A first approach to Siman 189: the 34 seifim of the Mehaber and the glosses of the Rama, the verbatim Hebrew text of the Shulchan Arukh with a fluent English translation. How does a woman determine her period (veset)? The benchmark day of the onah beinonit (30 days), the establishment of a period by three times, the period based on the interval (haflagah) and the shift (dilug), the periods of the days of the month and week, the uprooting of a period (akirat veset), the bodily periods (וסתות הגוף), and the case of the minor, the elderly, the pregnant and the nursing woman.
Topic: The menstrual periods — fixed and non-fixed cycles, onah beinonit, haflagah, dilug, uprooting a veset Source: שולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן קפ״ט
Compiled by: הרב יוסף חיים סממה DAAT · daattorah.com
📑 Study plan
1.The Mehaber's text: the 34 seifim, one by one, in the order of the book
2.Context: why this siman follows the laws of niddah
4.How a period is set and uprooted: the table of the three times
5.The Taz and the Shach: who they are, a few key entries
6.The gloss of the Rama (הגה): veset from oness and foods
7.Mesuleket damim: the minor, the elderly, the pregnant and the nursing woman
8.Modern practical cases: tracking the veset, the onah beinonit, the symptoms, pregnancy
9.Summary and comprehension questions
1. The Mehaber's text — the 34 seifim in the order of the book
A note on reading. The Hebrew blocks in this section carry the text of the Shulchan Arukh as it stands: one block per seif, verbatim, in the order of the book, with its source parentheses and its glosses. The translation that follows each block renders the seif clause by clause; the Rama's glosses are announced there as glosses.
Siman 189 is long and technical: 34 seifim devoted to the וְסָתוֹת — a woman's menstrual periods and how to anticipate them. After Siman 184 (the mitzvah of פרישה, separating as the period approaches), the Mehaber (Rabbi Yosef Karo) here details how a period is calculated, established and uprooted. The Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) adds his glosses (הגה). The 34 seifim are given here one by one, in the order of the book: each seif sharpens the definition laid down by the one before it, and the order itself carries part of the meaning.
The foundation: onah beinonit and the fixed veset (seifim 1 to 4)
Seif 1 — The siman's heading; without a fixed period: the 30th day (onah beinonit)
דיני אשה שיש לה וסת קבוע ושאין לה וסת קבוע. ובו ל"ד סעיפים: כל אשה שאין לה וסת קבוע חוששת ליום ל' לראייתה שהיא עונה בינונית לסתם נשים ואם יש לה וסת קבוע לזמן ידוע מכ' לכ' או מכ"ה לכ"ה חוששת לזמן הידוע:
The siman's heading (the Shulchan Arukh sets it down himself): "Laws of a woman who has a fixed period and of one who has no fixed period. And it contains thirty-four seifim."
Every woman who has no fixed period (וסת קבוע) must be concerned for the 30th day counting from her sighting, for that is the onah beinonit (עונה בינונית), the average interval for women at large (לסתם נשים). And if she has a fixed period at a known time — from 20 days to 20, or from 25 to 25 — she is concerned for that known time.
Seif 2 — How a period is established; being concerned from the very first time
כיצד קובעתו כגון שתראה ד' פעמים וביניהם ג' זמנים שוין כגון שראתה היום ולסוף כ' יום פעם אחרת ועוד לסוף כ' יום ועוד לסוף כ' יום וזה נקרא וסת ההפלגות ולכך צריכה ד' ראיות שראיה ראשונה אינה מן המנין לפי שאינה בהפלגה ואפי' קודם שקבעתו שלש פעמים חוששת שמיד אחר שראתה פעם אחת לסוף כ' חוששת מכאן ואילך כשיגיע כ' וכן בראיית הימי' שהיא לימי' ידועים לחדש מיד אחר שראתה פעם אחת ליום ידוע לחדש כגון כ"א או כ"ה בו חוששת לפעם אחרת לזה היום ואסורה לשמש כל אותה העונה והוא הדין לשאר מיני וסת שצריכה לחוש להם כן חוץ מוסת הדילוג וכמו שיתבאר בסימן זה (ד"ע ופשוט) ולא אמרו שצריך לקובעם ג"פ אלא לענין עקירה שכיון שקבעתו בג"פ אינו נעקר בפחות מג' פעמים שכל זמן שלא עקרתו ג"פ צריכה לחוש לו אבל ליאסר אפילו בפעם אחת חוששת לו פעם שניה ומיהו אע"פ שחוששת לו נעקר בפעם אחת אפילו קבעתו ב' פעמים שאם ראתה ב' פעמים ליום ידוע ובשלישית לא ראתה אינה חוששת לו עוד:
How does she establish it? When she sees four times with three equal intervals between them: she sees today, another time at the end of 20 days, again at the end of 20, again at the end of 20 — this is called the veset ha-haflagot (וסת ההפלגות), the period of the interval. Four sightings are needed for this, because the first does not enter the count, not being itself an interval (הפלגה).
And even before she has established it three times, she is concerned: as soon as she has seen once at the end of 20, she is concerned from then on whenever the 20th day arrives. So too for a sighting on known days of the month: as soon as she has seen once on a known day of the month — the 21st or the 25th, say — she is concerned for another time on that day, and she is forbidden to her husband for that whole onah. And the same applies to the other kinds of veset, which she must be concerned for likewise — except the veset ha-dilug, as will be explained in this siman.
The "three times" bear only on uprooting. If three times were required, it was only as regards uprooting (עקירה): once established over three times, it is not uprooted in fewer than three, and so long as she has not uprooted it three times she must be concerned for it. But to become forbidden, one time suffices: she is concerned for it the second time. Yet although she is concerned for it, such a period is uprooted in a single time, even if she established it twice: if she saw twice on a known day and on the third did not see, she is no longer concerned for it.
Seif 3 — The period set by hours (veset li-sha'ot)
אם קבעה וסת לשעות ולא לימים אינה חוששת אלא שעתה בלבד והוסת הזה הוא נעקר בשעה אחת ואפי' בלא בדיקה:
If she established a period by hours and not by days, she is concerned only for her hour alone. And such a period is uprooted in a single hour that passes without her seeing, and even without a bedikah (בדיקה, examination).
The principle of establishment: a period becomes "fixed" only after three identical intervals. For a period based on the interval (ha-haflagot), four sightings are needed — because the first bleeding does not yet establish an interval; it is the three following intervals that must be equal. Once fixed, the period is uprooted only after three intervals passing empty (seifim 15 and 16).
Seif 4 — The practical difference between a fixed and a non-fixed period
עוד יש חילוק בין קבעתו ג' פעמים ללא קבעתו ג' פעמים שהקבוע אף על פי שעברה עונתה ולא הרגישה אסורה לשמש עד שתבדוק ותמצא טהורה ושלא קבעתו ג"פ אם הגיע זמן הוסת ולא בדקה ולא ראתה כיון שעברה עונתה מותרת ועונה בינונית שהיא לל' יום דינה כוסת קבוע (הרשב"א):
There is a further difference between a period established three times and one that is not: for a fixed period, even if her onah has passed and she felt nothing, she remains forbidden to her husband until she examines herself (תבדוק) and finds herself clean. For a non-fixed period, if the time of the period arrived and she neither examined nor saw, she is permitted, since her onah has passed. And the onah beinonit, which is the 30th day, has the status of a fixed period (דינה כוסת קבוע) — so the Rashba, whom the Shulchan Arukh names here.
The central idea: every woman is "concerned" (choshéshet) for a day on which her period might return, and must abstain then. Without a regular cycle, that benchmark day is the onah beinonit, the 30th day. With a regular cycle, it is the known day. The decisive distinction (seif 4): a fixed period requires a bedikah (examination) even if nothing was felt; a non-fixed period, passed without seeing anything, lifts on its own — except the onah beinonit, which carries the stringency of a fixed period.
