Hefsek Taharah: When Can It Be Made and How Many Days to Wait?
6 min read · October 22, 2026
The hefsek taharah is the bedikah that shows the flow has stopped. It closes the days of the period and opens the seven clean days. It cannot be made too early, and it is made before sunset.
The minimum days
In the Ashkenazi custom (Rema) a hefsek is made no earlier than the fifth day, counting the day the period began as day one. In the Sefardi custom (Mechaber) the minimum is four days. So a period that began on Sunday allows a hefsek on Thursday before sunset (5 days) or Wednesday (4 days).
Which day counts as day one when the period began close to sunset — in bein hashmashos — is a question of custom, and a calendar should let you set it.
Before sunset
The hefsek is made on the last day, before sunset; many make it some time before. Many also keep a moch dachuk — a cloth left in place through bein hashmashos — as their custom requires.
If it is not clean
A bedikah that is not clean is shown to your rav, or — if it clearly prohibits — the hefsek is tried again the next day. Each such day moves the earliest hefsek one day on. A calendar should show those days for what they are, one at a time.
A second sighting
Bleeding that begins again within the days of the period does not restart the minimum: she is already counting from the first. After a tevilah it does — a new period carries the full minimum again.
This guide explains the general rules and the common customs. Where poskim differ it says so — it does not rule. For your own questions, ask your rav.
Questions
- How many days before a hefsek taharah?
- Five days in the Ashkenazi custom and four in the Sefardi, counting the day the period began as day one.
- What time is the hefsek made?
- Before sunset on the day it is made; many make it some time before sunset.