Siman 190 — Stains (Ketamim): the Rabbinic Decree, the Ke-Gris Measure, Attributions, and the Heter of Colored Garments
סימן ק״צ · דעת הרב והלכה למעשה
דיני הכתמים — גזרת חכמים וקולותיה
שיטת הצמח צדק וחב״ד · פסק הבית יוסף והרמ״א · נושאי הכלים והפוסקים בזמננו · בגדי צבעונים והראיית הכתם לרב
🕯️ דעת הרב · פסק הלכה ולמעשה 🕯️
✦ ❖ ✦
Daat HaRav (Chabad) & Halacha lema'asse
The shitah of the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch and Chabad on the כתמים,
then the halacha lema'asse of the nossei kelim and contemporary poskim — and always, one shows the stain to a Rav
Subject:
Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De'ah Siman ק״צ (54 seifim)
The stains: כתם de-rabbanan without הרגשה, שיעור כגריס ועוד, מקום and צורה of the stain, דבר שאינו מקבל טומאה, תליות (a wound, blood from outside, lice), בגדי צבעונים, בדיקה and ספקות, מי רגלים
Register (a subject of Taharat haMishpacha):
The subject is intimate and grave, and examining a stain (size, color, place)
is, in practice, beyond personal judgment. We present the sugya and the shitot
with sobriety ; one never decides a personal case, and one never judges a real stain alone.
Every practical conclusion refers back to your Rav (or a Chabad Rav / Dayan / Yoetzet).
Authorship and iyun:
הרב יוסף חיים סממה · DAAT
How to read this level. Siman 190 deals with the כתמים — the blood stains found on a woman's body or garments. The key distinction: by Torah law (de-oraita), a woman is forbidden only if she sensed (הרגישה) the flow — that is the whole subject of siman 183 ; but the Sages decreed (גזרו) that a כתם found even without הרגשה forbids her — a mi-derabbanan prohibition. Because the כתם is de-rabbanan, the siman is rich in קולות (leniencies): a minimal measure (כגריס ועוד), rules of מקום and צורה, the exemption of the דבר שאינו מקבל טומאה, broad תליות (attributing the stain to a non-uterine cause), and above all the great heter of בגדי צבעונים (they decreed only on white). The siman has 54 seifim — the longest of the chapter — which we group into nine families: (1) the foundation (הרגשה de-oraita / כתם de-rabbanan, exemptions) ; (2) the שיעור כגריס ועוד ; (3) the מקום and the צורה ; (4) the דבר שאינו מקבל טומאה ; (5) the external תליות ; (6) the בגדי צבעונים ; (7) the בדיקה and the ספקות (ספק ספיקא) ; (8) the מי רגלים, water, washing ; (9) further dinim and conduct. This level has two parts. (1) Daat HaRav — the shitah of Chabad: unlike kashrut, here there is a genuine Chabad halakhic tradition, whose authority of reference on Niddah is the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch. (2) Halacha lema'asse: the general pesak (Beit Yossef, Rama, Shach, Taz, Sidrei Tahara, Chochmat Adam, Aruch haShulchan) and the contemporary pesak (Taharat haBayit, Shevet haLevi, Badei haShulchan). We cite only real and attested positions ; where a specific Chabad ruling is not established with certainty, we indicate it at the level of principle — never inventing a responsum, a number, or a minhag. The major practical upshot of this siman: since the כתמים are de-rabbanan the practice holds many קולות — but their application requires a Rav ; every conclusion (lema'asse) ends with referral to your Rav (or a Chabad Rav / Dayan / Yoetzet), and one shows the stain rather than judging it alone.
1. שורש הסימן — the Hargashah De-Oraita and the Decree on the Ketem De-Rabbanan
The foundation. Everything in Siman 190 rests on one distinction: by Torah law, only the הרגשה (the sensation of the flow) makes the woman tameh — that is the regime of siman 183 (the sensed sighting). A stain (כתם) discovered without הרגשה would, in strict Torah law, be only a suspicion. But the Sages decreed (גזרו) that this stain forbids — a mi-derabbanan prohibition. From this de-rabbanan nature flows the whole character of the siman: because it is a rabbinic decree, one is lenient (מקילין) through a measure, the מקום, the מקבל טומאה, the תליות, and the heter of colored garments.