The dates: days of the month and week, dilug and sirug (seifim 5 to 13)
Seif 5 — The interval that shifts at a steady rate (dilug)
פעמים שתהיה ההפלגה שקובעת בהם הוסת בדילוג כגון שראתה היום וראתה שנית לסוף ל' ושלישית לל"א ורביעית לל"ב קבעה וסת לדילוג שלהפלגות בין שהרחיקה דילוגה הרבה בין שלא הרחיקה אלא יום אחד קבעה וסת לדילוג השוה שבכל ענין שתהא משוה ראייתה קבעה לה וסת:
Sometimes the interval by which the period is established advances by a shift (דילוג): for instance she sees today, a second time at the end of 30 days, a third at the end of 31, a fourth at the end of 32 — she has established a period by the shifting of intervals. Whether her shift has widened greatly or has widened by only a single day, she has established a period by an even shift: in whatever manner she makes her sightings regular (משוה ראייתה), she has established a period.
Dilug = a regular shift. A period can be established not on a constant interval, but on an interval that lengthens regularly (30, 31, 32…). What matters is the regularity of the progression, even by a single day. This is the veset ha-haflagot in its subtlest form.
Seif 6 — Days of the month and of the week, equal or not
כשם שקובעת וסת בהפלגה מימים שוים ושאינם שוים כך קובעת בימי החדש ובימי השבוע שוים ושאינם שוים כיצד ראתה ג"פ באחד בשבת או בה' בשבת או באחד בניסן ובאחד באייר ובאחד בסיון או בה' בניסן ובה' באייר ובה' בסיון קבעה לה וסת באחד בשבת או בה' בו ובאחד בחודש או בה' בו אף על פי שאחד מלא ואחד חסר אין מדקדקין בכך:
Just as she establishes a period by the interval — from days equal or unequal — so she establishes it by the days of the month and by the days of the week, equal or unequal. How? If she saw three times on Sunday (אחד בשבת), or on Thursday, or on 1 Nissan, 1 Iyar and 1 Sivan, or on 5 Nissan, 5 Iyar and 5 Sivan — she has established a period on Sunday or on Thursday, on the 1st of the month or on the 5th of it. And although one month is full and another deficient, we are not particular about that (אין מדקדקין בכך).
Seif 7 — The dilug by days of the month: the fourth sighting, and the view that dispenses with it
כיצד קובעת בימי החדש בדילוג כגון שראתה בט"ו בניסן וט"ז באייר וי"ז בסיון לא קבעה וסת עד שתראה בי"ח בתמוז שאין ראיה ראשונה מצטרפת כיון שאין ההפלגות שוות ומיהו אם היה לה וסת קודם שהתחילה ואח"כ שינתה וראתה בדילוג ג' פעמים קבעה וסת בדילוג לפי שאף הראשונה בדילוג ראתה אותה שדילגה מוסת הקבוע לה (רמב"ם ורמב"ן כשמואל וטור לדעת רא"ש אבל בפרק שור שנגח ד' וה' פסק רא"ש כרב וכן הוא ברמזים שם) וי"א שאע"פ שלא ראתה אלא בט"ו בניסן וט"ז באייר וי"ז בסיון קבעה וסת וחוששת לי"ח בתמוז וי"ט באב וכן לעולם ויש לחוש לדבריהם ולהחמיר:
How does she establish by days of the month through a shift? For instance she saw on 15 Nissan, 16 Iyar and 17 Sivan: she has not established a period until she sees on 18 Tammuz, for the first sighting does not join the count, since the intervals are not equal.
However, if she already had a period before she began, and afterwards changed and saw by shift three times, she has established a period by shift — because even the first sighting of the shift was itself a shift: she saw it as a departure from the period that had been fixed for her. The Shulchan Arukh here points to the Rambam, the Ramban and the Tur.
And some say (וי״א) that even if she saw only on 15 Nissan, 16 Iyar and 17 Sivan, she has established a period and is concerned for 18 Tammuz, then 19 Av, and so forever. And one should be concerned for their words and be stringent (ויש לחוש לדבריהם ולהחמיר).
Seif 8 — The shift that comes round in a cycle (dilug chalilah)
ראתה ג"פ בג' חדשים בדילוג וחזרה וראתה באותם דילוגים עצמם אם נהגה כן ג"פ הרי זה וסת קבוע לדילוג חלילה כיצד ראתה ט"ו בניסן וט"ז באייר וי"ז בסיון וחזרה חלילה וראתה ט"ו בתמוז וט"ז באב וי"ז באלול ועוד חזרה וראתה ט"ו בתשרי וט"ז בחשוון וי"ז בכסלו קבעה לה וסת לדילוג חלילה וחוששת לעולם ט"ו לחודש זה וט"ז לחודש זה וי"ז לחודש זה:
If she saw three times in three months by shift, and then went round again and saw by those very same shifts: if she did so three times, this is a fixed period of cyclical shift (וסת קבוע לדילוג חלילה). How? She saw on 15 Nissan, 16 Iyar and 17 Sivan; then the cycle came round and she saw on 15 Tammuz, 16 Av and 17 Elul; then it came round again and she saw on 15 Tishrei, 16 Cheshvan and 17 Kislev — she has established a period of cyclical shift, and she is concerned forever for the 15th of this month, the 16th of that month and the 17th of the next.
Seif 9 — Rosh Chodesh every other month
ראתה באחד בניסן ובא' בסיון ובא' באב קבעה לה וסת לר"ח לדילוגים אבל ראתה באחד בניסן ובאחד באייר ובאחד בתמוז ובאחד בסיון לא ראתה לא קבעה לה וסת:
If she saw on 1 Nissan, 1 Sivan and 1 Av — she has established a period for Rosh Chodesh by shifts. But if she saw on 1 Nissan, 1 Iyar and 1 Tammuz, and on 1 Sivan she did not see — she has not established a period.
Seif 10 — An uneven shift in the third month establishes nothing
ראתה ט"ו בניסן וט"ז באייר וי"ח בסיון לא קבעה וסת כיון שסירגה בחדש השלישי ולא ראתה עד י"ח בו:
If she saw on 15 Nissan, 16 Iyar and the 18th of Sivan — she has not established a period, since she skipped in the third month (סירגה) and did not see until the 18th of it.
Seif 11 — One is concerned for a dilug only once it is established
דילגה פעם אחת או שתים אינה חוששת לדילוג אע"פ שחוששת לשאר וסתות בפעם אחת אינה חוששת לוסת הדילוג עד שתקבענו:
If she shifted once or twice, she is not concerned for the shift. And although she is concerned for the other kinds of period after a single time, she is not concerned for the period of shift until she has established it.
Seif 12 — The veset ha-sirug: the first sighting counts, yet the concern stays short
וסת הסירוג ראיה ראשונה מן המנין לדברי הכל ואע"פ שהרחיקה ראיותיה אלא שלענין חשש וסתה בתחלה הוא שוה לדילוג שאינה חושש' אלא מר"ח לר"ח הסמוך לו כגון שראתה בר"ח ניסן חוששת לר"ח אייר ואם לא ראתה עד ר"ח סיון חוששת לר"ח תמוז הסמוך לו ואם לא ראתה בר"ח תמוז אינה חוששת לר"ח אב אע"פ שהם הפלגת ב' חדשים כעין ההפלגה הראשונה מפני שהפסקת החדש השני ביטלה ראית החודש הראשון וראית החודש השלישי היא התחלת וסת וחוששת לר"ח הסמוך ולא יותר:
In the period by alternation (וסת הסירוג), the first sighting does enter the count, by all opinions, even though she spaced her sightings out. Only, as regards the initial concern it is like the shift: she is concerned only from one Rosh Chodesh to the Rosh Chodesh immediately following.
