As defined in the Torah, the term niddah refers to menstruation. The Torah also describes other, similar, situations, such as having a menstrual-type flow at an unexpected time in your cycle or for longer than seven days (zavah), and childbirth (yoledet). Nowadays, there are almost no practical halachic distinctions between niddah, zavah, and yoledet. In common usage, including this course, the term niddah may refer to any of them.

You become niddah as soon as the blood exits the cervix and enters the vagina, even before it leaves your body. You retain that status until you have counted seven clean days and immersed in the mikveh. While you are niddah, you and your husband must refrain from all physical contact.

Vaginal bleeding due to a cut, an abrasion, or some other trauma is called dam makkah and does not make you niddah. We will discuss this in Dam Makkah.

According to Torah Law, uterine bleeding makes you niddah only if it is accompanied by a hargashah (a physical sensation). Under Rabbinic Law, which is equally binding, you become niddah even without such a sensation. However, the presence or absence of hargashah remains relevant in certain situations.

What is a hargashah?

A hargashah is a distinct sensation that accompanies the onset of your period. Premenstrual symptoms (e.g., cramps, headaches) are not hargashot.

Rabbinic sources describe three possible sensations:

• Your whole body trembles.
• You feel your uterus open.
• You feel liquid flowing.

Most women nowadays are not aware of any specific sensation that indicates the onset of menstruation. If you are not aware of any hargashah, you become niddah as soon as you discover that you are actively bleeding.

Some women do experience a genuine hargashah with the onset of menstruation. If you can sense that your period is beginning, you may be in this category – even if you would not describe the sensation precisely as “trembling,” “uterine opening,” or a flow. It’s a good idea to discuss your experience with your kallah teacher or rabbi, or with us, to determine whether it is halachically considered a hargashah. Remember – a hargashah is a feeling that accompanies the onset of your period, not cramps or other premenstrual symptoms that indicate it will begin soon.

What do I do if I feel a hargashah?

If you feel such a hargashah but detect no obvious bleeding, there is a halachic concern that some blood may have left the uterus unnoticed. Therefore, you should do a bedikah as soon as possible. (A bedikah is an internal examination – basically, you wrap a small white cloth around your finger and insert it into the vagina to check for blood. We will discuss bedikot in more detail in Becoming Tehorah.) If you find a forbidden color, you are definitely niddah. If you find a discharge of a permissible color (such as clear, white, or light yellow), you can attribute the sensation to that discharge and are not niddah. If you find a questionable color (such as brown) it should be shown to a rabbi. The most complex (and least common) situation arises if you find no discharge at all. In such a case, where the hargashah can’t be attributed to a permissible discharge, you need to consult a rabbi.

The most commonly reported hargashah is a sensation of liquid flowing. The halachic parameters of this hargashah are subject to different interpretations. According to some authorities, a sensation of liquid exiting your body would be a hargashah. According to others, only a more internal sensation of liquid moving within the vaginal canal would qualify as a hargashah. A feeling of external dampness alone definitely is not a hargashah.

Many women feel a sensation of liquid flowing when they have normal, clear discharges during the month. You should discuss the practical implications of such sensations with your kallah teacher or rabbi, or with us. If you have a sensation that falls within the parameters of hargashah, they may advise you to do bedikah when you feel it. If on three consecutive occasions you find that discharge of a permissible color accompanied the sensation, you have established a chazakah (halachic presumption) that this sensation does not indicate the onset of menstruation. From that point on, you no longer have to do bedikot in response to the sensation, and you do not have to worry about it at all.

The most common staining questions arise when a woman finds blood on toilet paper. The easiest way to avoid such questions is to avoid looking at toilet paper. There is no obligation to look at toilet paper, and the best strategy is not to do so! If you do look, and you see red staining, you need to ask a specific halachic question about your status. You can ask a question even if you have already discarded the toilet paper.

The answer will depend on several factors:

Are you Ashkenazi or Sephardi?

