Siman 198 — Immersion and Interposition (Tevilah and Chatsitsa): the Whole Body at Once, What Interposes, and the Criterion of Makpid
סימן קצ״ח · דעת הרב והלכה למעשה
דיני טבילה וחציצה — כל גופה בפעם אחת, מה חוצץ, וכלל המקפיד
שיטת הצמח צדק וחב״ד · פסק הבית יוסף והרמ״א · נושאי הכלים והפוסקים בזמננו · להלכה למעשה, אל רב, בלנית או מורת כלה
🕯️ דעת הרב · פסק הלכה ולמעשה 🕯️
✦ ❖ ✦
Daat HaRav (Chabad) & Halacha lema'asse
The shitah of the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch and of Chabad on the טבילה and the חציצה,
then the halacha lema'asse of the nossei kelim and the contemporary poskim — and always, these dinim of the טהרת המשפחה are rules one learns from a Rav, the balanit or a moret kalla
Subject:
שולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן קצ״ח (מ״ח סעיפים)
דיני טבילה וחציצה: צריכה לטבול כל גופה בפעם אחת, שלא יהיה עליה דבר חוצץ אפילו כל שהוא ; כלל המקפיד (רובו ומקפיד דאורייתא, דרך בני אדם להקפיד) ; השער, העין, המכה והרטיה, הצואה שתחת הצפורן ונטילת צפרניים, השירים והנזמים, חפיפה ואבק רגליה וטבילה בלא כוונה
Register (the טבילה at the mikvé):
The siman governs the validity of the טבילה:
the whole body at once, what interposes,
the criterion of the מקפיד, the chafifah and the modern chatsitsot.
These are rules למעשה, fine and concrete, that one
presents with dignity, sobriety and modesty, without crudeness.
Every practical conclusion defers to your Rav, the balanit or a moret kalla.
Writing and iyun:
הרב יוסף חיים סממה · DAAT
How to read this level. Siman 198 is the great siman of the חציצה — what interposes between the body and the water of the mikvé. The Mehaber's principle (seif 1): the woman must immerse her whole body at once (כל גופה בפעם אחת), so nothing interposing (חוצץ), even the slightest (כל שהוא), may remain on her; and the criterion is the מקפיד (the mindfulness) — "if people sometimes mind it (דרך בני אדם להקפיד)" suffices to make it interpose. The siman has forty-eight seifim (מ״ח סעיפים) — the largest of the block. We do not render them one by one: we group them into seven families — (1) the principle and the criterion of the מקפיד; (2) the hair; (3) the eye and the kohl; (4) wounds, blood and bandages; (5) the body, the nails and the dirt; (6) the jewelry; (7) the conduct of the טבילה and of the חפיפה — giving for each real key seifim. This level has two parts. (1) Daat HaRav — the shitah of Chabad: there is a genuine Chabad halachic tradition, whose authority of reference in Niddah is the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch. (2) Halacha lema'asse: the general psak (Beit Yosef, Rama, Shach, Taz — the great reference here, Sidrei Tahara, Chochmat Adam, Aruch haShulchan) and the contemporary pesak (Taharat haBayit, Shevet haLevi, Badei haShulchan, Nishmat Avraham for the medical angle). We cite only real and attested positions; where a specific Chabad psak or minhag is not established with certainty, we note it at the level of principle — without ever inventing a responsum, a number or a minhag. The practical consequence is clear: the חפיפה, the examination of the חציצות (nail polish, false nails, contact lenses, fillings, a cast, makeup) and the conduct of the טבילה are concrete rules that one learns; therefore every conclusion (lema'asse) ends by referring you to your Rav, to the balanit or to a moret kalla — one learns these dinim from a person, and one never rules alone on a doubt.
