Observing Family Purity Does Not Cause Infertility

I understand your line of thinking very well, and unfortunately, you are not the only one who thinks this way. But in truth, this idea is based primarily on an error.

First, research has not proven that women who do not observe family purity become pregnant more quickly than women who do observe family purity. What has been proven in dozens of different studies—not only among Jews, but also in studies conducted by non-Jews—is that women who observe family purity are more protected and less exposed to various illnesses, especially cervical cancer. Our Sages said: “A mitzvah protects and saves a person,” as explained in Tractate Sotah (21a). A person never loses out by performing a mitzvah. Even if at times it appears to a person at that moment that perhaps the reward has come at a loss, Heaven forbid a believing Jew should think so, for the Holy One, blessed be He, does not withhold the reward of any creature. “According to the effort is the reward”—the reward granted in this world and in the World to Come corresponds to the difficulty and hardship.

For a woman, this is a time to attend to her physical health. During these two weeks, she abstains from relations with her husband until her body regains its strength, while at the same time the relationship is strengthened.