daf bit: Niddah 66

[cellio]

Both men and women may go to the mikveh (ritual bath) for reasons of spiritual purification. For married women this is required once a month (until menopause). In order for an immersion to be valid there must be no barriers between the person and the water. (For example, you can't wear clothing of any sort.)

The g'mara on today's daf teaches: a woman must wash her head (meaning her hair) before immersing to remove any dirt that might be problematic. She must not wash with substances that either break the hairs or cause them to cling together, and she must wash in warm water (not cold), even if it is only warmed by the sun. Why not with cold water? Because cold water loosens the hair. (66b)

The g'mara here says nothing about men's hair, but the discussion here is focused on women. I assume that men have the same requirements for hair. I am inferring -- my edition doesn't say -- that the problem with loose hairs is that if they're no longer attached they are a barrier rather than part of you. I could well be wrong about this. In modern practice the mikveh comes with "the mikveh lady" who will tell you if there are any problems.

Comments

[siderea]

If "beard" is a euphemism, why isn't "head" understood to be a euphemism, too?

[cellio]

Good point. In the other case we're explicitly told that it's a euphemism and I understood that to mean "in that usage", but I could be wrong. It's the only explicitly-identified euphemism I can recall.