Safek de-rabbanan le-kula — the great principle of the siman. Since the prohibition of the כתם is de-rabbanan, a doubt is treated leniently (ספקא דרבנן לקולא): that is why the Mehaber and the Rama multiply here paths of heter unthinkable on a definite sighting (siman 183). One attributes the stain to a wound, to external blood, to an insect ; one requires a minimal size ; one exempts the floor and the toilet. This generosity has a strict counterpart: it presumes the situation is read correctly — hence the constant referral to a Rav.
The exemptions from the decree (seif 1-4)
The decree does not apply to everyone. The תינוקת שלא הגיע זמנה לראות (the girl under 12, or without two שערות) is not made tameh by a כתם. The שופעת or מזלפת (who flows without interruption) counts only as one sighting. And a woman who saw three times then stopped for three onot (90 days) returns to her former status. These thresholds — the age, the two שערות, the count of 90 days — fix who is subject to the decree, and are not determined alone.
2. פסק המחבר והרמ״א — the Map of the Siman (54 seifim)
Siman 190 has 54 seifim — the longest of the Hilkhot Niddah chapter. Rather than a block per seif, here is the map by families, faithful to the text: the Mehaber lays the whole edifice of the כתם (the decree, the measure, the place, the מקבל טומאה, the תליות, the colored garments, the בדיקה, the ספקות) ; the Rama (הגה) glosses in particular on the shape of the stain (משוך / עגול), on the עד הבדוק, and on the practical nuances of washing and lending a garment.
Seif
Family
Pesak (anchored in the text)
1-4
The foundation
De-oraita → only הרגשה ; the Sages decreed on the כתם even without הרגשה (mi-derabbanan). Exemptions: תינוקת / קטנה (under 12 / without 2 שערות) ; שופעת / מזלפת = one sighting ; חזקת ג' פעמים then a stop of ג' עונות (90 d) → return to the former status.
5-8
שיעור הכתם — כגריס ועוד
Less than כגריס ועוד (≈ 9 lentils, a ג' על ג' square) → tehorah. תליה to a bedbug (פשפש) up to כתורמוס. One does not combine (אין מצרפין) separate drops: each drop is attributed to a louse (כינה / מאכולת).
9, 11-15
מקום וצורת הכתם
Makes tameh only where the stain could have come מן המקור (כנגד בית התורפה) ; on the garment, at or below the belt (החגור) ; sleeve (בית יד), מעפורת (head covering), two women sharing a garment.
10
דבר שאינו מקבל טומאה
A stain on the ground (קרקע עולם), the toilet (בית הכסא) or any דבר שאינו מקבל טומאה → לא גזרו, tehorah.
16-32
התליות
כיון שכתמים דרבנן, one attributes to anything: מכה (a wound), דם הבא מבחוץ (the butchers' market, a bird), כינים / פשפשים, in her son / husband busy with blood. נתעסקה ב-red / black: one matches color to color.
—
בגדי צבעונים
לא גזרו על הכתם אלא בלבן: a stain on a colored garment (צבעוני) does not make tameh. Hence the widespread practice of wearing colored undergarments — the great practical heter.
33-54
בדיקה, עד הבדוק and ספקות
עד הבדוק / שאינו בדוק ; משוך (drawn out) vs עגול (round) ; טחתו בירכה ; a lent garment (חברתה, נכרית, קטנה) ; washed (נתכבס) ; three women on a bench / a bed ; ר״ח ; the כתם does not establish a וסת.