For example: she saw on Rosh Chodesh Nissan — she is concerned for Rosh Chodesh Iyar. If she did not see until Rosh Chodesh Sivan — she is concerned for Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, the one following. And if she did not see on Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, she is not concerned for Rosh Chodesh Av, even though these are an interval of two months like the first interval — because the interruption of the second month annulled the sighting of the first month, and the sighting of the third month is the beginning of a period: she is concerned for the adjacent Rosh Chodesh and no further.
Seif 13 — Always within one and the same onah: day or night; and the Rama's gloss
אין האשה קובעת לה וסת אפילו ראתה שלשה ר"ח זה אחר זה אלא אם כן יהיו כולם בעונה אחת ביום או בלילה ואם ראתה שלש פעמים ביום והרביעית בלילה או שלש פעמים בלילה והרביעית ביום חוששת ביום ובלילה מפני חשש הוסת הראשון ומפני חשש השני שהוא האחרון ואם ראתה פעמים ביום ופעמים בלילה שלא על הסדר (ולא קבעה אחד מהן ג"פ) או שתראה הראשונה ביום וג' האחרונות בלילה או הראשונה בלילה והג' אחרונות ביום או שלש בזה ושלש בזה חוששת לאחרונה בלבד: הגה האשה שראתה חוששת לוסת החדש ולהפלגה עד שתקבע וסת החדש בג"פ או וסת הפלגה בד"פ או שתעקר א' מהן כיצד ראתה בא' בניסן וכ' בו חוששת לאחד באייר מפני ר"ח ניסן ראתה בא' באייר או לא ראתה בו חוששת לט' באייר שהוא יום כ' מראיית יום כ' שראתה. ראתה בט' באייר או לא ראתה חוששת לעשרים באייר שמא קבעה לה וסת כ' לחדש שהרי ראתה עשרים לחדש ניסן וכן היא חוששת לעולם עד שתקבע וסת א' כדינו דאז אינה חוששת לשני שלא נקבע או עד שאחד מהן נעקר אז אינה חוששת לו אע"פ שלא נקבע השני (הכל בטור בשם רמב"ן) ואינה חוששת לוסת הדילוגין עד שתקבענו כיצד ראתה ט"ו בניסן חוששת לט"ו באייר לא ראתה בט"ו באייר אינה חוששת לט"ז בו ראתה ט"ז בו חוששת לט"ז בסיון ואינה חוששת לי"ז בו ראתה י"ז בו חוששת לי"ז בתמוז ואינה חוששת לי"ח בו ראתה י"ח בתמוז קבעה לה וסת דילוגין לימי החודש וחוששת לי"ט באב (ג"ז ממשמעות הטור) וכן בדרך זה בהפלגה ודילוגין כי אין חילוק ביניהם רק י"א כי בדילוג חדש הראיה הראשונה מן המנין כמו שנתבאר. ראתה ט"ו בניסן והמשיכה ראייתה ד' ימים וביום ט"ז באייר ראתה והמשיכה ראייתה ג' ימים ובסיון התחילה לראות בי"ז בו י"א שחוששת לדילוג ולוסת שוה שהרי שילשה לראות ג"פ בי"ז לחדש (הטור והרמב"ן) וי"א שאין כאן וסת שוה כלל דהולכין תמיד אחר תחילת הראיה וכן עיקר (בית יוסף בשם הרז"ה והרשב"א והרא"ש והראב"ד בס' בה"נ מביאו ב"ח סוף סעיף כ'):
A woman does not establish a period — even if she saw on three consecutive Roshei Chodashim — unless all her sightings fall in one and the same onah, that is, all by day or all by night.
If she saw three times by day and the fourth by night, or three times by night and the fourth by day, she is concerned both by day and by night: because of the concern for the first period, and because of the concern for the second, which is the last.
But if she saw sometimes by day and sometimes by night, out of order (and did not establish either of them three times), or the first by day and the last three by night, or the first by night and the last three by day, or three in one and three in the other — she is concerned for the last one alone.
Gloss (Rama): a woman who has seen is concerned both for the period of the month and for that of the interval, until she establishes the period of the month over three times, or that of the interval over four times, or until one of the two is uprooted. How? She saw on 1 Nissan and on the 20th of it: she is concerned for 1 Iyar, because of Rosh Chodesh Nissan. Whether she saw on 1 Iyar or not, she is concerned for 9 Iyar, which is the 20th day from the sighting of the 20th that she had. Whether she saw on 9 Iyar or not, she is concerned for 20 Iyar, lest she have established a period on the 20th of the month, since she saw on 20 Nissan. And so she is concerned forever, until she establishes one of the periods according to its rule — then she is no longer concerned for the second, which was not established — or until one of the two is uprooted: then she is no longer concerned for it, even though the second was not established. (The Rama points to the Tur in the name of the Ramban.)
Gloss (Rama), continued: and she is not concerned for the period of shift until she has established it. How? She saw on 15 Nissan: she is concerned for 15 Iyar. She did not see on 15 Iyar: she is not concerned for the 16th. She saw on the 16th: she is concerned for 16 Sivan, and not for the 17th. She saw on the 17th: she is concerned for 17 Tammuz, and not for the 18th. She saw on 18 Tammuz: she has established a period of shift by the days of the month and is concerned for 19 Av. And likewise in this manner for the interval and for shifts, for there is no difference between them — except that some say that in a shift of the month the first sighting enters the count, as has been explained.
Gloss (Rama), conclusion: she saw on 15 Nissan and her sighting continued four days; on 16 Iyar she saw and her sighting continued three days; and in Sivan she began to see on the 17th of it. Some say that she is concerned for the shift and for an even period, since she saw three times on the 17th of the month (the Tur and the Ramban). And some say that there is no even period here at all, for we always follow the beginning of the sighting — and this is the main view(the Beit Yosef in the name of the Raza, the Rashba, the Rosh and the Raavad).
Seifim 5 to 13 lay out the whole combinatorics of dates: by day of the month or week, with its variants — the dilug (shift: the 15th, 16th, 17th of the month, seifim 7-8), the sirug (skipping a month, where, unlike the dilug, the first sighting counts, seif 12), Rosh Chodesh (seif 9), and the day / night rule (seif 13): the onah is always either diurnal or nocturnal, and a mixture obliges her to be concerned for both. If a woman "skips" a month without regularity (sirgah), she does not establish (seifim 10-11).
Changing a day, uprooting a period (seifim 14 to 16)
Seif 14 — When she changes her day: both days remain forbidden
היתה רגילה לראות יום עשרים (ויש לה בזה וסת קבוע) ושינתה ליום שלשים זה וזה אסורים וכשיגיע יום כ' לראיית שלשים אסורה משום וסת הראשון ואם לא תראה בו חוששת ליום ל' שינתה פעמים ליום ל' זה וזה אסורים שינתה ג"פ ליום ל' הותר יום כ' ונאסר יום ל' ואם לאחר ששינתה פעם או פעמים ליום ל' ראתה לסוף כ' חזר וסת של כ' למקומו והותר שלשים:
She was accustomed to see on the 20th day (and in this she has a fixed period) and she changed to the 30th: both this one and that one are forbidden. When the 20th day arrives counting from the sighting of the thirtieth, she is forbidden because of the first period; and if she does not see on it, she is concerned for the 30th day.
Did she change twice to the 30th day: both remain forbidden. Did she change three times to the 30th: the 20th becomes permitted and the 30th forbidden. And if, after changing once or twice to the 30th, she saw at the end of 20 — the period of the 20th has returned to its place, and the 30th became permitted again.
Seif 15 — A fixed period is uprooted only over three times
שינתה ראיותיה ולא השוה אותם כגון ששינתה פעם אחת ליום ל' והשני לל"ב והג' לל"ד נעקר וסת הראשון ואין לה וסת כלל ואם חזרה לראות ביום הוסת הראשון חוזר לקביעותו הראשון וחוששת לו תמיד עד שיעקר ממנה שלש פעמים וה"ה להפסיקה מלראות שלש עונות ואחר כך חזרה לראות ביום הוסת הראשון:
If she changed her sightings without making them even — once on the 30th day, the second on the 32nd, the third on the 34th — the first period is uprooted, and she has no period at all. But if she returns to see on the day of the first period, it returns to its original establishment, and she is concerned for it always, until it is uprooted from her three times.
