נשים בדיון הלכתי, קביעת וסת ועקירתו באמצעות גלולותJewish Legal Writings by Women, Establishing and Uprooting Menstruation With the Pill

א׳

1Devorah Zlochower

ב׳

2A non-contraceptive benefit of the Pill is the increase of regularity in a woman’s menstrual cycle. Synthetic estrogen and progestin, the major components of oral contraceptives (the Pill), imitate the natural increases of estrogen and progestin which stimulate growth and maintenance of the endometrial lining of the uterus. As a result, menstruation does not take place when a woman is taking the Pill. Additionally, there is increased predictability on what day the woman will begin menstruating after she stops taking the oral contraceptive. Although some initial spotting or breakthrough bleeding may occur with today’s lower estrogen Pill, menstrual predictability remains one of the benefits of taking the Pill.¹Robert Hatcher, et. al., Contraceptive Technology, 16^th revised ed. (Irvington: Irvington Publishers, 1994) ch. 10, esp. page 254. “Spotting has increased with all the lower-dose pills in comparison with the higher dose pills of 30 years ago… Spotting and breakthrough bleeding tend to diminish dramatically over the first few months of pill use with all the combined pills.” See also Richard Dickey, Oral Contraceptive User Guide (Oklahoma: Information Guides, 1987) 15–19 and table 2-2 on pages 22–23. The author describes how oral contraceptives block pregnancy by increasing the progestational, estrogenic and androgenic activities in the body; the breakdown of the endometrial lining in the uterus which is indicated by uterine bleeding only occurs when the estrogen and progestin quantities are reduced. As long as the woman has sufficient amounts of estrogen and progestin circulating in her body she will not menstruate.

ג׳

3The ability to prevent the natural flow of the menses requires us to re-evaluate the halakhot of vestot (menses) for a woman who is taking the Pill.

ד׳

4Consider the following case:

ה׳

5A woman has her period every 26 days. She has maintained this pattern on at least three consecutive occasions and has thereby established a veset kavu’a, a fixed cycle. The Halakha requires this woman to refrain from sexual intercourse with her husband on the 26^th day of her menstrual cycle. Additionally, she cannot resume sexual activity until she has examined herself internally to make sure that she is not menstruating. This woman now begins to take the Pill and she menstruates 28 days after the onset of her last period, four days after she takes the last pill.

ו׳

6This case presents a number of questions:

ז׳

71) How long must this woman wait before she can ignore her pre-existing veset of 26 days and its requisite laws?

ח׳

82) Do we require the woman who is now taking the Pill to establish a fixed pattern over three consecutive occasions or can she establish this new veset immediately?

ט׳

93) What type of veset does the woman establish while taking the Pill? Is it based on the number of days in her cycle, like the veset she had before she took the Pill, or is it based on the number of days after she stops taking the Pill that she begins to menstruate? For example, if the woman goes on vacation and, in order to delay the onset of menstruation, takes the Pill for 30 days instead of the usual 21 days, must she refrain from sexual activity 28 days after her last period or does she refrain on the fourth day after she stops taking the Pill?

י׳

104) If the woman stops taking the Pill does she return to her previous veset of 26 days, and if so, when?

י״א

11These questions will be answered by a focused examination of the laws of vestot.

י״ב

12We will examine, in turn, the halakhic category of mesuleket damim, a women whose menstrual cycle is suspended; the typology of vestot; the application of chazaka to the laws of vestot; and the resumption of a veset.

י״ג

13Mesuleket Damim

י״ד

14We are introduced to the category of mesuleket damim in two passages in the Talmud. In a Mishna in Nidda 39a, Rabbi Meir rules that a woman who is hiding out of fear is considered a mesuleket damim, a woman who has had her period suspended. In Nidda 9a, the Talmud declares that a pregnant woman is also considered a mesuleket damim and has the same halakhic status as the woman who fears. There are two practical differences between the mesuleket damim and a menstruating woman. While a woman experiencing her normal menstrual cycle is required to refrain from sexual intercourse with her husband during her veset, a woman whose period has been suspended does not. Additionally, a woman who is experiencing her normal cycle cannot resume sexual activity once her veset has passed until she does a bedika, an internal examination; a mesuleket damim who forgets to do that examination may resume sexual activity.

