Are the laws of harchakos ever relaxed?

How do changes in travel, stress, or health affect the regular patterns halacha takes into account in this area?

When must one ask a sheila regarding a situation that might affect tahara?”

These and numerous other questions are impossible to resolve without thorough knowledge of Hilchos Niddah. As the foundation of a Torah home, every ben Torah bears the sacred responsibility to master these halachos. Furthermore, the laws of family purity directly impact kedushas habayis (sanctity of the home). Their meticulous observance safeguards the spiritual purity essential for connecting to Hashem and nurturing future generations.  

It can be helpful to read basic guides, but true understanding requires learning Hilchos Niddah with the depth of Gemara and Rishonim. What is the challenge we face? Mastery traditionally requires years of full-time study – an impossibility for working bnei Torah or those still developing their learning skills.  

Now there is a solution. World-renowned Rosh Yeshiva HaRav HaGaon Yitzchak Berkovits shlit”a used his vast knowledge to arrange all relevant Gemaras, Rishonim, and poskim into structured source sheets that present material from Gemara through practical halacha. This enables one to cover major opinions and gain deep understanding without being overwhelmed. This was created for full-time advanced learners with strong Hebrew skills. What about busy bnei Torah with limited time? 

Two of Rav Berkovits’s close talmidim, Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen and Rabbi Yakov Pesah, with the Rav’s haskama, adapted these Hebrew sheets into a clear English curriculum in Hilchos Shabbos and Hilchos Kashrus, respectively. The material includes contemporary halachic opinions and practical cases, presented with sensitivity.  

This began years ago when Rabbi Gefen created a curriculum for Hilchos Shabbos. Meanwhile, Rabbi Pesah developed what became Rav Berkovits’ ‘Mitzvas Talmud Torah’ Program. They later co-founded the online ‘Kinyan Hilchos Shabbos’ Program, followed by Hilchos Kashrus – now serving thousands worldwide.

The newest program, Kinyan Hilchos Niddah, taught by Rabbi Gefen, covers essential inyanim such as vestos, bedikos, hefsek taharah, and mikveh preparation. Participants receive weekly source sheets (Hebrew & English), join live Zoom shiurim (recorded for review), take comprehension tests, and have access to private Q&A via email or phone.

Participants in past programs share their experience of the programs: 

“I would love to sit in yeshiva half a day, but I have different hours,” says Dr. Eric Leibowitz, a dentist in Brooklyn. “Learning halacha in Rabbi Gefen’s online chabura allowed for the flexibility I needed. This program enabled me to not only learn, but to retain what I learned in a structured way, and the tests were very helpful. I felt like I accomplished something.”  

“Rabbi Gefen ran the halacha program for our kollel in Johannesburg. We achieved tremendous clarity … both in sugyas and in psak, which is what you want when you learn halacha,” says Rabbi Micha Kaplan, an avrech in the Maharsha Community Kollel. 

“For people like me who are working full-time, this program was ideal,” shares Shlomo Gross, a lawyer in Yerushalayim. “The course transported my learning to a completely different level.”

Over two thousand past and present participants across five continents – from professionals to kollel avreichim – attest to this model’s effectiveness. The program includes a Smicha option, bringing families great pride, but its greatest benefit is enabling bnei Torah to lead their households with clarity in these foundational halachos, securing kedusha for generations.

The Kinyan Hilchos Niddah Program begins this Elul. For questions, tuition, and application visit www.KinyanHilchosNiddah.com