Counting five days before starting “clean days”
Question
I got my period on Simchas Torah. Now, my husband, following the teachings of Kabbala, avoids physical intimacy with me on the days of Hoshana Rabba and Simchas Torah. Can I begin counting five days which precede the first “clean day” from the day of Hoshana Rabba?
Answer
Dear …
According to the opinion of the Shulchan Oruch, any day that husband and wife avoided intimate relationships for any reason can be counted as one of the five days. But many Sephardic Jews and all Ashkenazi deciders hold that only the days when intimacy was forbidden because of the prohibition of nida can be counted as one of the five days. Days forbidden for any other reason do not count. Therefore, you should only start counting from the day that you actually started bleeding.
Source
Shulchan Oruch with the Remo commentary, section Yore Dea, ch. 196, §11