And the same law applies if she ceased seeing for three onot and afterwards returned to see on the day of the first period.
The symmetry of the three times: just as three intervals are needed to establish a period, three intervals passing empty are needed to uproot it (akirat veset). A single ad-hoc change is not enough: the fixed period is tenacious. Seif 14 describes the shift (shinui — when a woman moves from one day to another: both are then to be feared); seif 16 applies the same rule to the Rosh Chodesh veset (three Rosh Chodesh empty to uproot it), and returning to see restores it at once.
Seif 16 — The uprooting of the Rosh Chodesh period
כיוצא בזה דין עקירת וסת ר"ח כיצד היתה רגילה לראות בראשי חדשים ועבר עליה ר"ח ולא ראתה חוששת לר"ח עד שיעברו עליה שלשה ר"ח עברו עליה שלשה ר"ח ולא ראתה אינה חוששת להם חזרה וראתה בר"ח חזר הוסת למקומו:
Like this is the law of uprooting the Rosh Chodesh period. How? She was accustomed to see on Roshei Chodashim, and a Rosh Chodesh passed without her seeing: she is still concerned for Rosh Chodesh, until three Roshei Chodashim have passed over her. Have those three passed without her seeing — she is no longer concerned for them. Has she returned to see on Rosh Chodesh — the period has returned to its place.
Constraint: kaftzah ve-ra'atah (seifim 17 and 18)
Seif 17 — A period established by oness alone is not a period
כל וסת שנקבע מחמת אונס (כגון שקפצה וראתה) אפילו ראתה בו כמה פעמים (אם לא קבעה אותן לימים) (תוס' ורשב"א ור"ח ופשוט הוא לקמן סעיף י"ח) אינו וסת שמפני האונס ראתה (ומ"מ חוששת לו כמו לוסת שאינו קבוע) (הג"מ פ"ח) קפצה וראתה קפצה וראתה קבעה לה וסת לימים בלא קפיצות כיצד קפצה בא' בשבת וראתה דם ולאחר כ' יום קפצה באחד בשבת וראתה דם ולאחר י"ט יום קפצה ביום השבת ולא ראתה דם ולאחר השבת ראתה בלא קפיצה הרי נקבע אחד בשבת אחר כ' שהרי נודע שהיום גרם לה ולא הקפיצה וכבר נקבע יום זה ג"פ וכן כל כיוצא בזה:
Any period established because of a constraint (מחמת אונס) — for instance because she jumped and saw (קפצה וראתה) — even if she saw thereby several times (so long as she did not fix them to days) — is not a period, for it is because of the constraint that she saw. Gloss (Rama): and nevertheless she is concerned for it as for a non-fixed period.
Did she jump and see, jump and see — she has established a period by days, without the jumps. How? She jumped on a Sunday and saw blood; after 20 days she jumped on a Sunday and saw blood; after 19 days she jumped on Shabbat and did not see blood; and after that Shabbat she saw without jumping. Behold, Sunday at the end of 20 is established — for it has become known that the day caused it and not the jump, and this day has already been established three times. And so in every like case.
The role of constraint: a bleeding caused by a physical effort (a leap, a fall…) is not "natural." A period that forms only through that constraint does not become a true fixed period — yet one is concerned for it as for a non-fixed one. By contrast, if the sequence leap + sighting repeats three times, it is the leap itself that becomes the period (seif 18: a leap on a fixed date — three Rosh Chodesh or three Sundays — establishes a period for the leap of that day).
Seif 18 — Jumping on a fixed day: a period bound to that day's jump
קפצה ביום ידוע כגון בר"ח או בא' בשבת וראתה בו ואירע כן בג' ר"ח או בג' א' בשבת קבעה לה וסת וחוששת לכל פעם שתקפוץ באותו זמן ואם אח"כ הגיע א' בשבת ולא קפצה או שקפצה בשני בשבת אינה חוששת שהרי לא קבעה אלא לקפיצות של א' בשבת:
She jumped on a known day — for instance on Rosh Chodesh or on a Sunday — and saw on it; and this happened on three Roshei Chodashim or on three Sundays: she has established a period, and she is concerned every time she jumps at that time.
And if afterwards Sunday came and she did not jump, or she jumped on a Monday, she is not concerned — for she established only for the jumps of Sunday.
The body: veset ha-guf (seifim 19 to 26)
Seif 19 — The period set by a bodily symptom (veset ha-guf)
יש קובעת וסת על ידי מקרים שיארעו בגופה כגון שמפהקת דהיינו כאדם שפושט זרועותיו מחמת כובד או כאדם שפותח פיו מחמת כובד או כאדם שמוציא קול דרך הגרון וכן אם מתעטשת דרך מטה או חוששת בפי כריסה ובשפולי מעיה או שאחזוה צירי הקדחות או שראשה ואיבריה כבדים עליה בכל א' מאלו אם יארע לה שלשה פעמים וראתה קבעה לה וסת שבכל פעם שהיא חוששת מהם אסורה לשמש ומיהו בפיהוק או עיטוש של פעם א' אין הוסת נקבע אלא כשעושה כן הרבה פעמי' זה אחר זה ואם אירע לה שלשה פעמים שבכל פעם עשתה כן הרבה פעמים הרי זה וסת וכל אלו הוסתות שבגופה אין להם זמן ידוע אלא בכל פעם שיקרה לה זה המקרה הוא וסת ואם בא וסת הגוף לזמן ידוע כגון מר"ח לר"ח או מכ' יום לכ' יום קבעה לה וסת לזמן ולמיחוש הוסת ואינה חוששת אלא לשניהם ביחד ואם הגיע העת ולא בא המיחוש או שבא המיחוש בלא עתו אינה חוששת: הגה ודוקא שקבעה לה וסת לשניהם ביחד אבל מתחילה חוששת לכל א' בפ"ע כי אינה יודעת איזה מהן תקבע וכמו שנתבאר לעיל גבי וסת הדילוג וימים או בהפלגה ובימים וכן יתבאר בסמוך:
There is a woman who establishes a period through occurrences that befall her body: for instance that she yawns (מפהקת) — that is, like one who stretches out his arms from heaviness, or like one who opens his mouth from heaviness, or like one who brings out a sound through the throat; or that she sneezes downward (מתעטשת דרך מטה), or feels pain at the mouth of her stomach and in the lower parts of her bowels, or is seized by feverish pangs (צירי הקדחות), or that her head and limbs are heavy upon her.
For each of these signs: if it befalls her three times and she saw, she has established a period — so that every time she feels them she is forbidden to her husband.
However, a single yawn or sneeze does not establish the period: it establishes it only when she does so many times in succession; and if it befell her three times that on each occasion she did so many times, this is a period.
And all these bodily periods have no known time: every time this occurrence befalls her, that is the period. But if the bodily period came at a known time — from Rosh Chodesh to Rosh Chodesh, or from 20 days to 20 days — she has established a period bound to the time and to the symptom together, and she is concerned only for the two of them together: if the time arrived and the symptom did not come, or the symptom came out of its time, she is not concerned.
Gloss (Rama): and this holds specifically where she established the period for both together; but at the outset she is concerned for each one by itself, since she does not know which of the two will become established — as was explained above regarding the period of shift and days, or interval and days; and as will be explained shortly.
Seif 20 — Isolating the cause: the symptom or the date?