📑 תוכן העניינים
שורש הסימן — כל גופה בפעם אחת וכלל המקפיד (מ״ח סעיפים)
1. The whole body at once, and the criterion of the מקפיד. She must immerse her whole body at once (כל גופה בפעם אחת); so nothing interposing (חוצץ), even the slightest (כל שהוא), may remain on her. The criterion: if people sometimes mind it (דרך בני אדם להקפיד) → it interposes, even if she herself does not mind it at the moment; and if the thing covers the greater part of the body (רוב הגוף) → it interposes even if no one minds it. Rama: לכתחילה, she should not immerse even with things that do not interpose — a גזרה, for fear of the things that do interpose.
1. שורש הסימן — כל גופה בפעם אחת, and the grid of the מקפיד
The foundation. The whole siman flows from a single requirement: the טבילה purifies when the whole body touches the water at once (כל גופה בפעם אחת). If anything interposes between the body (or the hair) and the water, that point has not "entered the water," and the טבילה is missed. The חציצה is therefore not a convenience, but a condition of validity. The שיער is part of the גוף: what interposes in the hair interposes as on the skin. The siman will then enumerate, case by case, what interposes and what does not — and the key that orders it all is the מקפיד.
The grid of the חציצה: רוב / מיעוט · מקפיד / אינו מקפיד. Seif 1 sets a grid that the Rishonim (Rashba, Rosh, Tour) systematize. Four cases: (a) most of the body/hair + she minds it (רובו ומקפיד) → interposes מדאורייתא; (b) a part + she minds it (מקצתו ומקפיד), or (c) most + without minding (רובו ואינו מקפיד) → interposes מדרבנן; (d) a part + without minding (מקצתו ואינו מקפיד) → does not interpose. And the "minding" is not only hers: if דרך בני אדם להקפיד (people in general mind it), the thing interposes even if she personally does not. This is THE key of the siman: almost every seif is just an application of this grid to an object (hair, kohl, blood, טיט, jewelry…). Measuring "רוב" concretely and ruling "מקפיד?" is learned from a Rav, the balanit or a moret kalla.
2. פסק המחבר והרמ״א — the seven families of the חציצה (מ״ח סעיפים)
Siman 198 has forty-eight seifim. Rather than render them one by one, here is the map faithful to the text, grouped into seven families — each being only an application of the grid of the מקפיד.
Family
Seifim
Psak (anchored in the text)
1. The principle
§1
כל גופה בפעם אחת; nothing interposing, even כל שהוא; criterion of the מקפיד (רובו ומקפיד מדאורייתא; דרך בני אדם להקפיד suffices; רוב הגוף interposes even without minding). Rama: לכתחילה not even with what does not interpose (a גזרה).
2. The hair
§2-6
Wool/linen threads and ribbons tied → interpose (until untied; in a braid (קליעה), loosening does not suffice); hollow / net-like threads do not interpose; hair (חוטי שער) does not interpose — except gilded or dirty (מקפדת) → interposes; 2 hairs knotted do not interpose; hair matted by sweat: against the heart / beard → interposes; head, armpit, אותו מקום of the man → does not interpose; for the married woman → interposes.
3. The eye
§7-8
לפלוף (rheum) outside the eye → interposes (even moist); inside the eye → does not interpose; dry and התחיל להוריק → interposes. כחול (kohl) inside the eye → does not interpose; outside the eye → interposes.
4. Wounds & bandages
§9-12
Dry blood on the wound (דם יבש) → interposes; the ריר within → does not interpose; רטיה (bandage) → interposes; arrow / thorn lodged: visible → interposes, not visible → does not; sweat dirt → does not interpose; scab (נגלד כגליד) → interposes.
5. The body & the nails
§13-22
טיט (mud) and צבע / ink / sap per moist/dry and מקפיד; filth or dough under the nail → interposes (כנגד הבשר nuanced) → hence the minhag of cutting the nails (נטילת צפרניים) at the טבילה; the nail itself does not interpose; hanging flesh/skin → interposes.
6. The jewelry
§23
Bracelets, earrings, rings, necklaces (שירים, נזמים, טבעות, קטלאות): loose (רפויים) → do not interpose; tight (מהודקים) → interpose. Likewise the bandage on the wound and the splint on the fracture.
