Halachah · Modern
A Lifetime Companion to the Laws of Jewish Family Life, Part Three; The Life Cycle, Chapter 6; The Climacteric (Menopause, Peri menopause)/מדריך להלכות טהרת המשפחה·
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1Medical background
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2A woman has the maximum number of ova (eggs) that she will have during her life when she is a fetus of about twenty weeks gestation. At this point, there are about 6–7 million oocytes (egg cells), which decrease to about 2 million by the time she is born. At puberty there are about 400,000. During the course of a woman’s lifetime, the number of remaining ova decreases, with about 20,000 left in the late thirties. The menopause is that point in time when permanent cessation of menstruation occurs due to loss of ovarian activity and the depletion of follicles.
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3The period of time immediately before and after menopause is known as the peri-menopause. This is a transition that usually occurs between regular cycling and menopause, characterized by hormonal fluctuation roughly two to eight years before and one year after the last natural period.1 1998; 41:921–927. The average age of menopause is 50 years ± 8 years. Women who undergo surgical removal of their ovaries at a younger age will experience menopause earlier.
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4Due to this process, toward the late thirties and early forties, women will start to notice that their cycle is changing.2 1998; 41:912–920. Often the intervals between cycles become shorter, and thus they are in a niddah status more often. There can be more episodes of mid-cycle staining, and many women start to experience brown discharge in the days before their menses actually begin. Thus many questions of niddah arise. While these changes are biologically normal, they can be halachically quite frustrating. Toward the late forties and early fifties, intervals between cycles get longer and are often irregular, a further sign of ensuing menopause. At some point, menses cease. Should bleeding resume at this time of life after one year of amenorrhea, a woman should be examined by a physician to rule out cancer.
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5Effect on times of anticipation
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6From a halachic point of view, the “elderly woman” is one of the four women who are considered to be mesuleket damim, and thus does not need to observe the onot prishah.3 1:3
זאֵיזוֹ הִיא זְקֵנָה? כָּל שֶׁעָבְרוּ עָלֶיהָ שָׁלֹשׁ עוֹנוֹת סָמוּךְ לְזִקְנָתָהּ. (משנה; נדה א:ה)