פיהקה ב' פעמים בר"ח וראתה ואחר כך פיהקה שלא בר"ח וראתה הוברר הדבר שאין ר"ח גורם אלא הפיהוק וכן אם בפעם השלישית ראתה בר"ח בלא פיהוק הוברר הדבר שאין הפיהוק גורם אלא הר"ח אבל אם פיהקה ב' פעמים בר"ח ובפעם הג' פיהקה בכ"ט לחדש ולא ראתה ובר"ח ראתה בלא פיהוק קבעה לה וסת לפיהוק של ר"ח שפיהוק של אתמול גרם לראיה של ר"ח:
She yawned twice on Rosh Chodesh and saw, and afterwards she yawned not on Rosh Chodesh and saw: the matter became clear that it is not Rosh Chodesh that causes it but the yawn. And likewise, if on the third occasion she saw on Rosh Chodesh without yawning, the matter became clear that it is not the yawn that causes it but Rosh Chodesh.
But if she yawned twice on Rosh Chodesh, and the third time she yawned on the 29th of the month and did not see, and on Rosh Chodesh she saw without yawning — she has established a period for the yawn of Rosh Chodesh, for the previous day's yawn caused the sighting of Rosh Chodesh.
Seif 21 — A yawn outside its day: concern from a single time
פיהקה בר"ח וראתה וחזרה ופיהקה בתוך ימי החדש חוששת לאותו הפיהוק ואסורה לשמש עד שתבדוק שכל וסת בין של ימים בין של הגוף חוששת לו בפעם אחת ויש לחוש שמא תקבע וסת לפיהוק בלא זמן ידוע ואם בדקה ונמצאת שלא ראתה אינה חוששת עוד לפיהוק גרידא אבל חוששת לראש חדש שמא תקבע לראש חדש:
She yawned on Rosh Chodesh and saw, and then she yawned again within the days of the month: she is concerned for that yawn and is forbidden to her husband until she examines herself — for every period, whether of days or of the body, is a matter of concern from a single time, and there is reason to fear lest she establish a period for the yawn with no known time.
And if she examined herself and was found not to have seen — she is no longer concerned for the bare yawn; but she is concerned for Rosh Chodesh, lest she establish a period for Rosh Chodesh.
Seif 22 — The same reasoning applied to days
וכן הדין בימים אם פיהקה היום ופיהקה לסוף ל' אם תפהק אפילו שלא ביום שלשים חוששת לאותו פיהוק שמא תקבע לפיהוק גרידא פיהק' בתוך שלשים ולא ראתה אינה צריכה לחוש עוד לפיהוק גרידא אבל צריכה לחוש לסוף שלשים וכן צריכה לחוש ליום הקבוע בחדש שפיהקה בו שמא תקבע וסת לימים:
And such is the law with days too: if she yawned today and yawned at the end of 30 days, then if she yawns, even not on the 30th day, she is concerned for that yawn, lest she establish a period for the bare yawn.
Did she yawn within the thirty days and not see — she need no longer be concerned for the bare yawn; but she must be concerned for the end of the thirty, and likewise for the fixed day of the month on which she yawned, lest she establish a period for days.
Seif 23 — Each symptom is established on its own; the Rama's gloss: garlic, onion, pepper
כל אלו הוסתות שנקבעים על ידי מקרה אין אחד קובע עם חבירו אלא כל שפיהקה שלש פעמים וראתה קבעה וסת אבל אם פיהקה פעם אחת ונתעטשה שתי פעמים אין מצטרפים: הגה אכלה שום וראתה אכלה בצל וראתה אכלה פלפלין וראתה יש אומרים שקבעה לה וסת לראות ע"י כל אכילת דברים חמים (הרא"ש פרק האשה ומרדכי ריש שבועות) וי"א שכל זה שתראה ע"י מאכל דינו כמו שתראה ע"י קפיצה ושאר מעשה שהיא עושה שמקרי ראיה ע"י אונס ואינה קובעת וסת אלא עם הימים (ב"י לדעת הרשב"א) וי"א שדינו כוסת שתראה על ידי מקרה שבגופה וקובעת אותו אפילו בלא ימים שוים (ב"י בשם תוספות):
All these periods established through an occurrence: one does not combine with another. It is only where she yawned three times and saw that she has established a period. But if she yawned once and sneezed twice — they do not combine.
Gloss (Rama): she ate garlic and saw, ate onion and saw, ate peppers and saw. Some say that she has established a period to see through any eating of hot foods(the Rosh, chapter "HaIshah", and the Mordechai). And some say that all this, that she sees through a food, has the status of what she sees through a jump and the other acts she performs, which is called a sighting through constraint (אונס): she then establishes a period only together with days(the Beit Yosef according to the Rashba). And some say that its status is that of a period seen through an occurrence in her body, and that she establishes it even without equal days(the Beit Yosef in the name of Tosafot).
Veset haguf: the period tied to the body. The mechanism is the same as for dates (three times to establish, once to be concerned, once to uproot), but the marker is a physical symptom rather than a date. Two subtleties: one must isolate the cause — if the symptom and the date dissociate, הוברר הדבר ("the matter has become clarified") reveals which of the two is determinative (seif 20); and each symptom is established separately, without combining with another (seif 23). One is concerned from a single occurrence (seif 26), and the period likewise lifts in one.
Seif 24 — The reach of the prohibition: the start, the end, or beyond the onah
וכולם אין חוששין להם אלא לשעת' כיצד היתה רגילה לראות עם התחלת הוסת מיד אסורה כל זמן המשכת הוסת היתה רגילה לראות בסופו אינה אסור' אלא בסופו במה דברים אמורים בזמן שכל הראיה מובלעת בתוך הוסת אבל אם אין כל הראיה מובלעת בתוך הוסת אלא נמשכת גם אחר הוסת אסורה מתחלת הוסת עד סוף עונה אחת:
And for all of them, one is concerned only for their own moment (לשעתן). How? If she was accustomed to see at the beginning of the period, she is forbidden immediately, for the whole duration of the period. If she was accustomed to see at its end, she is forbidden only at its end.
Of what case is this said? Where the whole sighting is absorbed within the period. But if the whole sighting is not absorbed within it and continues also beyond the period, she is forbidden from the beginning of the period until the end of one onah.
Seif 25 — A symptom coming at a known time forbids the whole onah
אם אחד מאלו בא לזמן ידוע אז ודאי אסורה כל עונת הוסת כמו וסת ימים גרידא:
If one of these came at a known time, then she is certainly forbidden for the whole onah of the period, just as with a period of days alone.
Seif 26 — The veset ha-guf follows in every respect the regime of the period of days
כשם שחוששת לוסת הימים בפעם אחת כך חוששת לוסת הגוף בפעם אחת כיצד הית' מפהקת פעם א' וראתה כשתפהק פעם אחרת חוששת לו וכשם שוסת הימים שאינו קבוע נעקר בפעם א' שאפילו ראתה שתי פעמים ליום ידוע אם הגיע זמן שלישי ולא ראתה נעקר לגמרי כן הוא וסת הגוף וכשם שוסת הימים הקבוע בג' פעמים צריך עקירה ג' פעמי' ובדיקה כן הוא וסת הקבוע בגוף ומאימתי עקירתו משיקרה מקרה ולא תראה היה המקרה לזמן ידוע אינו נעקר אלא אם כן בא המקרה שלש פעמים בזמנו ולא ראתה אבל במקרה לבדו או זמן לבדו שלא ראתה בהם אינו נעקר:
Just as she is concerned for the period of days from a single time, so she is concerned for the bodily period from a single time. How? She was yawning once and saw: when she yawns another time, she is concerned for it.
And just as a non-fixed period of days is uprooted in a single time — for even if she saw twice on a known day, if the third term arrived and she did not see, it is uprooted entirely — so it is with the bodily period. And just as a period of days established over three times requires three times to be uprooted, and a bedikah, so it is with the fixed bodily period.
And from when is it uprooted? From when the occurrence befalls and she does not see. If the occurrence was at a known time, it is uprooted only if the occurrence came three times at its time and she did not see; but by the occurrence alone, or by the time alone, in which she did not see, it is not uprooted.