7. The conduct
§24-48
Cleaning the teeth (לחצוץ שיניה); rinsing the hidden places; not immersing on a vessel (כלי); dust of the feet (§45) — a מחלוקת; immersed clothed (§46) → permitted (loose clothes); lice stuck (§47); immersed without intent (§48) → permitted (Rama: יש מחמירין).
3. שיטת הצמח צדק וחב״ד — Daat HaRav on the טבילה and the חציצה
Method note (important). This part presents the Chabad halachic approach to Niddah and, here, to the טבילה and the חציצה. There is a genuine Chabad tradition of psak, whose authority of reference in Niddah is the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch (for Chabad, the "Tzemach Tzedek" always designates that Rebbe — never another author of the same title). We present it at the level of principle; we attribute to the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch or to a Rebbe no precise psak, responsum number or minhag that we could not verify. For the detail of a case — the conduct of the חפיפה, the examination of a חציצה (nail polish, false nails, contact lenses, fillings, a cast), the manner of immersing — the Chabad practice is to turn to a Chabad Rav or a Dayan, and the woman to a balanit or a moret kalla: these dinim are learned, they are not deduced alone.
The Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch — Chabad's halachic authority of reference in Niddah
The Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch — Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1789-1866), third Rebbe of Lubavitch and grandson of the Admour HaZaken — is the poseq of reference of Chabad, especially in טהרת המשפחה. His collection of responsa and pisqei dinim (the שו״ת צמח צדק) covers Yoreh De'ah and the laws of Niddah broadly, and it is to him that the Chabad tradition turns first for these questions. At the level of principle, the Chabad school joins a great stringency in טהרת המשפחה to particular care for the concrete conduct of the חפיפה (the preparation: washing, combing, removing all that interposes) and for the examination of the חציצות — precisely the terrain of this siman. The minhagim of Chabad in the חפיפה, the examination of the חציצות and the conduct of the טבילה are a living domain; they are learned from a Chabad Rav, a balanit and a moret kalla, and we ascribe to them here no detail that we could not attest.
Daat HaRav and the heart of the siman. On the very foundation of this siman — כל גופה בפעם אחת, the grid of the מקפיד, the examination of the חציצות and the conduct of the חפיפה — the Chabad approach does not depart from the framework of the Choulhan Aroukh and the Rama, and the Chabad mesorah is known for its stringency in טהרת המשפחה. Its specificity shows in the care brought to the preparation (the meticulous חפיפה, the scrupulous examination against any חציצה) and in the systematic referral to the Rav, the balanit and the moret kalla. We attribute to it no precise disposition on the detail of a modern חציצה that is not attested: for actual practice, one follows the instruction of a Chabad Rav.
Lema'asse (Daat HaRav). According to the Chabad tradition, one follows in these matters the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch and the pisqei dinim transmitted in Chabad, with the school's stringency in טהרת המשפחה. For day-to-day application — the חפיפה, the examination of a חציצה, the conduct of the טבילה — consult your Rav (or a Chabad Rav / Dayan), the balanit and a moret kalla: this level presents the principle, it does not rule on your situation, and these practical dinim are learned from a person.
4. השער — threads, knots, gilded and matted hair (§2-6)
Threads and ribbons tied (§2): wool or linen threads and ribbons wound in the hair → interpose until she loosens them (תרפם); but in a braid (קליעה), mere loosening does not suffice. (Tied only at the neck → do not interpose, except a tight קטלא that chokes.)
Hollow / net-like threads (§3): if they are hollow, net-shaped (מעשה רשת), the water passes → do not interpose.
Hair (§4-5):hair threads (חוטי שער) do not interpose; but gilded or dirty (מוזהבות / מטונפים) → she minds them → interpose. Two knotted hairs do not interpose; a single knotted hair interposes only if she minds it (until רוב שערה is knotted).
Hair matted by sweat (§6): against the heart and in the beard → interposes; at the head, the armpit, and at אותו מקום for the man → does not interpose; for the married woman → interposes.