ט״ו

15While the Talmud makes no distinction between the cases of the pregnant woman and the woman who fears, most of the commentators see a practical difference, requiring bedika lekhatchila (ab initio) and cessation of sexual activity for the woman who fears but not for the pregnant woman.²Tur (YD 184, page 42b); Beit Yosef, ad loc.; Rama (YD 184:8), Shakh, ad loc.; Taz, ad loc. For opposing view see Rashba (Torat haBayit, Dinei Vestot, page 12b) Note that Beit Yosef requires bedika lekhatchila even for the pregnant woman. This practical difference points to a definitional distinction for Tur³YD 189, page 58b. and Rashba.⁴Torat haBayit, Dinei Vestot, page 13b. They maintain that the pregnant woman has a long-term suspension of her menstrual cycle during her pregnancy while the woman hiding in fear only experiences a temporary suspension of her menstrual cycle. The Halakha requires the woman who fears to do bedikot lekhatchila and to refrain from sexual intercourse during her veset since her period may still arrive. In contrast, a pregnant woman who bleeds during her pregnancy does not have to be concerned for her previous veset during the following month; the bleeding is simply considered an anomaly.⁵Shulchan Arukh 184:7 and 189:33 point out that the pregnant woman referred to here is one whose first trimester is completed. See Rabbi Moshe Feinstein’s responsum in Rabbi Shimon Eider’s Halachos of Nidda, (Hebrew), vol. 1, page 5; Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, Drakhei Tahara, 83–84, and Rabbi Shmuel Wozner, Shi’urei Shevet haLevi, 30–31 for a discussion whether contemporary women, whose pregnancies can be detected at the earliest stages, are considered mesuleket damim during the first trimester of pregnancy.

ט״ז

16Other decisors who accept the practical distinction do not see a significant theoretical difference between the case of the pregnant woman and the case of the woman who fears. Beit Yosef,⁶YD 184, s.v. “ha’isha shehayta nichba’it.” Perisha,⁷YD 184:16. and Shakh⁸YD 184:21. do not view the case of the pregnant woman and the case of the woman who fears as essentially different. These decisors argue that different women might react differently to fear and that total suspension of the menses for every woman is not certain. Taz believes that the suspension is total for both the pregnant woman and the woman hiding in fear. However, since the fear of the woman hiding could lift, even during her travail, and her normal cycle would resume, he does not consider such a woman a mesuleket damim throughout this entire experience as he does the pregnant woman.⁹YD 184:11.

י״ז

17Is a woman taking the Pill a mesuleket damim? Is she like the woman who fears or is she like the pregnant woman? Since a pregnant woman experiences a total suspension of her period and a woman in fear does not, it would seem obvious that the Pill, which completely suspends menstruation, would be similar to pregnancy.¹⁰One could argue that pregnancy suspends menstruation for 9 months while the Pill, in its normal usage, suspends menstruation for 3 weeks; perhaps the suspension caused by taking the Pill is not as permanent. I find this argument difficult since the Pill has the capacity to suspend menstruation for great lengths of time; menstruation only occurs because the woman normally stops taking the Pill for one week every month. However, if a woman taking the Pill experiences breakthrough bleeding or spotting on a regular basis because the estrogen level in the oral contraceptive is too low for her, then she might not be a mesuleket damim at all. The bleeding might be considered anomalous like the periodic bleeding of a pregnant woman. Since the bleeding results from her body’s reaction to the hormones, I think it raises serious concerns for her status as a mesuleket damim altogether. I have not seen any discussion in the literature on this issue.

י״ח

18Dayan Yitzchak Weiss¹¹Minchat Yitzchak 1:127. disagrees. He explains that our knowledge of the effectiveness of the contraceptive in suspending menstruation is based on the testimony of doctors, many of them not Jewish. Dayan Weiss rules that the testimony of these doctors is not acceptable halakhic proof. Therefore, we cannot demonstrate that the Pill suspends menstruation in any predictable fashion, and bedikot bedi’avad (ex post facto) and refraining from sexual intercourse on the day of the previous veset are required. It is important to note that Dayan Weiss was referring to a contraceptive in which dosages varied widely among women; oral contraceptives today have proven track records that demonstrate consistency.