Mesuleket damim: the minor, the elderly, the pregnant and the nursing woman (seifim 27 to 34)
Seif 27 — The young girl whose time to see has not come
תינוקת שלא הגיע זמנה לראות והיא קטנה שלא הגיעה לימי הנעורים אפילו הביאה שתי שערות וכן אפילו הגיעה לימי הנעורים אם בדקוה ולא הביאה שתי שערות היא קובעת וסת כשאר נשים בשלש ראיות בשאר הוסתות ובארבעה בוסת ההפלגות אלא שיש הפרש בינה לגדולה שאף על פי שהוחזקה רואה וקבעה לה וסת אם פסקה ג' עונות בינוניות שהם צ' יום ולא ראתה אינה חושש' לוסת הא' כלל וחזרה לקדמותה ואפילו חזרה לראות באותן עונות שהיתה למודה (פי' נהוגה) לראות בהן אינה חוששת עד שתחזור ותקבענו ג' פעמים לפי שאינה בת דמים ונתגלה שדמים הראשונים מקרה היה ראתה ג' ראיות מג' עונות מכוונות שלא פיחתה ולא הותירה נתגלה שדילוג הראשון אינו סילוק דמים אלא שינוי וסת לפיכך ראיה ראשונה שממנה התחילה (לדלג) מצטרפת לג' ראיות אחרונות ונמצאו ד' ראיות וג' הפלגות ביניהם מצ' לצ' אבל אם פיחתה או הותירה שלא היו הראיות מכוונות אז אי אפשר לראשונות להצטרף ועד שתראה ד' ראיות מכוונות אינה קובעת וסת להפלגות:
A young girl whose time to see has not come — that is, a minor who has not reached the years of maidenhood, even if she has brought forth two hairs; and likewise, even if she has reached the years of maidenhood, if she was examined and had not brought forth two hairs — establishes a period like other women: with three sightings for the other kinds of period, and with four for the period of the interval.
But there is a difference between her and an adult: although she has become established as one who sees and has fixed a period, if she ceased for three average onot — which are 90 days — and did not see, she is not concerned for the first period at all, and she has returned to her former state. And even if she returns to see in those onot in which she was accustomed (למודה, that is, habituated) to see, she is not concerned until she once more establishes it three times — because she is not a bat damim, and it has become apparent that the first bloods were an accident.
Did she see three sightings from three exactly matching onot, neither falling short nor exceeding — it has become apparent that the first skip was not a cessation of blood but a change of period: therefore the first sighting, from which she began (to skip), joins with the three last ones, and there are found four sightings and three intervals between them, from 90 to 90. But if she fell short or exceeded, so that the sightings were not exact — then it is impossible for the first ones to join: until she sees four exact sightings she does not establish a period by intervals.
Seif 28 — The elderly woman: three onot empty = mesuleket damim
וכן זקנה שעברו עליה שלש עונות משהזקינה ולא ראתה הרי זו מסולקת דמים ואינה חוששת לוסתה הראשון (וקטנה וזקנה אינן חוששות לוסת שאינו קבוע) (ב"י בשם הרשב"א):
And likewise an elderly woman (זקנה) over whom three onot have passed since she aged without her seeing — she is mesuleket damim ("removed from blood") and she is no longer concerned for her first period. Gloss (Rama): and a minor and an elderly woman are likewise not concerned for a period that is not fixed(the Beit Yosef in the name of the Rashba).
Seif 29 — Who is an elderly woman?
איזו היא זקנה כל (שזקנה כל כך שראויה) (טור) שקורין לה אימא בפניה מחמת זקנותה ואינה חוששת:
Who is called an elderly woman? Any woman (so aged that it is fitting) — so the Tur — that they call her "Ima" (mother) to her face because of her old age: and she is not concerned.
Seif 30 — If she returns to see: the regime of the young girl
חזרה וראתה דינה כדין תינוקת שלא הגיע זמנה לראות:
Has she returned to see — her law is the law of a young girl whose time to see has not come (seif 27).
Seif 31 — The elderly woman's return to her former establishment
חזרה לראות בעונות קטנות שהיתה למודה להיות רואה בהן חזרה לקביעותה הראשון אם וסת ההפלגות חזרה לקדמותה אם תהיה ההפלגה כמו שהיתה למודה תחלה ואם בשאר הוסתות אפי' בפעם א' חוזרת לקדמותה שהרי נתגלה שדילוג הראשון לא סילוק דמיה הי' אלא מקרה. ובזה חמור דין הזקנה מדין הקטנה שלא הגיע זמנה לראות:
Has she returned to see in the small onot in which she was accustomed to see — she has returned to her original establishment. If it was a period of the interval, she returns to her former state if the interval is the one to which she was accustomed at first; and if it is in the other kinds of period, even in a single time she returns to her former state — for it has become apparent that the first skip was not a cessation of her blood but an accident.
And in this the law of the elderly woman is more stringent than the law of the minor whose time to see has not come.
Seif 32 — A period within a period (veset be-tokh veset)
פעמי' שהאשה קובעת לה וסת בתוך וסת כיצד ראתה שלש פעמים בראש חודש ורביעית בב' לחודש ובר"ח וכן בחמישית ובששית הרי קבעה שתי וסתות:
Sometimes a woman establishes a period within a period. How? She saw three times on Rosh Chodesh, and the fourth time on the 2nd of the month and on Rosh Chodesh, and likewise the fifth and the sixth: behold, she has established two periods.
Seif 33 — The pregnant and the nursing woman do not establish a period
מעוברת לאחר ג' חדשים לעיבורה ומניקה כל כ"ד חדש אחר לידת הולד אינה קובעת וסת אפי' מת הולד או גמלתו דמים מסולקים מהן כל זמן עיבורה וכל כ"ד חדש ומ"מ חוששת לראיה שתראה כדרך שחושש' לוסת שאינו קבוע:
A pregnant woman after three months of her pregnancy, and a nursing woman throughout the 24 months following the child's birth, do not establish a period — and even if the child died or she weaned him — for the bloods are removed from them the whole time of her pregnancy and the whole 24 months.
And nevertheless she is concerned for a sighting she may see, in the manner one is concerned for a period that is not fixed.
Seif 34 — The pregnant and the nursing woman: the period suspended, then resumed
מעובר' משהוכר עוברה ומניקה כל כ"ד חדש אינה חוששת לוסת הראשון אפילו היה לה וסת קבוע והגיע תוך הזמן הזה אינה צריכה בדיקה ומותרת לבעלה ואפילו שופעו' ורואו' דם באותן עונו' שהן למודו' לראו' בהן אינו אלא במקרה עברו ימי העיבור וההנקה חוזרות לחוש לוסתן הראשון כיצד היה לה וסת לימים אם למודה לראשי חדשים חוששת לר"ח ראשון שהיא פוגעת בו וכן כל כיוצא בזה וכן הדין אם היה לה וסת הגוף או לזמן ידוע אבל אם היה וסתה וסת ההפלגה אי אפשר לחוש עד שתחזור לראות חזרה לראות אפילו פעם א' חוששת יום ההפלגה שהיתה למודה להפליג:
A pregnant woman from when her pregnancy is recognized (משהוכר עוברה), and a nursing woman throughout the 24 months, are not concerned for the first period: even if she had a fixed period whose term falls within this span, she needs no bedikah and is permitted to her husband; and even if they flow and see blood at the onot in which they are accustomed to see, it is only an accident.
Once the days of pregnancy and nursing have passed, they return to being concerned for their first period. How? If she had a period by days: if she was accustomed to Roshei Chodashim, she is concerned for the first Rosh Chodesh she encounters; and so in every like case. And such is the law too if she had a bodily period, or a period at a known time.
But if her period was a period of the interval, it is impossible to be concerned until she returns to see: has she returned to see even a single time, she is concerned for the day of the interval to which she was accustomed.
