Women's Mitzvot

Hi, My wife and I will be traveling for 2 months with no access to a women's mikvah. Its cold outside so natural water bodies would not be safe. What are the rules or recommendations for this situation? Is there any room for leniency to use a pool or large hot tub? Any other suggestions?

What are the implications/obligations of mikveh for a woman who does not experience niddah? Must she still immerse, for example prior to marriage?

Hi - Do I need to go to the mikvah if I had some blood spotting after having an IUD (birth control) inserted and not any period. thanks!

When I make Challah for shabbat I do the Hasfreshet Challah and tear a piece off and do the prayer.. BUT I never know if you cook the piece I teared off first before cooking the Challot or do I burn it only after I have cooked all the challot? Thank you!

I have been diagnosed with a heart condition that is aggravated by wearing heavy clothes in a warm environment. My doctor gave me instructions to wear as little clothes as possible when it’s hot. She says dressing the modest way I have been doing for many years is actually detrimental to my health. She has advised me to wear only loose fitting sleeveless tops when it is hot in the summer and short sleeves in spring and fall weather. She said shorts are preferred, but knee-length elastic waist skirts or sundresses are okay too. If I don’t follow this, I could be hospitalized and my life could be on the line. What am I supposed to do if the doctor tells me not to dress modestly?

I’m curious. Is a woman really required to fasten the top button of her blouse to be modestly dressed? My roommate and best friend is an Orthodox Jew. She always wears button-down shirts 24/7 with the top button fastened. She dresses like this no matter what the occasion. She loves the outdoors, as do I, and she hikes, bikes, and jogs in a blouse with the top buttoned. She dresses like this even in 100-degree heat. When she is doing nothing at home but sitting around, her top button is buttoned. And she dresses this way to sleep too! I have never seen anything like this before, but we’ve been close friends for five years now and she is unclear in her explanation. I don’t understand how she does this. I feel I’m being choked even if my top button is buttoned for even one second! I only feel comfortable in low cut or V-neck tops, preferably pullovers. I am not fully observant like her, but I do keep kosher at home out of necessity because we share a kitchen. I like wearing skirts or dresses most of the time for my own personal comfort, but not for religious reasons.

Hello Rabbi, I've been learning about taharat hamishpacha and my lessons say that when a woman finds a spot of questionable color while counting the 7 clean days, she must take it to a rabbi for him to look at it. That seems incredibly uncomfortable, and even immodest. How could it be that a man cannot see my upper arm, but he is expected to see my bodily fluids - something I'd even be embarrassed to show to my husband? Also, what gives the rabbi the ability to make the call whether a spot is liable to make a woman considered still in niddah or not? Is it simply traditional methods passed down, is there medical speculation involved, and could different rabbis potentially say different judgements about the same spot? Can an experienced, halachically informed woman not do so for herself? On a side note, I was wondering about the white underwear. If spotting occurs on white underwear, it almost invariably stains. This means that each pair of underwear is unlikely to be purely white foe more than one cycle. Are we just supposed to go through underwear and keep buying new ones? If not and it's okay to re-use the stained underwear, then why is any off-white color garment unacceptable when it is essentially the same if the white garment is no longer white?