulana Ali (AS) said, 'If one has dealt with the whole of the body, rubbed it with the hands, washed away every kind of uncleanness and poured water on the hairs so that it has reached the skin underneath it, and has performed Istinjaa and wuzu prior to ghusl, then, indeed, he has been purified himself.'

The niyyat of obligatory ghusl is given below. One has to insert the name of the particular ritual bath, which is due, in the niyyat below.
 
"Allahumma inni aghtaselo -- (name of the ghusl) -- farzun alaiya bismillahe allaho akbar."

"O Allah! I am taking this ritual bath to purify myself because of -- (name of ghusl) -- which is obligatory on me. In the name of Allah Who is the Greatest."

The names of the obligatory ghusl are enumerated below with their individual instructions.

1: The ghusl of an unbeliever embracing Islam:
Allah Ta'ala says in the Qur'an;

"Innamal Mushrekoona najasun."
"Indeed the unbelievers are impure."

If an unbeliever embraces Islam, he has to perform ghusl which is obligatory. The name of the ghusl, "le quboole deenilahe" should be inserted in the Niyyat mentioned above.

2: The ghusl of 'ehtelaam' (wet dream):

If a man dreams of sexual act and upon waking he finds the signs of gushing thick liquid (mani, semen) on his clothes, ritual bath is necessary for him. If upon waking he finds no liquid has in fact exuded from the sex organ, there is no obligation to have a bath. However, if the liquid is not semen, but a minute quantity of mucus or other liquid has flown from the organ, there is no obligation to have bath.

Rasulullah (SAWS) said, 'If a woman sees in a dream what a man sees, which results in a wet dream, then a bath is prescribed on her too. A woman surely possesses a liquid like the liquid of a man, but in her Allah has hidden what is manifest in a man. Thus if a woman dreams of sexual intercourse during the sleep as a man dreams, a bath is obligatory on her.'

If a man, after having wet dream, desires to purify himself, he should first pass urine to remove any semen left over in his penis and do Istinjaa. Where a man fails to do this and purifies himself, and even if a drop of semen flows from his penis, he should have to renew his bath. When this ritual bath becomes obligatory on you, then you're reciting of the Qur'an, going to the mosque or ziyaarat, taking the meal, fasting is unlawful without taking the bath.

For the ghusl of wet dream, you should insert the name "lil ehtelaame" in place of the name of the ghusl in the Niyyat given above.

3: The ghusl of 'janaabat' (sexual intercourse):

This ritual bath is obligatory in two instances; first when during wakefulness a man and a woman meets, where there is no sexual intercourse or meeting of two circumcised parts, and if a man or a woman ejaculates, then ghusl is obligatory on both of them. If there is no ejaculation then no bath is obligatory. The other instance where there is 'meeting of the two circumcised parts', in other words, sexual intercourse, then bath of janaabat is obligatory on both, man as well as woman. The expression 'meeting of the circumcised parts' means the penetration of the penis into the vulva. If this takes place, a ritual bath is obligatory on both of them, whether ejaculation takes place or not.

Everyone who has had intercourse should purify himself before sleeping or eating of drinking. If, however, the man desires to have intercourse second time, it is not necessary to purify himself unless he feels satisfied or the hour of prayer has set. If the time of prayer has come he should not delay the act of purification.

Sexually impure person should not go to the mosque or sit in the mosque should not go for ziyaarat or recite the Qur'an or do the fasting unless purified. Women should untwist her hair while performing ritual bath. She should allow water to reach the skin of her hair and all of her hair. Bracelet or ring should be turned around during ghusl so that water reaches the skin beneath and water should be poured on the ornaments. Once Rasulullah (SAWS) having completed his bath after sexual impurity, he found that water has not reached a part of his body. Thereupon he wetted his hand in his damp hair and rubbed that particular part.

Before doing this obligatory bath you should follow the steps described in the ghusl of ehtelaam. The name of the ghusl, "lil janaabate" should be inserted in the Niyyat given above.

4: The ghusl of 'haiz' (menstruation):

The menstrual period usually lasts for minimum 3 days to maximum 10 days. The blood of menstruation is to be distinguished from that of constant haemorrhage (istehaaza). The blood of menses is dirty, thick and fetid while the blood of haemorrhage is thin and watery. When the blood of menses begins to flow, the woman should observe the rules governing menstruating women, and when it stops she should take the ritual bath.

Woman should take ritual bath after she finds that the blood has stopped. When a woman discovers that she is free from menstruation, and she misses or delays taking a ghusl, it becomes incumbent upon her to offer that prayer, as well as any other prayer which she has missed during the time of her purity. The evidence of the stoppage of menstruation is that the cotton pad or any other thing inserted in the private parts is found to be free from impurity. When this is confirmed, the woman is free to perform the ritual bath and offer her prayers.

A menstruating woman should not read the Qur'an, or enter a mosque, or pray, or perform fasts, or go for ziyaarat, or have sexual intercourse until she is purified. When she becomes pure from menstrual impurity, she may perform the fasts, which she was not able to perform, but not the prayers which she missed during her periods.

