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daf bit: Niddah 58
The torah says that a woman is tamei (ritually impure and not permitted to her husband) during her monthly cycle. The mishna instructs us to rule as leniently as possible: If a woman may attribute a bloodstain to any possible external cause she may do so -- if she slaughtered an animal or was working with the meat, if she sat near people doing these things, even if she killed a louse, the blood is presumed to be from these sources and her status is not affected. A woman once came to R. Akiba and said she found a stain; he asked: had you a wound? Yes, she said, but it healed. He asked: could it have opened again? Yes, she said. He declared her tahor (ritually pure). His disciples found this surprising, and he said to them: the sages did not lay down the rule to impose restrictions but to relax them; the torah says "if her issue be blood" -- only blood, but not a bloodstain. (58b)
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(I always read these posts with interest.)
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"She is forbidden to him" meaning that he is constrained with respect to her. (Analogous construct: the tree of knowledge was forbidden to Adam and Chava.) In this case, during a woman's monthly cycle a couple does not have sex or even touch. Then when it's over she goes to the mikvah (ritual bath) and they have a special night together (ahem). For many couples this forced separation actually enhances relations when they do have them -- but that said, it's still kind of a hassle, so it's nice to see that the mishna, at least, calls for leniency rather than strictness.
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