What is going to the mikvah erev YK considered? Halacha? Minhag? For men vs. women? Different communties?

In Halichos Bas Yisroel it is stated:

p.150 (googlebooks didn't let me get the rest of the sentence)

If a mod moves this into the halachah subforum, I'll consider scanning and posting a teshuvah from the SH'ut Bnei Banim on the topic tomorrow.

ok, I'll b'n scan it anyway.

I have never heard of an unmarried girl going to the mikva. Most of my MO friends' husbands don't go erev YK either, they think it's bizarre.

I went once as an unmarried.

i'd move it if i didn't keep getting 500 internal server errors.
i'll try to move it again later.

ETA: Moved to Halacha section

first in mikva on erev yom kippur, next thing you know, it's mikvah whenever the unmarried single wants and you have on your hands what I've heard being called "a tephillin date". Not a good idea.

The lashon of the Beit Yoseph in OC 606 seems to be clear that it's a minhag.
The Mishnah Berurah in s'k 17 comments that the minhag includes never married women.

R. Yoseph Kafah, in Tichlal Siyah Yerushalaim indicates that this was the custom in Yemen, as well.

Thanks for your opinion.


With regard to single women, it depends whom one asks: There are those who reject the argument of the Sdei Chemed and who rule that it is appropriate for single women to be tovlot on erev YK and that it does not invite licentiousness:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v336/mel...rrent=page1.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v336/mel...rrent=page2.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v336/mel...rrent=page3.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v336/mel...rrent=page4.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v336/mel...rrent=page5.jpg

Me, too.

And the last time I managed to go as a married woman (and I'll have to read those scans to see just exactly how we get around that one, too, after all, tashmish mita is assur on YK), there were plenty of women who had brought daughters to the mikve.

Ironically, since being married and conveniently close to a mikve, I've hardly ever gone. I'm usually nida, or too busy and forget the ladies' hours.

Can you go erev YK if you're nida?

Why WOULD you???

Look at the end of the middle paragraph of the right hand column on the fourth page of the scans.

##@$%# filters at work. Gam zu l'tova, a good reason to hurry home and log on.

I was called a pervert, and threatened by J with a ban for posting a similar thread.



mosheshmeal
.

The times, they are a-changing.

Well, why would I if I wasn't in nida? It's just a minhag.




Okay, that's pretty much what seemed logical.


Maybe because your thread was in the Bull Session?

There is no minhag to go for a swim. The point is to be metaher oneself before YK. If you're a nida it is kind of pointless. It is the classic case of toivel vsheretz b'yado*...


*Public Service Announcement, this was in no way meant to imply that nidos are in any way shape or form similar to sheratzim except for the tumah issue.....

Except it depends what the reason is for tevilah on erev YK. If it's to be metaher, then true, but there are other reasons in the teshuvah for the tevilah on YK.

Really? How about a טמא מת being טובל in order to be purified from lesser tum'ah? Or the yoledes be-zava who is טובלת in order to become So, too, the tevilah for symbolic/experiential טיהור from עבירות applies independently of other concurrent experiences of טומאה.

Right, but when one is טובל for a lesser tumah, such as bodily excretions, one does achieve purity from that lesser tumah. However, if one is nidda, there isn't any getting pure of bodily excretions. Then there's the (IMO strong) argument that being tovel during the ז' clean days is a possible mikshol not worth a symobolic/experiential/non-halachic purpose.

The EYK dip is for tshuvah, not taharah.