Mesuleket damim = "removed from bloods." Four categories of women lie outside the ordinary regime of vesatot: the ketanah (the girl before age — who may nonetheless establish a period, with nuances, seif 27); the zekenah (elderly woman — three intervals empty render her mesuleket damim, seifim 28-31); the me'uberet (pregnant, once the fetus is recognized) and the menikah (nursing, 24 months) — who do not establish a period and are not concerned for the old one (seifim 33-34), then return to it. Seif 32 adds the case of the veset within a veset: two interlocking periods (e.g. Rosh Chodesh, and the 2nd of the month) established together.
2. Context — where this siman fits
Siman 184 set the mitzvah of פרישה: separating as the period approaches (the eve of the expected time). But to know when to separate, one must first be able to anticipate the period. That is the whole purpose of Siman 189: it provides the calculation that determines the day to be concerned for (yom ha-veset). The central question is no longer "how does one become pure?" but "which day must be feared, and with what stringency — a mere precaution or a real bedikah?"
The major questions of the siman
Question
Where?
Typical answer
Which day to fear without a fixed cycle?
Seifim 1, 4
The onah beinonit: the 30th day (stringency of a fixed period)
How a period is established?
Seifim 2-3
Three equal intervals (four sightings for the interval)
The interval and the shift
Seif 5
Constant haflagah, or regular dilug (30, 31, 32…)
The days of the month / week
Seifim 6-13
Fixed date, dilug, sirug, Rosh Chodesh; always day or night
Uprooting a period
Seifim 14-16
Three intervals empty; the return restores it
Oness, kefitzah and bodily symptoms
Seifim 17-26
Oness alone ≠ period; veset haguf set in three times
Minor, elderly, pregnant / nursing
Seifim 27-34
Mesuleket damim: suspension then resumption
The cross-cutting idea: everything is a matter of chazakah (presumption) and counting. How many times has the period appeared at the same rhythm? Three times → it is fixed and requires a bedikah. Three intervals empty → it is uprooted. The calculation can be highly complex (interval, shift, leap, crossed symptoms) — which is why, in practice, one must consult a Rav.
3. The key concepts of this siman
To understand Siman 189, one must master a technical vocabulary describing how a period is identified, established, shifted and uprooted.
וֶסֶת (veset) — The period: the time at which a woman is accustomed to see her blood. The whole siman aims to anticipate it in order to apply the perishah (Siman 184). One distinguishes the fixed veset (established by three times) from the non-fixed veset.
עוֹנָה בֵּינוֹנִית (onah beinonit) — The middle period: the 30th day counting from the last sighting. It is the default benchmark day for any woman without a fixed cycle (seif 1); it has the status of a fixed period (seif 4) — she examines herself even if nothing was felt.
חוֹשֶׁשֶׁת (choshéshet) — "She is concerned": taking into account a day on which the period might return, and so abstaining from it. A fixed veset further requires a bedikah; a non-fixed one, passed without seeing, lifts on its own.
הַפְלָגָה (haflagah) — The interval: the period based on the number of days elapsed between two sightings. It requires four sightings (three equal intervals), since the first sighting does not yet establish an interval (seif 2).
דִּלּוּג (dilug) — The shift: a period in which the interval (or the day of the month) advances regularly — 30, 31, 32… or the 15th, 16th, 17th of the month. It is the regularity of the progression that establishes the period (seifim 5, 7-8).
סֵירוּג (sirug) — The skip: seeing every other month (from Rosh Chodesh to non-consecutive Rosh Chodesh). Unlike the dilug, here the first sighting counts in the reckoning (seif 12).
עֲקִירַת וֶסֶת (akirat veset) — The uprooting: a fixed period disappears only after three intervals passing without seeing. Returning to see on the old day restores it at once (seifim 14-16).
וֶסֶת הַגּוּף (veset haguf) — The bodily period: established not by a date but by a physical symptom (yawn, sneeze, pain, hot food). The same counting rules apply, but one is concerned from a single occurrence (seifim 19-26).
מְסֻלֶּקֶת דָּמִים (mesuleket damim) — "Removed from bloods": the status of the minor, the elderly, the pregnant and the nursing woman, who fall outside the ordinary regime of vesatot — they do not establish a period and are not concerned for the old one (seifim 28, 33-34).
The common thread: the number three (the chazakah) governs everywhere. Three identical intervals establish; three intervals empty uproot. The major exception is the onah beinonit — a single benchmark day (the 30th) that is not "established" by repetition but imposes itself on every woman without a regular cycle.
4. Establish and uproot — the table of the three times
The whole mechanism of the siman lies in the symmetry of the number three. We cross which type of period? with how many times are needed to establish / uproot it?
Type of period
To establish
To uproot
Day of the month / week (fixed date)
3 sightings on the same date
3 intervals empty
Veset ha-haflagot (interval)
4 sightings (3 equal intervals)
3 intervals empty
Dilug (regular shift)
4 sightings shifted regularly
3 intervals empty
Veset haguf (symptom)
3 times the same symptom + sighting
1 time empty (lifts quickly)
Onah beinonit (30th day)
Imposed by default (no fixed cycle)
Status of a fixed period
The logic in one sentence: three identical intervals create a presumption (chazakah) that the woman sees at that rhythm → the period is fixed and requires a bedikah. Three intervals empty break that presumption → the period is uprooted. The interval (haflagah) requires one extra sighting, since the first sighting does not yet establish a gap.
The practical point: one is concerned from the very first time (choshéshet be-pa'am achat) for a day on which the period already appeared, even before it is "fixed"; and a non-fixed veset lifts in one empty occurrence. The complexity — especially for the dilug, the sirug and crossed symptoms — requires consulting a Rav.
5. The Taz and the Shach — the great commentators
In Yoreh De'ah, the Shulchan Aruch is never read alone. Two great commentaries accompany it and structure practical study: the Taz and the Shach. On the vesatot, the Taz is particularly extensive (some fifty notes for this siman alone). To these one adds the great Acharonim of niddah: the Sidrei Tahara and the Chochmat Adam / Binat Adam.
The Taz (ט״ז) — abbreviation of טורי זהב, Turei Zahav, by Rabbi David haLevi Segal (Poland, 17th century). On Siman 189 he expands at length on the combinatorics of establishment (interval, dilug, sirug), the uprooting, the veset haguf, the veset from oness and the case of the pregnant / nursing woman.
The Shach (ש״ך) — abbreviation of שפתי כהן, Siftei Kohen, by Rabbi Shabtai haCohen (Lithuania, 17th century). The reference commentary on Yoreh De'ah, of great analytical depth.
A key entry: why four sightings for the interval?
The question recurs constantly: why does the veset ha-haflagot require four sightings while the veset of the days of the month requires only three? The answer of seif 2, taken up at length by the Taz, is simple and profound: an interval exists only between two sightings. The first sighting is merely a starting point — it establishes no gap. One therefore needs a first sighting, then three equal intervals, that is four sightings in all. For a date of the month, by contrast, the first sighting is already "the 1st of Nissan" — a marker in itself.
Isolating the cause: huvrar ha-davar
The Taz and the Shach stress, regarding the veset haguf, the principle הוברר הדבר ("the matter has become clarified") of seif 20: when a symptom (the yawn) and a date (Rosh Chodesh) coincide, how does one know which of the two heralds the period? One dissociates them: if she yawns on another day and sees, it is the yawn that counts; if she sees on Rosh Chodesh without yawning, it is the date. Practice therefore demands careful observation — another reason to keep precise records and consult a Rav.
6. The gloss of the Rama (הגה)
The Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) adds to the Mehaber's text glosses reflecting Ashkenazi practice. Here are his most notable interventions in this siman.
On seif 17 — the period from oness
Gloss of the Rama: ומ"מ חוששת לו כמו לוסת שאינו קבוע (יו״ד קפ״ט:י״ז) — "nevertheless she is concerned for it like a non-fixed period." The Mehaber states that a period established by constraint alone is not a true period; the Rama clarifies that it is not thereby ignored: one is concerned for it at least as for a non-fixed period.