י״ט

19Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg,¹²Tzitz Eliezer 13:103. basing his pesak on a responsum of Rabbi David Ben Zimra,¹³Radvaz 8:136. disagrees with Dayan Weiss. He points out that the Pill has been tested and has been proven effective in suspending menstruation for millions of women; testimony of doctors is not required. However, he is unwilling to pronounce the Pill a case of total suspension of the menses until the woman taking the Pill has established a chazaka that she does not menstruate on the day of her previously established veset. Once she has established a chazakah she need not do a bedika; prior to the establishment of a chazaka, bedikot lekhatchila and perisha, cessation of sexual activity, are required.¹⁴It is important to note that Radvaz (1480–1573) was dealing with an entirely different medication. Rabbi Waldenberg does not note this point but follows Radvaz without this consideration. This formulation is modeled on the case of the woman who fears. Rabbi Shmuel Wozner,¹⁵Shi’urei Shevet haLevi (YD 184:8.2). He limits this ruling to brides and women who demonstrate a medical need for the Pill. Rabbi Shlomo Levi¹⁶“Hashpa’at haShimush beGlulot al Dinei Vestot,” Techumin, vol. 3 (1982): 181. and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef¹⁷Taharat haBayit 2:18. consider the track record of the modern Pill to be sufficient and do not require a chazaka to define her as a mesuleket damim. They rule that her situation is analogous to that of a pregnant woman and do not require any bedikot for the prior veset.

כ׳

20Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch suggests that a woman taking the Pill may be even more certain than a pregnant woman that she will not experience uterine bleeding and need not observe her prior vestot.¹⁸Teshuvot veHanhagot, vol. 2 (Jerusalem, 1994) 433. Rabbi Sternbuch claims that a pregnant woman who previously had a regular menstrual cycle must observe her vestot during the first trimester since she still may experience sensations similar to those she experiences with her veset. However, in another responsum he states that he is uncomfortable ruling against Dayan Weiss and limits his lenient ruling to a bride.¹⁹Teshuvot veHanhagot, vol. 1 (Jerusalem, 1992) 491.

כ״א

21A Typology of Vestot

כ״ב

22According to Rabbis Wozner, Levi, Yosef, and Waldenberg, our woman is no longer concerned with her veset for the 26^th day of her cycle. When does she establish her new veset? What type of veset does she establish? To answer these questions we now turn to the definitions of the various vestot.

כ״ג

23A veset is a predicted day when a woman can expect her period. Halakha presents us with a typology of vestot:

כ״ד

24A veset leyamim is a calendrical veset based on the date of the woman’s last period. There are two subcategories of vestot leyamim: 1. Chodesh²⁰Shulchan Arukh, YD 189:2.—the same date in the new month that a woman had her period in the last month. 2. Haflaga²¹Ibid.—the same number of days that separated her last two periods is used to set a day this month when she can expect her period.²²The ona beinonit is a type of haflaga.

כ״ה

25A veset haguf is a physiological veset in which the woman has a physical sensation that signals the onset of her period. Vestot haguf are bodily sensations such as yawning, cramps, or feelings of heaviness.²³Shulchan Arukh (YD 189:19) states that these sensations alone cannot indicate that her period will arrive on a particular day. However, once she has these sensations and we have proven by means of chazaka that her period will soon follow, she and her husband must refrain from sexual intercourse.

כ״ו

26A veset machmat ones relies upon external causes to signal the beginning of menstrual bleeding. The Tosefta (Nidda 1:2) lists jumping, being hit or coughing as examples of this veset.²⁴The Zuckerman edition of the Tosefta substitutes “being sick” for “coughing.”