Why all this follows the grid of the מקפיד. These seifim are only an application of seif 1. The tied ribbon interposes because it is tight and one minds it; loosened, it ceases — except in the braid, where loosening does not truly free it. The hair in itself is of the body (it does not interpose), but gilded or soiled, it becomes the object of a הקפדה and interposes. And matting by sweat follows the place and the person: where one minds it (the heart, the beard, the married woman), it interposes; where one does not, it does not. Verifying concretely that no thread, ribbon or matted hair remains is the work of the חפיפה and of the verification by the balanit.
Lema'asse (the hair). The principle: untie threads and ribbons and comb out the hair at the חפיפה; what is gilded or soiled interposes. But combing and checking the hair — above all for one who has extensions, tight braids or knots — is precisely the object of the חפיפה and the final verification. Learn these rules from the balanit or a moret kalla, and for a particular case, ask your Rav.
5. העין — the לפלוף and the כחול, inside and outside the eye (§7-8)
לפלוף (rheum) — §7:outside the eye → interposes, even moist; inside the eye → does not interpose; dry and that has begun to yellow (התחיל להוריק) → interposes.
כחול (kohl, eye-paint) — §8:inside the eye → does not interpose; outside the eye → interposes; and if she opens and closes the eye constantly (פותחת ועוצמת תדיר), even outside the eye → does not interpose (the movement lets the water through).
Why "inside the eye" does not interpose. The inside of the eye is a בית הסתרים (a hidden place that the water need not penetrate מן הדין for the act itself); what remains there does not interpose. By contrast, what is visible, on the outside (the rim of the eye, the skin) must be touched by the water: the לפלוף or the כחול there interpose. The nuance of the yellowing and the blinking shows the fineness of the measure. In practice, the woman removes eye makeup (kohl, mascara, eye-paint) at the חפיפה. Permanent or semi-permanent makeup around the eye is a genuine שאלה to bring to the Rav.
Lema'asse (the eye). The principle: one removes eye makeup (the outside-the-eye interposes) at the חפיפה. But permanent makeup around the eye, or a medical case of the eye, is a שאלה: one does not decide alone. Consult your Rav, the balanit or a moret kalla.
The dry blood on the wound → interposes; the ריר (ooze) within → does not interpose. The ooze that has come out stays "moist" for 3 days (does not interpose), then dries → interposes. A woman with scabs (בעלת חטטים) must soak [the scabs] in water until they soften.
§9
רטיה (bandage)
The bandage on the wound → interposes: it must be removed before immersing.
§10
קוץ / חץ lodged
A thorn or arrow lodged in the flesh: visible from outside → interposes; not visible → does not interpose.
§11
Sweat & scab
Sweat dirt → does not interpose; but what has hardened into a scab (נגלד כגליד) → interposes.
§12
Why "visible" is the dividing line. The rule of the lodged thorn gives the clearest criterion: what is visible (נראה) is "on" the body and must touch the water → interposes; what is buried, not visible, is as though "in" the body, needs no water contact → does not interpose. Dry blood interposes (a hardened foreign body), the moist ריר does not (still "living," part of the wound). Hence the major practical conduct of this siman for wounds, scabs and bandages: soften in hot water what can be softened, remove the bandage, and — for a suture, a cast or a foreign body one cannot remove — bring the שאלה to the Rav (this is the angle of the Nishmat Avraham).
Lema'asse (wounds and bandages). The principle: remove the bandage, soften dry blood and scabs; what is visible interposes. But a suture, a cast, a bandage one cannot remove, a prosthesis are a real medical-halachic שאלה (Nishmat Avraham, Shevet haLevi). Consult your Rav and, if needed, a physician and the balanit; one does not decide alone a case of a wound or a cast.