On seif 23 — the hot foods
Gloss of the Rama: אכלה שום וראתה… יש אומרים שקבעה לה וסת לראות ע״י כל אכילת דברים חמים (יו״ד קפ״ט:כ״ג) — "she ate garlic and saw… some say she has established a period of seeing through every eating of hot foods." The Rama thus broadens the notion of veset haguf to dietary causes (garlic, onion, pepper) that bring on the sighting. He then reports two further views: one that likens the food to a constraint (so that a period is established only together with days), and one that likens it to a bodily occurrence (so that it is established even without equal days).
On seif 28 — minor and elderly
Gloss of the Rama (in the name of the Rashba): וקטנה וזקנה אינן חוששות לוסת שאינו קבוע (יו״ד קפ״ט:כ״ח) — "the minor girl and the elderly woman are not concerned for a non-fixed period." The Rama thereby lightens the regime for these two categories, whose cycle is not (or no longer) regular.
The Rama carefully distinguishes the baseline law (the Mehaber) from Ashkenazi practice: he tightens in places (one is concerned even for the oness-period as a non-fixed one; he adds the hot foods) and lightens elsewhere (minor and elderly exempt from the non-fixed). In every case, these nuances confirm that a real case is not decided alone.
Seifim 27-34 step outside the ordinary regime: they deal with women whose cycle is suspended. The central concept is מְסֻלֶּקֶת דָּמִים — "removed from bloods."
מעובר׳ משהוכר עוברה ומניקה כל כ״ד חדש אינה חוששת לוסת הראשון (יו״ד קפ״ט:ל״ד)
Four categories are concerned:
The ketanah (girl before age): she may establish a period like other women (3 sightings, 4 for the interval), with nuances; and she is not concerned for a non-fixed period (seif 27).
The zekenah (elderly woman): three intervals passing without seeing render her mesuleket damim; if she returns to seeing, her status becomes that of a young girl again (seifim 28-31).
The me'uberet (pregnant, once the fetus is recognized) and the menikah (nursing, 24 months): they do not establish a period and are not concerned for the old one, even a fixed one — mesuleket damim (seifim 33-34).
Category
Status
Resumption
Ketanah
May establish (nuances); no non-fixed
—
Zekenah
Mesuleket damim after 3 intervals empty
Returns to seeing → status of a tinoket
Me'uberet (fetus recognized)
Mesuleket damim; no bedikah
After the birth
Menikah (24 months)
Mesuleket damim; no bedikah
After 24 months → returns to the old one
And seif 32 adds the particular case of the veset within a veset: a woman may establish two interlocking periods (for example seeing three times on Rosh Chodesh, and the next time on the 2nd of the month as well as Rosh Chodesh…) — she then has two periods to be concerned for. The transition out of one of these statuses (zekenah, pregnancy, end of nursing) is precisely the kind of situation in which one consults the Rav.
8. Modern practical cases
How do these rules apply today? Here are four common situations illuminated by our siman.
Case 1 — Tracking the veset (calendar, taharat ha-mishpacha app)
To determine whether a period is fixed, or to apply the onah beinonit and compute a haflagah, one must record every sighting (re'iyah) precisely. Many couples today use a dedicated calendar or a taharat ha-mishpacha app. These tools compute the days to be concerned for and the corresponding perishah (the separation on the eve, cf. Siman 184). But no app replaces the analysis of a real case: for the halacha le-ma'aseh, consult your Rav.
Case 2 — The onah beinonit (the 30th day)
For most women who do not have a perfectly regular cycle, the benchmark day is the onah beinonit, the 30th day from the last sighting (seif 1). It carries the stringency of a fixed period: one examines (bedikah) even if nothing was felt (seif 4). The exact computation of the 30th day (from which sighting, by day or by night) is for the Rav.
Case 3 — Physical symptoms (veset haguf)
A woman notices that lower-abdominal pains, headaches or great weariness regularly precede her period. The siman (seifim 19-26) teaches that these signs may constitute a veset haguf that must be feared — from a single occurrence as a precaution, and established over three times. One must still isolate the true cause (huvrar ha-davar). This is delicate: for the halacha le-ma'aseh, consult your Rav.
Case 4 — Pregnancy and nursing
During pregnancy (once the fetus is recognized) and nursing (24 months), the woman is mesuleket damim: she is no longer concerned for her old period, even a fixed one (seifim 33-34). But the transitions — end of pregnancy, postpartum, end of the 24 months — are delicate moments when the regime changes. For these passages, consult your Rav.
The common thread of the four cases: the calculation of the vesatot is one of the most technical domains in all of halacha — intervals, shifts, leaps, symptoms, transitions. Before any conclusion, one records one's sightings precisely; but the concrete decision always belongs to the Rav, who masters the combinatorics and the factual details.
9. Summary of Siman 189
The essence of Siman 189 in a few sentences:
Without a fixed cycle, one is concerned for the onah beinonit — the 30th day; with a fixed cycle, the known day (seifim 1 and 4).
A period is established over three equal intervals; the veset ha-haflagot requires four sightings (seif 2).
The veset ha-haflagot may advance by a regular dilug — 30, 31, 32… (seif 5).
One also establishes by the days of the month / week, with dilug, sirug and the day / night rule (seifim 6 to 13).
A fixed period is uprooted only over three intervals empty; the return restores it (seifim 14 to 16).
A period established by oness alone is not a true period, but one is concerned for it as a non-fixed one (seifim 17 and 18).
The bodily periods (yawn, sneeze, pains, hot foods) are established over three times; one is concerned from one (seifim 19 to 26).
The minor, the elderly, the pregnant and the nursing woman are mesuleket damim; the veset within a veset interlocks two periods (seifim 27 to 34).
Memory table
Situation
Rule
Woman without a fixed cycle
🟡 Onah beinonit: 30th day (stringency of a fixed period)
Three identical intervals
🟢 Fixed period (4 sightings for the interval)
Three intervals empty
🔴 Period uprooted (the return restores it)
Period set by oness alone
🟡 Not a true period, but feared as non-fixed
Bodily symptom (veset haguf)
🟡 Feared from one occurrence; established over three
Pregnant / nursing
🟢 Mesuleket damim; resumption after pregnancy / the 24 months
Comprehension questions
Check your understanding:
What is the עונה בינונית? Why does it have "the status of a fixed period" (seifim 1, 4)?
What is the practical difference between a fixed veset and a non-fixed one passed without seeing (seif 4)?
How many sightings are needed to establish a וסת ההפלגות? Why one more than for a date (seif 2)?
What is the דילוג? How does it differ from the סירוג (seifim 5, 7-8, 12)?
Why must a period be "wholly within a single עונה" — day or night (seif 13)?
How many intervals empty are needed to uproot a fixed period (seifim 14-16)?
Is a period set by אונס alone a true period? What does the Rama rule (seif 17)?
What is a וסת הגוף? How does one isolate the cause (הוברר הדבר, seifim 19-20)?
Who is מסולקת דמים? What happens to the pregnant / nursing woman after pregnancy / the 24 months (seifim 33-34)?
What is a וסת בתוך וסת (seif 32)?
To go further
If you wish to deepen this siman:
📚 Level 2 — Lamdan: the pilpul — the nature of the "veset concern" (de-oraita or de-rabbanan, link to Siman 184), the logic of the chazakot (three times), the combinatorics of establishment (haflagah / month / week / dilug / sirug, Taz), and veset haguf vs veset of the days
✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: the comparative tables (establish / uproot, types of vesatot, mesuleket damim), the golden rules and rapid memorization of the 34 seifim
⚖️ Level 4 — Daat HaRav (Chabad) & Halacha lema'asse: the Chabad mesorah in the tracking of vesatot and the practical ruling (Beit Yosef, Rama, Shach, Taz, Sidrei Tahara, Chochmat Adam, Aruch haShulchan, Taharat haBayit, Shevet haLevi)
The sources of this level are available on Sefaria: