Nishmat: Women’s Halachic Hotline and Online Information Center

This website is a community service of Nishmat, The Jerusalem Center for Advanced Jewish Study for Women. Its goal is to provide halachic and medical information about taharat hamishpachah and women's health. The rabbinic advisor to this site is Rabbi Yehuda Herzl Henkin. The medical advisor is Deena Zimmerman, MD, MPH, IBCLC, one of the first graduates of Nishmat's Keren Ariel Institute to be certified as a Yoetzet Halacha. Dr. Zimmerman has authored the articles on this site unless otherwise noted.

Nishmat: The Jerusalem Center for Advanced Jewish Study for Women, established in 1990, offers women the opportunity to immerse themselves in Torah study at levels from beginners to the highest reaches of Torah scholarship. In 1997, Nishmat established the Keren Ariel Women's Halachic Institute to train Yoatzot Halacha, Women Halachic Consultants, under the direction of Rabbi Yaacov Varhaftig, Dean of the Institute, and Rabbi Yehuda Herzl Henkin. Yoatzot Halacha are women certified by a panel of Orthodox rabbis to be a resource for women with questions regarding Taharat Hamishpachah (an area of Jewish Law that relates to marriage, sexuality and women's health). This role was devised to assist women who are more comfortable discussing very personal issues with another woman.