כ״ז

27A veset for a woman taking the Pill does not fit the veset leyamim model since it relies on a different set of causal operators. A veset leyamim is established according to the number of days in a woman’s menstrual cycle.²⁵Chodesh might operate differently; it seems to operate on a lunar cycle rather than on the woman’s menstrual cycle. Taking the Pill replaces the natural menstrual cycle with an artificial one based on taking or not taking the Pill. A woman has control over this artificial cycle and can choose the day on which her period will arrive. For example, if she chooses to take the Pill 30 consecutive days rather than the usual 21 days, she will not menstruate those entire 30 days. Thus, if she usually sees blood four days after she stops taking the Pill she will now see blood on the 34^th day rather than on the 25^th day. Stating that she has a veset leyamim for the 25^th day is inaccurate; she has a veset for the fourth day after she stops taking the Pill.

כ״ח

28The veset haguf model is likewise irrelevant. Most Rishonim agree that vestot haguf are limited to sensations or pains that result from the arrival of the menses²⁶Ravad, Ba’alei haNefesh, Sha’ar Tikkun haVestot, page 52; Raza, Sela haMachloket Lesha’ar Tikkun haVestot, 25; Rashba, Torat haBayit, Dinei Vestot, 13a–b. The Mishna on Nidda 63a lists the following as symptoms of a veset: yawning, sneezing, feeling pain at the top of the stomach or the bottom of the bowels, discharging, or shivering. The Gemara on 63b includes feeling heaviness in the head or limbs and belching. These Rishonim view this list as the comprehensive list of vestot haguf. However, Ramban, Hilkhot Nidda 6:8,12,13 argues that veset haguf includes jumping and eating spicy foods; he does not recognize a separate veset machmat ones. as opposed to the cessation of the Pill which actively causes menstruation. Moreover, the Shulchan Arukh,²⁷YD 189:17,19. following the majority of Rishonim, limits vestot haguf to these physical sensations.²⁸Shulchan Arukh does not mention a veset for eating spicy foods; Rama (YD 189:23) mentions it but does not rule what type of veset it comprises. Accordingly, taking the Pill would clearly not operate as a veset haguf.

כ״ט

29The category that seems most appropriate is veset machmat ones. In Nidda 11a, the Gemara discusses a woman who experiences menstrual bleeding after jumping. The Gemara presents two versions of the case. There is also a textual dispute in the second version of the case making a clear reading of this Gemara even more elusive. Consequently, Rishonim offer three interpretations of this Gemara. Rambam²⁹Hilkhot Issurei Bi’a 8:5. and Ramban³⁰Maharshal on Nidda 11a, s.v. “ubeshabbat kaftza velo chaza.” state that the Halakha does not recognize the category of veset machmat ones and we do not view “jumping” as causative; the woman has a simple veset leyamim.

ל׳

30On the other hand, Rashba believes that the Gemara points to two possible scenarios.³¹Rashba on Nidda 11a, s.v. “kigon dekafitz bechad beshabbat vechaza”; Maharshal, ad loc. In one scenario, jumping in combination with the arrival of her veset leyamim cause her to experience menstrual bleeding. Menstruation, when caused by a combination of factors, creates a hybrid veset known as a veset murkav. In the second scenario, the jumping is non-causal and the woman’s period simply arrives on the predicted day. According to Rashba, a veset machmat ones exists. However, because we cannot determine fully that it causes the onset of the menses, it can only operate in combination with a veset leyamim. Shulchan Arukh³²YD 189:18. adopts Rashba’s reading.³³Shulchan Arukh (YD 189:17) indicates clearly that the ruling follows the second version, the lishna achrina of Nidda 11a; he does not believe that the first version holds any halakhic weight. Shulchan Arukh’s ruling is patterned on Rambam (Hilkhot Issurei Bi’a 8:5). Rashba, however, uses the first version of Nidda 11a to prove a veset leyamim ulekfitzot exists. So do Ravad (Ba’alei Hanefesh, Sha’ar Tikkun haVestot, page 52) and Tosafot (Nidda 11a, s.v. “ela lekfitzot”). See Shakh (YD 189:49) for further analysis and sources.