7. הגוף, הצפורן והלכלוך — mud, ink, dirt under the nail and נטילת צפרניים (§13-22)
טיט, ink, sap, milk, honey (§14-16): the moist / dry grid — ordinary mud and ink, moist → do not interpose (the water dissolves them); dry → interpose; but certain טיט (potter's, road) always interpose, and if she minds it, even moist interposes. Blood fixed in the flesh, even moist → interposes.
צבע (dye, makeup) — §17: the dye with which women color their face, hands and hair → does not interpose (she does not mind it); likewise the dyer, the שוחט or the butcher with hands stained with blood (רוב בני אומנותם אינם מקפידים).
Filth or dough under the nail (§18-20):filth (צואה) under the nail, where the nail overhangs the flesh (שלא כנגד הבשר) → interposes; dough (בצק), even כנגד הבשר → interposes. Since one cannot measure, women have the practice of cutting the nails (נטילת צפרניים) at the טבילה; the nail itself does not interpose.
Hanging nail or skin (§21-22): a hanging nail detached in part → interposes, detached for the most part → does not interpose; hanging flesh/skin → interposes.
The practical heart of the siman: the nail and the מקפיד. Seif 17 shows the thread of the whole family: makeup and trade-stains do not interpose because the one who wears them does not mind them (on the contrary, she wants them, or they are the routine of her work). But the filth under the nail is the reverse: one minds it. Since the boundary "כנגד הבשר / שלא כנגד הבשר" is too fine to measure in practice, the usage has settled it: one cuts the nails before the טבילה (נטילת צפרניים) — it is the best-known practical gesture of this siman. From this flows directly the modern שאלה of nail polish and false nails: the polish covers the nail (a probable חציצה, one minds it at the mikvé), the false nails / extensions likewise — one removes them at the חפיפה, and for a particular case one asks the Rav.
Lema'asse (body and nails). The principle: cut the nails (נטילת צפרניים) and clean beneath them; remove nail polish and false nails; dry mud and ink interpose. But permanent polish, gel, nail extensions are a real שאלה, and there are cases (polish that will not come off, a damaged nail) settled case by case. Learn the נטילת צפרניים from the balanit or a moret kalla, and ask your Rav about polish and false nails.
8. השירים והנזמים — bracelets, rings and earrings: loose or tight (§23)
Loose (רפויים) → do not interpose: bracelets, earrings, rings and necklaces that do not tighten let the water through (but one removes them לכתחילה).
Tight (מהודקים) → interpose: those that press the flesh prevent the water from reaching the skin → interpose.
Likewise the bandage on the wound (אגד) and the splint on the fracture (קשקשים שעל השבר): according to whether they tighten or not.
Why "tight" interposes. The jewel interposes not by its material but by its contact: loose, the water circulates beneath it and reaches the skin; tight (מהודק), it clings to the flesh and the water does not enter — the skin it covers has not "entered the water." Since one minds it (at the mikvé, one wants to leave nothing), and one cannot judge the "tight" with certainty, the usage is to remove all jewelry before immersing (rings, wedding band, bracelets, earrings, piercings). A particular case — a ring that will not come off, a recent piercing, a medical jewel — is a שאלה to the Rav.
Lema'asse (the jewelry). The principle: one removes all jewelry (rings, wedding band, bracelets, earrings, piercings) before the טבילה; tight, they interpose. But a ring that will not come off, a recent piercing or a medical device are a שאלה. Learn from the balanit what must be removed, and for a particular case consult your Rav.
9. הנהגת הטבילה והחפיפה — the conduct, the borderline cases and the modern חציצות (§24-48)
She must clean between her teeth that nothing interposing remain; if she immersed and something remained → it did not count. The usage of not eating meat on the day of the mikvé (it lodges between the teeth). The Taz is the great reference here (40 ס"ק).
§24-26
Not immersing on a כלי
Where there is mud, she does not stand on a vessel (כלי) to immerse (the decree of bathhouses); but bundles (חבילי זמורות) under the feet, which do not receive טומאה, are permitted.
§30-33
Dust of the feet (§45)
She does not immerse with the dust of her feet (אבק רגליה); if she immersed — a מחלוקת (one says it does not interpose / one says it interposes), unless she rubbed or immersed in hot water.