כלל הפסק של הסימן :
מִן הַתּוֹרָה אֵין טֻמְאָה אֶלָּא בְּהרגשה ; וַחכמים גזרו על הכתם אַף בְּלֹא הַרְגָּשָׁה — וְהוּא מדרבנן. וּלְפִי שֶׁכתמים דרבנן — מקילין : בָּעִינַן כגריס ועוד, בְּמקום הַמְּטַמֵּא, וְלֹא בְּדבר שאינו מקבל טומאה ; וְתולה בכל דבר שֶׁיְּכוֹלָה (מַכָּה, דָּם מִבַּחוּץ, כִּינָה) ; וְלֹא גָזְרוּ אלא בלבן. וּמִכָּל מָקוֹם — מַרְאֶה אֶת הַכֶּתֶם לְמוֹרֶה הוֹרָאָה.
3. שיטת הצמח צדק וחב״ד — Daat HaRav
Method note (important). This part presents the halakhic approach of Chabad on the כתמים and Niddah. Unlike kashrut, here there is a genuine Chabad pesak tradition. We present it at the level of principle and authorities ; we attribute to the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch and to no Rebbe any specific ruling, responsum number, or minhag that we could not verify. For the detail of a case — and especially the examination of a real stain (size, color, place) — the Chabad practice is to turn to a Chabad Rav or a Dayan: one shows the stain, one does not judge it alone.
The Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch — Chabad's halakhic authority of reference on Niddah
The Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch — Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1789-1866), third Rebbe of Lubavitch and grandson of the Admur HaZaken — is Chabad's authority of reference, particularly in Taharat haMishpacha. His collection of responsa and pisqei dinim (the שו״ת צמח צדק) covers Yoreh De'ah and the laws of Niddah at length, and it is to him that the Chabad tradition first turns for these questions. At the level of principle, the Chabad school is marked by great stringency in Taharat haMishpacha — joined to the concern of seeking the real heter where halacha permits. And the laws of stains are precisely the arena where these two traits meet: the decree is rabbinic (hence open to קולות), yet the conduct remains serious and goes through the Rav.
Daat HaRav and the heart of the siman. On the very foundation of this siman — the de-rabbanan nature of the decree, the שיעור כגריס ועוד, the rules of מקום and צורה, the תליות, and the heter of בגדי צבעונים — the Chabad approach does not depart from the framework of the Shulchan Aruch and the Rama. Its specificity shows in the stringency of conduct, joined to the real use of the leniencies halacha permits (first among them colored garments), and in the systematic referral to the Rav for examining a stain. We attribute to it no specific provision (a numbered stringency, a particular ruling) that is not attested.
Lema'asse (Daat HaRav). Per the Chabad tradition, one follows in these matters the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch and the pisqei dinim transmitted in Chabad. For the application of a real case — and especially the examination of a stain (כגריס? color? place? a possible תליה?), which is never decided by oneself — consult your Rav (or a Chabad Rav / Dayan / Yoetzet): this level lays out the principle, it does not decide your situation, and one shows the stain rather than judging it alone.
4. שיעור הכתם — Ke-Gris ve-Od and the Tziruf (seif 5-8)
— Shulchan Aruch YD 190:5, 7-8 · Taz and Shach: on the measure of the gris and the lentil
The measure and the non-combination
כגריס ועוד: one decreed only if the stain reaches a כגריס ועוד — a gris (bean) "and a bit more," about 9 lentils in a square (ג' על ג'). Below that → tehorah (the blood of a crushed insect suffices to explain it).
תליה to a bedbug: if she killed a bedbug (פשפש) or smelled its odor, one attributes up to כתורמוס (the size of a lupine, larger than the gris).
אין מצרפין (non-combination): several small neighboring drops that, added together, would exceed the gris do not combine — one attributes each drop to a כינה (a louse / דם מאכולת) as long as none reaches כגריס ועוד by itself in one place.
The logic of the כינה (Taz, much developed). The Taz (the great nossé kelim of this siman) explains the measure: the "כגריס ועוד" is precisely what exceeds the amount of blood a crushed louse (מאכולת) can produce — below it, the stain is explained by an insect, and the decree does not bite. That is why one does not combine separate drops: each remains attributable to its own כינה. The exact measure of the gris and the lentil, and the assessment of "one place," are technical points entrusted to the Rav.
Lema'asse (the measure). The principle: below כגריס ועוד in one place → tehorah ; small scattered drops do not combine ; a פשפש widens it up to כתורמוס. But measuring a real stain (exact size, "one place," a drawn-out shape) is precisely what one does not do by eye alone. Consult your Rav (or a Chabad Rav / Dayan / Yoetzet) — one shows the stain, one does not gauge it alone.
— Shulchan Aruch YD 190:9-15 · Mordechai citing Sma"g and Sma"k (the toilet)
Where / what?
Status
Reason (anchored)
On the body, where the stain could have come מן המקור (כנגד בית התורפה)
Tameh
Only a place the uterine blood could reach is concerned (seif 9, 11)
On the garment, at or below the belt (החגור)
Tameh — even in front, behind or on the sides
Garments move about (חוזרין הנה והנה) — seif 12-14
On the sleeve (בית יד) reaching the בית התורפה ; the מעפורת (head covering)
Depending on whether she can or cannot touch there
seif 13-14
On the floor (קרקע עולם), the toilet, any דבר שאינו מקבל טומאה
Tehorah — לא גזרו
The decree does not bear on what cannot receive tumah (seif 10)
Why the floor and the toilet are exempt. Seif 10 is one of the most practical leniencies: a stain found upon sitting on the floor, on the toilet seat, or on any object שאינו מקבל טומאה, does not make tameh — for the Sages' decree bore only on what can receive tumah. The Taz and the Shach refine the scope (materials, items fixed to the ground). This too is a קולא specific to the de-rabbanan nature of the כתם — yet it requires qualifying the surface correctly, hence the referral to the Rav.
Lema'asse (מקום / מקבל טומאה). The principle: the stain forbids only where the blood could have come מן המקור, and on the garment at belt-height or below ; a stain on the floor or the toilet (שאינו מקבל טומאה) does not make tameh. But qualifying the place, the surface, and the shape (drawn downward?) is a work of reading. Consult your Rav (or a Chabad Rav / Dayan / Yoetzet) — without deciding alone.
6. התליות — a Wound, Blood from Outside, Lice (seif 16-32)
— Shulchan Aruch YD 190:16, 18-19, 23-24 · Taz there: on the laws of attributions
Attributing the stain to a non-uterine cause
מכה (a wound): if she has a wound from which the blood could have come, she תולה במכתה ("I say it turned over and came there"), even if the place seems out of reach.
דם הבא מבחוץ (external blood): if she slaughtered an animal / a bird, handled blood, or passed through the butchers' market (cf. 185), she attributes the stain to that external cause — including to her son or husband busy with blood (if there is blood on them).
כינים / פשפשים: one attributes to a crushed louse (below the gris) or to a bedbug (up to כתורמוס).
color to color: one attributes to a colored substance only if the color matches — אדום באדום, שחור בשחור (a black כתם is not attributed to red, and vice versa).
The hierarchy of תליות (Taz, ספק ספיקא). The generosity of the תליות stems from the principle ספקא דרבנן לקולא: since the כתם is de-rabbanan, as soon as a non-uterine cause is plausible, one invokes it. The Taz and the Shach refine the conditions (the cause must be real and of the right color ; the doubt "did she pass through the butchers' market?" is treated according to whether the butchers sit in a known place — seif 22). Often these leniencies combine into a ספק ספיקא (a double doubt) that permits. Recognizing whether a תליה is valid is precisely the object of a question to the Rav — not of a self-decision.
Lema'asse (the תליות). The principle: one attributes the stain to a wound, to external blood (kitchen, meat, butchers' market — cf. 185), to an insect, and aligns color with color. But judging that a תליה is admissible, and possibly combining it into a ספק ספיקא, requires halakhic reasoning. Consult your Rav (or a Chabad Rav / Dayan / Yoetzet) — one presents the possible cause to him, one does not decide alone.
