Jewish laws and regulations concerning menstruating women are
extremely restrictive. The Old Testament considers any
menstruating woman as unclean and impure. Moreover, her impurity
"infects" others as well. Anyone or anything she touches becomes
unclean for a day: "When a woman has her regular flow of blood,
the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and
anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening. Anything
she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she
sits on will be unclean. Whoever touches her bed must wash his
clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till
evening. Whoever touches anything she sits on must wash his
clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till
evening. Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on,
when anyone touches it, he will be unclean till evening" (Lev.
15:19-23). Due to her "contaminating" nature, a menstruating
woman was sometimes "banished" in order to avoid any possibility
of any contact with her. She was se