Postponing Tevilah for Good Reasons

Mikvah question.A lady must attend a mikvah on a Friday night (clean day 7), the only mikvah within 1 hour walking distance (one hour to, plus one hour walking back home-total 2 hours) is the one she does not enjoy-there is no privacy,women sit in the waiting room looking at each other).Going there causes her stress.The husband will walk her there and will need to daven at home 2 hours later and make kiddush.The lady also has a medical condition and walking in the cold (North American winter) is detrimental to her health-this option is not pleasant to both partners,they may be too tired to perform the mitzva.

At the conclusion of Shabbat she can travel to a kosher mikvah, which is very private and kosher. Is she allowed to postpone the immersion by one day,to make the mikvah a holy and positive expirience. Her personal cycle of ovulation is day 3 after the mikvah,thus the couple will not loose the 24 hour cycle of pru urvu (trying to become pregnant).

By this question, you obviously understand that the couple wishes to use the mikvah one day latter for health and privacy issues. Is it permited or not, under the circumstances? Also,the lady feels greater kdusha at the second mikvah.If she attends the first mikvah and does not feel “right”,can she go to the second mikvah the next day? Is it allowed or not and why? Thank you.

Answer:

Under the circusmstances, it is permitted to delay the immersion until after Shabbos.

Although there is generally a strong kepeidah to go to the mikvah on the first possible day, this is for reasons of the mitzvah involved, and for reasons of the possibility of becoming pregnant, and less for the reason of tevilah bizmanah (see Yoreh De’ah 197:2, and Shiurei Shevet Ha-Levi 193:3).

Therefore, where both prefer immersion after Shabbos, and for good reasons, and where the issue of peru u’rvu is not relevant, there is certainly room for leniency in deferring the tevilah until after Shabbos.