Imaam Mohammad Baaqir (AS) said, 'A menstruating woman should perform the ablution fully for every prayer and should face the qibla but without imposing prayers on her, she should recite the tasbeeh of 'Subhaan allah', 'Alhamdo lillah', and 'laa ilaha illallaah' at the time of prayers.'

Physical contact with a menstruating woman is permitted, the way that she should wear an undergarment below the navel to the knee, and the husband is entitled to make love above the garment. He who has sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman has, indeed, done an act which is not lawful to him. It is incumbent on him in such a case to ask for Allah's pardon and to repent of his act. A child, as a result of conception at the time of menses, would contract the disease of Leprosy. If a woman conceives a child in her womb at the time of her periods, then, the child would be the enemy of the Progeny of Mohammad Rasulullah (SAWS), says in his Hadees-e-shareef,
 
"Ya Ali, Laa yubghezannaka minar rejaale illa man howa le ghaire rushdatin aw man hamalat behi ummohu le ghaire tohrin."

"O Ali, only he would be the person with your hatred and enmity in his heart among the people, to whom, Allah has not given guidance or who might be the result of conception in her motherâ?™s womb at the time of her impurity."

A woman who discovers blood during her period of purity, and if the blood is like that of menses, then she should observe the rules accordingly. On the contrary, if the blood is thin and watery not matching to the characteristics of menstrual blood, she should insert a piece of cloth or a cotton pad in her private part as a precaution against bleeding and she should perform ablution before every prayer and her husband has access to her. A woman who experiences continuous bleeding (istehaaza) due to some disease and the character of the blood does not match with that of menses, then she should bathe before every two prayers i.e. namaaz of zohr and 'asr, namaaz of maghrib and 'isha il-aakherat, and namaaz of fajr. A woman who suffers from continuous bleeding is deemed to be menstruating. The rule is the same when blood is discovered by a woman who is pregnant. Imaam Ja'far us-Saadiq (AS) said, 'Allah will cure every woman who suffers from istehaaza if she faithfully observes these rules.'

If a woman, who has purified herself, intends to observe fast in atonement, she should first observe the obligatory fasts of Ramzaan which she has missed during her impurity. A woman who was impure during Ramzaan, should fast the same number of days to make expiation for those that were lost by the reason of impurity. One should take the Niyyat of the day that was missed in the month of Ramzaan, for example; if fast of 13th of Ramzaan is missed then the Niyyat of 13th date is taken in any month if one wishes to fast in its atonement. To fast in atonement (for the days lost in Ramzaan) during first ten days of Zil-Hajj is disapproved. The fasts of the month of Rajab should not be observed unless you have not compensated your missed obligatory fasts.

Maulana Ali (AS) said, 'The ritual bath after menstruation or childbirth is like the bath after sexual impurity. When a sexually impure woman menstruates, one bath of purification will suffice for both the impurities.' If such situation arises then one should take the names of both ghusl simultaneously in the Niyyat. The name of the ghusl, "lil haize" is added in the Niyyat given above.

5: The ghusl of 'nifaas' (after childbirth):

A woman experiences bleeding for maximum of 40 days after childbirth. Whenever the bleeding stops, the woman should perform ritual bath. Praying and fasting are forbidden to woman who is in her puerperium (period of bleeding after childbirth). She should not enter mosque, or recite Qur'an, or have sexual intercourse before purifying herself.
The name of the ghusl, "lin nafaasate" is added in the Niyyat given above.

6: The ghusl of 'mayyet' (dead body):

To give bath to the dead body before its burial is an obligatory ghusl. The details of this ritual bath and the procedure are being dealt with elsewhere. The name of the ghusl, "lil janaazate" is added in the Niyyat given above.

7: The ghusl of 'majnoon' (lunatic):

The ritual bath is obligatory after the lunatic or one who loses his consciousness recovers his senses. The name of the ghusl, "le tehseelil 'aqlis saleeme" is added in the Niyyat given above.

The ghusl is obligatory after one has fallen into filth or dirt and has spoiled the whole body. The name of the ghusl, "le tahaaratil jisme" is added in the Niyyat given above.
The above mentioned seven ghusl are obligatory. Apart from the obligatory ghusl, there are other ghusl of sunnat which Rasulullah (SAWS) recommended. To perform these ghusl is praiseworthy. These ghusl are: of Friday before prayers, of the two festivals namely 'eid-ul-azhaa and 'eid-ul-fitr, of ehraam at the commencement of Hajj, for entering the Mecca, for entering the Ka'ba, for entering the Medina, on the Day of 'Arafa, on the 1st and 27th night (Lailatul Me'raaj, Shab-e-Me'raaj) of Rajab-ul-Morajjab, on 15th night (Lailatun Nisf, Shab-e-Baraat) of Sha'baan, on the three nights of Ramzaan-ul-Mo'azzam namely the 17th, 19th, 21st night and the 23rd night (Lailatul Qadr) of Ramzaan. The bath of these nights should be taken before the commencement of its prescribed prayer (washsheek) and these nights be passed in wakefulness and prayer. Likewise the bath is to be taken after giving bath to a dead person.