Sephardic authorities generally rule that blood on toilet paper does not make you niddah. If you are Ashkenazi, the issue is more complicated and the ruling will depend on the following two questions:

Is toilet paper susceptible to ritual impurity (mekabel tumah)?

This is a matter of debate among contemporary authorities. If your rabbi maintains that toilet paper is mekabel tumah, than any stain larger than a gris will make you niddah. Some rabbis may be more lenient if the toilet paper is colored rather than white. Some rabbis do not consider toilet paper to be mekabel tumah, but may still consider a stain on toilet paper problematic if you wipe yourself immediately after urination.

How soon after urinating did you wipe yourself?

• If you wiped yourself within 15 seconds of urinating, then we suspect that the sensation of urinating may have masked a hargashah (as we saw in the previous lesson). In that case, a stain on toilet paper would make you niddah even if it is smaller than a gris.
• If you wiped yourself more than 15 seconds after urinating, then there is no concern about hargashah. You are niddah only if the stain is larger than a gris and your rabbi rules that toilet paper is mekabel tumah.

There is a range of opinions among contemporary authorities as to whether and for how long you need to wait before wiping in order to be lenient. Some rabbis do not require any delay; others a minute or more.

There is a similar debate about whether feminine hygiene pads are susceptible to ritual impurity. But according to most authorities, a stain on a colored feminine hygiene pad would not make you niddah, so black pantyliners are a good practical solution. (These seem to go on and off the market and, as of this writing, are more likely to be available in Israel. They are intermittently available through the Mikvah Mall at www.mikvah.org.) But remember – a real flow of blood makes you niddah whether or not it meets the conditions for stains. Therefore, using black pads during your period or when experiencing heavy staining will not prevent you from becoming niddah.

We have learned that according to Torah Law, a woman becomes niddah only if she has a hargashah (sensation) accompanying her bleeding. But the Rabbis decreed that a flow of blood, even if unaccompanied by any sensation, makes a woman niddah.

Even where there is no flow of blood, the rabbis decreed that a woman becomes niddah if a bloodstain (ketem) is found on her clothing, bedding, etc. However, they included a major leniency as an integral part of this decree: she becomes niddah only if the stain meets certain conditions (listed below). This leniency applies only where there is no possibility that she has become niddah by Torah law. Therefore, it does not apply if the stain was accompanied by a hargashah.

Conditions for Stains

1) The size of the stain

Very small stains do not make you niddah. Such stains may well be due to external factors and, as they are very common, a woman could easily find herself in a perpetual state of niddah. Therefore, the rabbis decreed that only a stain larger than a gris can make a woman niddah. A gris is a circle 19 millimeters in diameter, approximately the area of a US dime or an Israeli shekel. Of course, real-life stains are not usually perfect circles, and a stain of any shape whose area is at least 2.83 square centimeters (0.44 square inches) would make you niddah.

If you find several small stains on your clothing or other objects, each stain should be measured separately. If each one is smaller than a gris – even if their combined surface area is larger – you are not niddah.  But if you find small stains on your body, they do make you niddah if the combined surface area is larger than a gris. If a stain is difficult to measure, or very close to a gris, it should be shown to a rabbi. (We will discuss how to ask such questions in Becoming Tehorah.)

2) The color of the surface on which the stain was found

A stain found on a colored surface does not make you niddah. Therefore, it is a good idea to wear colored underwear and sleep on colored sheets in order to avoid problems of staining. This is not cheating – in fact, it is highly recommended by halachic authorities. (We will address this issue in more detail in Concerns about Leniencies.)

This applies to clothing of any color (except off-white and pale beige, which are considered shades of white). You can wear dark-colored or black underwear, on which stains are almost invisible. Or you can choose somewhat lighter colors that allow you to see stains, in order to remain aware of any staining without actually becoming niddah. You should avoid patterned fabrics that include white, since stains on the white parts could make you niddah. You might also want to avoid wearing white tights or a white slip, since staining that leaks through your colored underwear onto a white garment can make you niddah.

3) The type of surface on which the stain was found

We have seen that the Torah associates the laws of niddah with the laws of ritual impurity (tumah). Accordingly, the rabbis decided that a stain makes you niddah only if the object on which it was found is susceptible to ritual impurity.

The laws of ritual impurity are very complex, and in many cases only a rabbi can determine whether or not an object is susceptible. Some objects on which stains are commonly found, such as a plastic toilet seat, are definitely not susceptible.

4) The location of the stain

Only stains found in places where they could conceivably have come from the uterus can make you niddah. This includes stains found on the lower parts of the body or on your hands. Stains found elsewhere on the upper body have no significance – unless you had been doing handstands or other acrobatics.

5) A stain attributable to other causes

If the stain could reasonably have come from another source, it does not make you niddah. For example:

• If you have a wound anywhere on your body, to which the blood can reasonably be attributed.
• If you were working with blood (e.g., drawing blood in a laboratory, suturing a wound, or cleaning chickens), or with another red substance (e.g., paint, lipstick, raspberries).
• If you can attribute the blood you found to someone else, e.g., you lifted a child with a nosebleed.

If you are not sure whether the blood can be attributed to an external source, you should consult a rabbi. According to Ashkenazi psak, the rules for attributing a stain to an external cause are more stringent during the first three of the seven clean days than at other times.

6) Color of the stain

A stain is halachically relevant only if its color resembles that of blood. Bright red stains are clearly problematic; yellow or green stains usually are not. Reddish, pink, brown, gold, orange, or black stains should be shown to a rabbi.

You may never have experienced staining between periods. But it’s still very important to review this information and take proper precautions, since many women do develop staining at some stage during their marriage. Staining can happen during pregnancy, postpartum, while nursing or weaning a baby, while using contraceptive pills or an IUD, during the years before menopause, as a result of certain medical conditions – or at any time for no apparent reason.

In addition to taking the appropriate halachic precautions, you should discuss any unexplained vaginal bleeding with your healthcare provider, especially if it recurs.

We have learned that stains smaller than a gris, or on colored underwear, do not make you niddah. Nevertheless, many women are reluctant to ignore such stains. They feel they are “cheating” by relying on colored underwear or the size of stains when it is obvious that they are experiencing light spotting.

It’s important to remember that, according to Torah law, stains by themselves do not make you niddah at all. The Rabbis decreed that a woman becomes niddah even when she finds a stain – but they explicitly exempted stains smaller than a gris or on colored surfaces from this original decree. Therefore, it is completely legitimate to ignore stains that do not meet the criteria for a ketem.

There are, however, a few precautions you should take.

• First, if you have spotting that does not meet the criteria for ketamim (and thus does not make you niddah), you should avoid actual intercourse until you have been clear of staining for about 24 hours. Refraining in this manner does not indicate that you consider yourself niddah; it just gives you time to evaluate the situation and determine that it will not develop into a real flow. Also, stains found immediately after intercourse would be subject to the much stricter rules of doubtful hargashah (as we have learned).
• Second, if you are ever in doubt about applying these criteria, don’t hesitate to discuss the situation with a rabbi, yoetzet, or kallah teacher who can offer appropriate guidance or reassurance.
• Third, the medical causes for non-menstrual bleeding range from the trivial to the serious. It is always a good idea to mention it to your healthcare provider, especially if it happens more than once or if you are pregnant.

Remember – these exceptions do not apply when there is a continuous flow of blood or when you felt a hargashah. In such situations you are niddah even if you are wearing black underwear or pantyliners and don’t look at toilet paper.

What is the difference between “staining” and a “continuous flow”? There is no clearly defined halachic boundary between the two. In practice, it is often relatively easy to distinguish. If you don’t need a pad, or are using a pad only to protect your underwear from stains, it’s probably a stain. If the bleeding is so heavy that you would feel discomfort without a pad, it’s probably a flow. If you see blood leaving your body, it’s a flow. If you’re not sure whether your bleeding is strong enough to be considered a flow, you should ask a specific halachic question. Until you have clarified your status, it is important to conduct yourself as if you are niddah, although you should not say that you are definitely niddah.