Hi. My wife and I are on vacation, and she became niddah. There is only one bed. Do I need to sleep on the couch or if we put a separation in between us, or if I lay one way and she lays the other way would that suffice? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Answer:
I’m sorry, but you’ll have to sleep on the couch.
It is clear in the Talmud that it is prohibited to sleep in the same bed (see Shabbos 13a and Eruvin 63b), and this halachah is ruled by the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 195:6) and agreed upon by all authorities.
There are particular, extreme circumstances in which one might be able to be lenient (this requires a separate post; see also here), but the case of the question certainly doesn’t fall into this category.
Best wishes and hope the couch it isn’t too bad…
