The following lists and links are provided for your information only. Mayim Rabim does not specifically endorse the halachic or hashkafic views of any of these publications or resources. Where possible, we have included information about the background or affiliation of each resource.
We will update this page as we learn about and review additional resources. If you would like to suggest that a particular book, website, or other resource be included here, please contact the webmaster.
Books, Essays & Articles
Most of the following resources are published books, articles, and essays whose texts are not online. We have provided as much information as possible to help you locate these resources, including specific page or chapter references when only a portion of a book deals with taharat hamishpacha or mikvah. The books may be available for purchase at your local bookstore; most (if not all) should be available for online purchase or by special order, and we have linked to sites where they are available for purchase when possible. Periodicals should be available via special request at an academic library.
The Secret Of Jewish Femininity
Tehilla Abramov
Women and Jewish Law: An Exploration of Women’s Issues in Halakhic Sources
Rachel Biale
[purchase]
Presents halachic source material in translation, along with Biale’s analysis
Jewish Marriage: A Halakhic Ethic
Reuven P. Bulka
Mikveh's Next Wave
Debra Nussbaum Cohen
Article discussing the growing numbers of liberal women who are reclaiming the idea of ritual immersion, but often on new terms
"Menstruants and the Sacred in Judaism and Christianity"
Shaye Cohen
Overview of the development of the laws of taharat hamishpacha; Cohen argues that the laws are not fundamentally misogynistic, though they have been used to misogynistic ends during certain periods of Jewish history
Doesn't Anyone Blush Anymore: Reclaiming Intimacy, Modesty and Sexuality
Manis Friedman
On Women & Judaism: A View From Tradition
Blu Greenberg
[purchase]
Defense of taharat hamishpacha by an Orthodox feminist, with a few suggestions for modifying the theory and practice of the laws
"Feminism, Midrash, and Mikveh"
Susan Grossman
Practical and theoretical rethinking of taharat hamishpacha from a liberal Conservative perspective
"Rising From the Ritual Bath: Women and the Mikveh"
Rabbi Jill Hammer
Rereading the Rabbis: A Woman’s Voice
Judith Hauptman
An insightful, provocative analysis of the rabbinic sources on Niddah
Daughter of Israel
Kalman Kahana
Waters of Eden: The Mystery of the Mikveh
Aryeh Kaplan
Hedge of Roses
Norman Lamm
Total Immersion
Rivkah Slonim
Collection of essays by women about taharat hamishpacha