7. בגדי צבעונים — the Great Practical Heter
"לא גזרו אלא בלבן" — they decreed only on white
The most important heter of the siman for life today: the Sages decreed on the כתם only for a white garment. A stain found on a colored garment (צבעוני)does not make tameh — for the decree did not target it. Hence the widespread practice, expressly recommended by the poskim, of wearing colored undergarments (outside the "white days" of the בדיקה, when white is required): one thereby avoids the great majority of stain problems, which arise only on white.
The source and the scope. The rule לא גזרו אלא בלבן is talmudic (Niddah) and codified by the Shulchan Aruch ; the Rama and the Acharonim (Sidrei Tahara, Chochmat Adam) make it a major practical הנהגה. The reasoning: against a colored background, a small blood stain is not distinguished with the clarity that would ground the rabbinic prohibition. The practical scope is immense — many stain doubts simply vanish by wearing color. But the modalities (which garments, which days, the interaction with the "white days" and the בדיקה of siman 196) belong to the Rav's decision.
Lema'asse (בגדי צבעונים). The major application of this siman: wearing colored undergarments removes most stain problems, since the decree bears only on white. It is a real and recommended leniency — the very expression of the siman's spirit (כתם de-rabbanan → קולא). The exact modalities (which days, the relation to the "white days" of the בדיקה — cf. 196) are settled with your Rav. Consult your Rav (or a Chabad Rav / Dayan / Yoetzet) to put this practice in place.
8. בדיקה, the Ed ha-Baduk and the Safekot (seif 33-54)
— Shulchan Aruch YD 190:33, 39, 54 · Rama: משוך / עגול ; and the עד הבדוק
The examination (בדיקה) and the ספקות
עד הבדוק (a checked cloth): on an עד that had been verified clean before use, even a tiny drop (כחרדל) makes tameh — for one can no longer attribute it to an external cause. On an unchecked עד, one needs כגריס ועוד.
משוך / עגול (Rama): a drawn-out stain (משוך, a sign of wiping / קינוח) is stricter than a round stain (עגול, more readily attributed to a crushed insect).
a lent / washed garment: a whole play of תליות according to whether the garment was lent to another woman (חברתה, נכרית, קטנה), washed (נתכבס), or shared on a bench / a bed by several women.
אין בכתמים משום וסת (seif 54): a stain found at a fixed date (ר״ח) does not establish a וסת (cf. 189) — except the stains of an עד הבדוק, which count as sightings.
Safek safeka and combining with the מראות (cf. 188). Many cases of this block are resolved by ספק ספיקא: a doubt about the origin (uterine or external?) combined with a doubt about the color (is it a מראה טמא — cf. 188?) or about the size. The de-rabbanan nature of the כתם permits these combinations. This too is why one shows the stain: the color (siman 188), the shape (משוך / עגול), the place and the context (עד הבדוק or not) are read together — an examination that belongs to the Rav.
Lema'asse (בדיקה / ספקות). The principle: on an עד הבדוק the smallest drop is strict ; a משוך stain is graver than an עגול ; lending and washing open תליות ; the stain establishes no וסת. But reading a real stain (color — cf. 188, shape, surface, context) and assessing a ספק ספיקא is the very act of the posek. Consult your Rav (or a Chabad Rav / Dayan / Yoetzet) ; show him the stain, do not judge it alone.
9. פסיקת הספרדים בזמננו — the Contemporary Sephardic Pesika
Method note. The works cited below extend the principles of siman 190 for practice today. They are cited as recognized streams of pesika, to be confirmed with a Rav before any application — and, for examining a stain, one always shows the stain rather than judging it alone.
The contemporary Sephardic pesika (the school of Rav Ovadia Yossef) starts from the Beit Yossef and the Shach. The practical reference is the Taharat haBayit of Rav Ovadia Yossef (and its abridgment Yalkut Yossef — Taharat haBayit, by Rav Yitzhak Yossef), which treats the כתמים at length: the שיעור כגריס ועוד, the תליות, the דבר שאינו מקבל טומאה, and above all the broad recourse to בגדי צבעונים and to ספק ספיקא. The spirit of this school — faithful to the de-rabbanan nature of the כתם — tends to make full use of the paths of heter where halacha permits (many קולות on the כתמים), while entrusting the examination of a real stain to a competent Rav.