ל״א

31Both Rashi and Raza offer readings of Nidda 11a that allow for a simple veset machmat ones. Rashi³⁴Nidda 11a, s.v. “ela lekfitzot.” states that once a woman has had a flow of uterine blood on three occasions after jumping she has a chazaka that she will see blood any time she jumps.³⁵Rashba (Torat haBayit, Dinei Vestot 13a) reads this Rashi as Rashi’s final opinion regarding this matter. It could be argued that Rashi is stating this only as a hava amina. Raza explains that a veset machmat ones can exist as a veset murkav³⁶This is the maskana in Nidda 11a. (combined with veset leyamim) or as a simple veset.³⁷Raza, Sela haMachloket on Ba’ale haNefesh, Sha’ar Tikkun Vestot 25. Tur³⁸YD 189, page 55a. following Rashi and Raza rules that there are both simple and hybrid vestot machmat ones. According to these decisors the act of stopping the Pill, an external act that brings about menstruation, may be a type of veset machmat ones.

ל״ב

32If we treat the act of stopping the Pill as any other veset machmat ones then according to Rashi, Raza, and Tur we have an appropriate model for a veset for the Pill. However, Rashi, Razah, and Tur represent the minority opinion and rules of pesak dictate that we follow the majority of Rishonim and Shulchan Arukh. And according to the majority opinion, stopping the Pill only creates a veset when it is combined with a veset leyamim. This would lead to the bizarre conclusion that our woman, when she takes the Pill for an extended period of time, would have a veset for the 25^th day, even though she is still taking the Pill, and she would not have a veset for the fourth day after she stops taking the Pill, the day she normally menstruates.

ל״ג

33Is the veset that is created by taking the Pill a veset machmat ones? Rabbi Shlomo Levi rules that the Pill is more powerful than a veset machmat ones. He believes the reason why a veset machmat ones cannot stand independently, according to most decisors, is that it cannot be demonstrated conclusively that ones causes a uterine flow. On the other hand, we can demonstrate conclusively that taking the Pill will block menstruation.³⁹Techumin 182.

ל״ד

34In Nidda 63b, the Gemara presents another type of veset in which a woman who eats spicy foods has her period as a result. The Rishonim discuss whether this veset called veset akhilat shum is a new veset or whether it fits into the categories of veset haguf or veset machmat ones. Rama lists the opinions but does not suggest an interpretation of his own.⁴⁰YD 189:23. According to Rama, Rosh and Mordechai suggest that a veset based on eating spicy foods is a new veset. Tosafot⁴¹Nidda 63b, s.v. “akhla shum vera’ata.” emphasize that eating spicy foods is not an example of veset machmat ones. According to Rama, Tosafot group eating spicy foods with vestot haguf. Rashba groups eating spicy foods with vestot machmat ones.⁴²Rashba, Torat haBayit, Sha’ar haVestot 8b.

ל״ה

35Rabbis Forst and Levi use veset akhilat shum as a model for the Pill. According to Rabbi Forst, stopping the Pill is similar to eating spicy foods because the resulting menstruation is “caused by outside intervention but it replicates the body’s natural process”;⁴³The Laws of Nidda (NY: Mesorah, 1997) 366. it is different from eating spicy foods because causation can be demonstrated with the Pill but not with eating spicy foods. Rabbi Levi uses Tosafot’s veset akhilat shum, a type of veset haguf, as his model⁴⁴Techumin 184–5. since such a veset does not need an accompanying veset leyamim.⁴⁵This is true for vestot haguf in general. The statements of Rabbis Levi and Forst indicate that our woman would have her veset on the fourth day after she stops taking the Pill.

ל״ו

36Chazaka

ל״ז

37According to Rabbis Shlomo Levi, Ovadiah Yosef, Shmuel Wozner and Moshe Stern,⁴⁶Techumin 181; Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Taharat haBayit 2:18; Shi’urei Shevet haLevi 184:8,2; Be’er Moshe 6:137. whether they adopt a Talmudic model or not, a simple veset for the particular day a woman has her period after she stops taking the Pill exists. Our woman has a veset for the fourth day after she stops taking the Pill. How often must she have experienced the beginning of her menses on this day before this veset is established? In order to answer this question we need to explore the nature of chazaka.

ל״ח

38Halakha distinguishes between an established veset (veset kavu’a) and an unestablished veset (veset she’aina kavu’a). Kevi’ut is a measure of the reliability of the veset. When a woman has a veset kavu’a, which occurs once her menses have begun on the predicted day three occasions in a row, she can expect the onset of her period on that day.⁴⁷Shulchan Arukh, YD 189:2,4. Once a woman has a veset kavu’a, her veset is uprooted only if she does not replace it with another chazaka.⁴⁸Shulchan Arukh, YD 189:2.

ל״ט

39Thus, a reliable pattern is said to exist when it has been demonstrated three consecutive times. Why do we require a triple occurrence to establish a pattern? The Gemara explains that a triple occurrence is a chazaka.⁴⁹Yevamot 64b. Three occurrences creates a chazaka in the opinion of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel; Rebbi only requires two occurrences. The scope of this paper does not allow exploration of this issue in any great depth. For further information, see “chazaka,” Encyclopedia Talmudit, vol. 13 (Jerusalem, 1992). The method of establishing kevi’ut for a menstrual cycle is no different than the method for establishing any type of pattern. Chazaka is needed to infer a causal relationship between two events. The function of chazaka, according to this explanation, is to reduce the uncertainty regarding the link between two events; the more times that these two events are linked the more likely that they are causally related.⁵⁰In classic yeshiva parlance, the chakira of chazaka is whether chazaka is a birur, a discovery of a causal link, or a chalot shem, a formal change of status. I am using the birur explanation here. To establish the link between the beginning of menses and a particular day of a woman’s menstrual cycle, we require those two events to appear together three times. However, if we had some alternative method of demonstrating a strong causal connection between a particular day of a woman’s cycle and the onset of her menses, perhaps we would not need to rely on chazaka to demonstrate that link.⁵¹Nidda 63b gives a clear example of a veset that does not require establishment by chazaka. This veset is the veset haguf. Thus, there is precedent for theorizing that other methods than chazaka can establish a veset. Note, however, that a veset haguf alone cannot establish a veset; it must be accompanied by a veset leyamim.

מ׳

40When a woman is taking oral contraceptives, an artificial hormonal cycle regulating uterine activity is created. By maintaining levels of estrogen and progestin in her body, the uterine lining is continuously told to grow and maintain itself; no menstruation or collapse of this lining will occur as long as the woman takes in these hormones.⁵²Richard Dickey, 14–19. A woman taking the Pill will not menstruate, and her period will arrive in a predictable fashion during the week she is not taking the hormones. Based on this physiological reality, Rabbi Shlomo Levi rules that a woman taking the Pill does not need a chazaka to establish her veset. The veset is established immediately since medical studies demonstrate the high predictability of the Pill.⁵³Techumin 180–82. On the other hand, Dayan Weiss⁵⁴Minchat Yitzchak 1:127. and Rabbi Waldenberg⁵⁵Tzitz Eliezer 13:103. require chazaka. Dayan Weiss reasons that the evidence is not conclusive and therefore the need for chazaka remains. Rabbi Waldenberg indicates that the evidence is sufficient and yet he requires a chazaka! Perhaps his requirement for chazakah is a formal one; no vestot are established without chazaka and a veset for the Pill is no exception.⁵⁶Note, however, that Nidda 63b presents the case of veset haguf in which a veset is established without a chazaka.

מ״א

41Going off the Pill

מ״ב

42Our woman now wishes to stop taking the Pill altogether. Does she re-adopt her veset kavu’a for the 26^th day of her cycle which she established before starting the Pill, or does she begin anew with a veset she’aina kavu’a?

מ״ג

43Shulchan Arukh⁵⁷YD 189:34. rules that a woman who has completed her pregnancy resumes her prior veset; Tur⁵⁸YD 189, 59a. presents an alternative ruling in which a woman who has completed a pregnancy must have her period once after the pregnancy and on the day of her prior veset before that veset is resumed. However, Tur rules that the prior veset is resumed immediately after the pregnancy.⁵⁹Tur ad loc. adds that Ramban requires the woman to have her period once before the veset is resumed. Beit Yosef (YD 189, s.v. vehaRamban katav) posits that the prior veset cannot be resumed until the state of mesuleket damim is removed; once the woman has her period once she returns to her prior veset. Rabbi Shlomo Levi⁶⁰Techumin 185. and Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu⁶¹Drakhei Tahara (NY: American Friends of Sucath David, 1984) 87. rule that a woman who goes off the Pill resumes her prior veset immediately.⁶²Beit Yosef (YD 189, page 59a) states that Tur, who believes that a veset machmat ones does not need to combine with a veset leyamim, would rule that a woman with such a veset would resume her prior veset immediately. A woman who goes off the Pill would then resume her prior veset immediately. Their ruling assumes that a woman who is taking the Pill is a mesuleket damim; and just as a pregnant woman resumes her prior veset once her pregnancy ends a woman who goes off the Pill completely resumes her prior veset.⁶³Rashba, Torat haBayit, Dinei Vestot, page 13a, reasons that the suspension of the menses during pregnancy is due to the pregnancy; once the pregnancy is over the body resumes its normal operation.

מ״ד

44Conclusion

מ״ה

45I began with four questions about the Pill’s status regarding the laws of vestot:

מ״ו

461) How long must a woman who started taking the Pill wait before she can ignore her pre-existing veset?

מ״ז

472) Do we require a woman who is now taking the Pill to establish a fixed pattern over three consecutive occasions or can she establish this new veset immediately?

מ״ח

483) What type of veset does a woman establish while taking the Pill? Is it based on the number of days in her cycle, like the veset she had before she took the Pill, or is it based on the number of days after she stops taking the Pill that she begins to menstruate?

מ״ט

494) If the woman stops taking the Pill does she return to her previous veset and if so, when?

נ׳

50According to Rabbi Shlomo Levi, Rabbi Shmuel Wozner and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a woman taking the pill, like a pregnant woman, is a mesuleket damim.⁶⁴Dayan Weiss would disagree. Perhaps with today’s pills, which demonstrate uniform effectiveness for millions of women, he would have taken a different position. Just as a woman experiencing a normal pregnancy maintains the lining of the uterus, so to a woman while taking the Pill cannot menstruate. As a mesuleket damim, she need not be concerned with her prior vestot at all during the duration of the suspension.⁶⁵Once the status of mesuleket damim has been established, the woman need not concern herself with her veset. There is a major debate among contemporary halakhists whether a pregnant woman need wait the three months mandated in the Talmud before considering herself a mesuleket damim, since we can now determine pregnancy much earlier. One of the aspects of the debate is whether the three months acts as a chazaka or whether it is simply the time when a woman would begin to show visible signs of pregnancy. If one considers the three months a chazaka, it would stand to reason that a woman taking the Pill might also require a chazaka before she can ignore her old veset. See Tzitz Eliezer 13:103. However, since the mesuleket damim only suspends her natural cycle, once she goes off the Pill and her natural cycle resumes, her previous veset is re-instated.⁶⁶Shulchan Arukh, YD 189:34.

נ״א

51Although the Pill does not fit into the models of veset leyamim or veset machmat ones, many decisors believe that there is a veset for the Pill. Some halakhists place the Pill in the category of veset akhilat shum, looking for a veset that exists in the Talmud on which to base this new phenomenon. Others are willing to treat it as a new veset. Regardless of the Talmudic model, according to these decisors, a veset for the Pill would be based on the number of days after ceasing the Pill that a woman begins to menstruate.

נ״ב

52The need for a chazaka to establish a veset for the Pill is disputable. While Rabbis Shlomo Levi, Shmuel Wozner, Ovadia Yosef and Mordechai Eliyahu state that a chazaka is not necessary since the Pill is an extremely reliable and accurate predictor of the onset of the menses, Rabbi Waldenberg, adopting the responsum of David ben Zimra, believes that such a chazaka is necessary. Although the Pill seems unquestionably reliable in giving a woman currently taking the Pill the status of a mesuleket damim, it is reasonable to doubt that the Pill immediately confers an equivalent predictability for the day a woman on the Pill will menstruate.