§45
Immersed clothed (§46)
A נדה who immersed in her clothes → permitted to her husband: loose clothes do not make a חציצה, for the water penetrates them.
§46
Lice stuck (§47)
Lice stuck and biting the skin: one must remove them with hot water and the nail; if she cannot → does not interpose.
§47
Without intent (§48)
A נדה who immersed without intent (בלא כוונה) — fell into the water, or went down to cool off → permitted to her husband. Rama: יש מחמירין who require another טבילה (one should be stringent לכתחילה).
§48
The חפיפה, and the question of the כוונה. This whole last family describes the conduct of the טבילה and, by implication, the object of the חפיפה (the preparation): washing, combing, cleaning the teeth, removing all that interposes (hair, nails, makeup, polish, jewelry, bandages, contact lenses, a cast) — this is what one learns from a balanit or a moret kalla. Two notable leniencies: the immersed clothed (§46) is valid because loose clothes let the water through (proof that the חציצה rests on tight contact, not on the material); and the immersed without כוונה (§48) is valid per the Mehaber — hence the מחלוקת of the Rishonim (does it require intent? Rashba, Rabbenou Yerucham, Rokeach against) and the יש מחמירין of the Rama. The modern חציצות — nail polish, false nails, permanent makeup, contact lenses, fillings and crowns, a cast, bandages — are each a שאלה (מקפיד?) to the Rav (cf. simanim 197, 199, 201 for the time, the examination and the mikvé). For fillings, crowns and dental care, as for the cast and prostheses, the medical angle is treated by the Nishmat Avraham and the Shevet haLevi.
Lema'asse (the conduct and the modern חציצות). The principle: the חפיפה (washing, combing, cleaning the teeth, removing all that interposes) precedes the טבילה; the balanit verifies at the mikvé. But each modern חציצה — nail polish, false nails, permanent makeup, contact lenses, fillings and crowns, a cast, bandages — is a שאלה to the Rav, and the conduct (immersed clothed, without intent) is settled case by case. Learn the חפיפה from a moret kalla or the balanit, and bring each modern חציצה to your Rav; one never rules alone on a doubt of חציצה.
10. פסיקת זמננו וסיכום מעשי — contemporary psika and the recap
Method note. The works cited below extend the principles of siman 198 for today's practice (in particular the modern חציצות). They are cited as recognized currents of psika, to be confirmed with a Rav, the balanit or a moret kalla before any application. We cite only real and attested positions; we invoke no responsum number or minhag that we could not verify — in particular for the Chabad minhagim, given at the level of principle.
For Sephardim, contemporary psika starts from the Beit Yosef and the Shach: the practical reference is the Taharat haBayit of Rav Ovadia Yosef (and its abridgement Yalkout Yosef — Taharat haBayit), which details the חציצה, the חפיפה and the modern cases. For Ashkenazim, it starts from the Rama, the Shach and above all the Taz (the great reference of this siman, present on almost every seif), then the great commentary specific to Niddah, the Sidrei Tahara, and the codifiers: the Chochmat Adam (and its Binat Adam) and the Aruch haShulchan (Yoreh De'ah). For the 20th-21st 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 treats in detail the חציצה and the חפיפה; and for the medical angle — a cast, sutures, prostheses, fillings —, the Nishmat Avraham. All insist on learning these dinim from a מורה הוראה, a balanit and a moret kalla.
Point of the siman
Contemporary orientation (to verify)
כל גופה / the מקפיד
The whole body at once; grid רוב/מיעוט · מקפיד → Taharat haBayit, Badei haShulchan; Rav or balanit.
Hair & חפיפה
Untie threads and knots, comb, extensions and braids → Sidrei Tahara, Shevet haLevi; balanit, moret kalla.
Nails & polish
נטילת צפרניים; polish, gel, false nails → Taz, Aruch haShulchan, Taharat haBayit; שאלה to the Rav.