Point of the siman
Sephardic orientation (to verify)
בגדי צבעונים
Broadly encouraged as a means to avoid stain problems → Taharat haBayit / Yalkut Yossef, to the Rav for modalities.
שיעור / תליות / ספק ספיקא
Full use of the קולות (כגריס ועוד, תליות, double doubt) → the examination of the stain to the Rav.
מראות (cf. 188)
The stain's color read with siman 188 ; combination of doubts → the Rav's decision.
10. פסיקת האשכנזים וסיכום מעשי — the Ashkenazi Pesika and the Recap
Method note. Same remark: these works extend the Rama and the nossei kelim ; they are cited as markers of pesika, to be confirmed with a Rav.
The Ashkenazi pesika starts from the Rama, the Shach and the Taz (much developed here on the measure, the תליות, the place and the colored garments), then from the great commentary specific to Niddah, the Sidrei Tahara, and from the codifiers: the Chochmat Adam (and his Binat Adam) and the Aruch haShulchan (Yoreh De'ah), much developed on the כתמים, the measure and the colored garments. For the 20th century, the major practical reference is the Shevet haLevi of Rav Shmuel Wozner, often accompanied by the Badei haShulchan (the reference commentary on Hilkhot Niddah), which codifies the laws of stains and stresses recourse to a מורה הוראה to show him the stain. The Pitchei Teshuva of the siman further gathers the responsa of the Acharonim (Noda BiYehuda, Chatam Sofer, Sidrei Tahara) on the borderline cases.
Point of the siman
Ashkenazi orientation (to verify)
שיעור / כינה
Taz, Sidrei Tahara, Chochmat Adam on the כגריס ועוד and the non-combination ; the exact assessment → מורה הוראה.
תליות / מקבל טומאה
Sidrei Tahara, Aruch haShulchan: a wound, external blood, floor / toilet. To be brought to the Rav.
בגדי צבעונים / borderline cases
Chochmat Adam, Shevet haLevi, Badei haShulchan ; Pitchei Teshuva (Noda BiYehuda, Chatam Sofer). To the Rav.
Chabad within the pesika
For Chabad practice on this foundation, one refers to the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch (whose שו״ת covers the הלכות נדה) and to the decisions transmitted in Chabad, with the care proper to the school — stringency joined to the real use of the leniencies (first among them the בגדי צבעונים). We attribute no specific ruling that could not be verified ; for examining a stain and the detail of a case, one turns to a Chabad Rav or a Dayan.
טבלה — the axes of the siman, in practice
Notion
In substance
Reference
הרגשה / the decree on the כתם
De-oraita → הרגשה alone ; the Sages decreed on the כתם without הרגשה (de-rabbanan)
Mehaber (seif 1-4)
שיעור כגריס ועוד
Below it → tehorah ; non-combination of drops (כינה) ; פשפש up to כתורמוס
Mehaber (seif 5-8) ; Taz
מקום / מקבל טומאה
Only מן המקור / below the belt ; floor and toilet exempt
Mehaber (seif 9-15) ; Taz
תליות
A wound, external blood (cf. 185), lice ; color to color ; ספק ספיקא
Mehaber + Rama (seif 16-32)
בגדי צבעונים
לא גזרו אלא בלבן → wearing color avoids most problems
Mehaber ; the poskim's practice
בדיקה / ספקות
עד הבדוק strict ; משוך / עגול ; lending / washing ; no וסת (cf. 189)
Mehaber + Rama (seif 33-54)
טבלה — who says what (nossei kelim of the siman)
Posek
Decisive contribution (anchored in the corpus)
Mehaber
De-oraita הרגשה / כתם de-rabbanan ; שיעור כגריס ועוד and non-combination ; מקום and מקבל טומאה ; broad תליה (a wound, external blood, lice) ; לא גזרו אלא בלבן (colored garments) ; עד הבדוק and ספקות ; אין בכתמים משום וסת.
Rama (הגה)
The shape of the stain (משוך tameh / עגול lenient) ; nuances on the עד הבדוק and the עד שאינו בדוק ; washing (נתכבס) and lending the garment (חברתה / נכרית / קטנה) — where one attributes.
Taz
The great development (very elaborate here): the measure and the logic of the כינה, the תליות, the place, the colored garments, the מקבל טומאה. (Cites a few representative s.k.)
Shach (Siftei Kohen)
On the principles of the measure and the תליות (to be completed by Sidrei Tahara / Chochmat Adam, major references on the כתמים).
Pitchei Teshuva
The Acharonim's responsa on the borderline cases (Noda BiYehuda, Chatam Sofer, Sidrei Tahara…) — on the measure, the תליות and the ספקות.
טבלה — Daat HaRav and contemporary streams (to verify)
Chabad (Daat HaRav): the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, 3rd Rebbe of Lubavitch, 1789-1866) is Chabad's authority of reference on Niddah ; his שו״ת covers the הלכות נדה. The Chabad school joins stringency and the search for the real heter (the בגדי צבעונים foremost). For examining a stain and the detail → Chabad Rav / Dayan. (No specific ruling is attributed here without a source.)
Sephardim: Taharat haBayit (Rav Ovadia Yossef) ; Yalkut Yossef — Taharat haBayit (Rav Yitzhak Yossef). They extend the Beit Yossef and the Shach: the measure, the תליות, the ספק ספיקא, the broad use of בגדי צבעונים, and recourse to the Rav for examining the stain.
Ashkenazim: Sidrei Tahara (the key Niddah commentary) ; Chochmat Adam / Binat Adam ; Aruch haShulchan (YD) ; Shevet haLevi (Rav Wozner) ; Badei haShulchan. On the כתמים, the measure and the colored garments → one shows the stain to a מורה הוראה.
On substance, keep the axes in mind: de-oraita only הרגשה forbids ; the Sages decreed on the כתם without הרגשה (de-rabbanan) ; the שיעור כגריס ועוד (non-combination of drops) ; the מקום and the דבר שאינו מקבל טומאה (floor, toilet) ; the broad תליות (a wound, external blood — cf. 185, lice) ; the great heter of בגדי צבעונים ; and the בדיקה (עד הבדוק, משוך / עגול, ספק ספיקא — cf. 188).
Daat HaRav (Chabad): one follows the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch and the pisqei dinim of Chabad, with the school's care (stringency joined to the real use of leniencies, colored garments foremost) ; examining a stain is verified with a Chabad Rav / Dayan.
Halacha lema'asse: Beit Yossef, Rama, Shach, Taz, Sidrei Tahara, Chochmat Adam, Aruch haShulchan, and the contemporary pesak (Taharat haBayit, Shevet haLevi, Badei haShulchan) — all on these same axes.
The golden rule of this siman: since the כתמים are de-rabbanan the practice holds many קולות — but their application requires a Rav. One wears בגדי צבעונים to remove the bulk of problems, but one never judges a real stain alone: size (כגריס), color (cf. 188), place and תליות go through your Rav (or a Chabad Rav / Dayan / Yoetzet) — one shows the stain.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ DAAT · הרב יוסף חיים סממה
תלמיד חכם · מעביר שיעורים בהלכה ובחסידות דעת הרב והלכה למעשה בדיני הכתמים · סימן ק״צ · 🕯️ Level 4 — Daat HaRav (Chabad) & Halacha lema'asse
⚠️ This content is for study, on an intimate and grave subject (טהרת המשפחה). The positions cited (Daat HaRav / Chabad, Sephardic and Ashkenazi streams) are markers, not a personal ruling, and authorize no judging of a stain by oneself. Since the כתמים are de-rabbanan the practice holds קולות — but their application requires recourse to a Rav: for any practical application (לְמַעֲשֶׂה), show the stain and consult a qualified Rav (or a Chabad Rav / Dayan / a Yoetzet).