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 in טהרת המשפחה joined to attention to the חפיפה and the examination of the חציצות. The minhagim of Chabad in the חפיפה, the examination of the חציצות and the conduct of the טבילה are a living domain, learned from a Chabad Rav, a balanit and a moret kalla. We attribute here no precise psak or minhag that would not be verifiable; for the detail of a case, one turns to a Chabad Rav or a Dayan, and the woman to a balanit or a moret kalla.
טבלה — the seven families of the siman, in practice
Family
In substance
Reference
The principle & the מקפיד
כל גופה בפעם אחת; nothing חוצץ even כל שהוא; grid רוב/מקפיד; דרך בני אדם להקפיד
Mehaber, Rama (198:1)
The hair
Threads and knots → חוצץ (קליעה); gilded/dirty hair → חוצץ; matted per place and the married woman
Mehaber, Rama (198:2-6)
The eye
לפלוף / כחול: inside the eye אינו חוצץ, outside the eye חוצץ
טיט / ink per moist/dry; צבע אינו חוצץ; filth under the nail → נטילת צפרניים; the nail אינו חוצץ
Mehaber, Rama (198:13-22)
The jewelry
רפויים do not interpose, מהודקים interpose — one removes them all
Mehaber (198:23)
The conduct & the חפיפה
לחצוץ שיניה; אבק רגליה (a מחלוקת); immersed clothed → permitted; בלא כוונה → permitted (Rama: יש מחמירין)
Mehaber, Rama (198:24-48)
טבלה — who says what (nossei kelim of the siman)
Posek
Decisive contribution (corpus-anchored)
Mehaber
The principle (כל גופה בפעם אחת, חוצץ אפילו כל שהוא, grid of the מקפיד); the seven families of the חציצה — hair, eye, wounds, body and nails (נטילת צפרניים), jewelry, conduct; and the leniencies (immersed clothed, without כוונה).
Rama (הגה)
The decrees and precisions: לכתחילה not even with what does not interpose (§1); gilded/dirty hair and nightly matting (§4, §6); not eating between the rinsing and the טבילה (§24); and the חידוש of the יש מחמירין on the טבילה בלא כוונה (§48).
Taz (Turei Zahav)
The great reference of the siman (40 ס"ק, on almost every seif): the grid of the חציצה, the measure of the רוב, the cases of the nail, the teeth and the conduct of the טבילה.
Shach (Siftei Kohen)
On the principles of the חציצה (to be completed by Sidrei Tahara and Chochmat Adam, major references on Niddah, and the Pitchei Teshuva, very rich in responsa on this siman).
טבלה — Daat HaRav and contemporary currents (to verify)
Chabad (Daat HaRav): the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, 3rd Rebbe of Lubavitch, 1789-1866) is the poseq of reference of Chabad on Niddah; his שו״ת covers the הלכות נדה. The Chabad school joins stringency in טהרת המשפחה and care for the חפיפה and the examination of the חציצות; the Chabad minhagim are learned from a Chabad Rav, a balanit and a moret kalla. (No precise psak or minhag is attributed here without a source.)
Sephardim: Taharat haBayit (Rav Ovadia Yosef); Yalkout Yosef — Taharat haBayit (Rav Yitzhak Yosef). They extend the Beit Yosef and the Shach: the detail of the חציצה, the חפיפה and the modern חציצות, and the recourse to the Rav, the balanit and the moret kalla.
Ashkenazim: Taz (40 ס"ק — the great reference); Sidrei Tahara (the key commentary on Niddah); Chochmat Adam / Binat Adam; Aruch haShulchan (YD); Shevet haLevi (Rav Wozner); Badei haShulchan; and the Nishmat Avraham for the medical angle (a cast, sutures, prostheses, fillings). One brings these dinim to a מורה הוראה, a balanit and a moret kalla.
On the substance, retain the seven families: the principle (כל גופה בפעם אחת, nothing חוצץ even כל שהוא, grid of the מקפיד); the hair (threads, knots, gilded, matted); the eye (לפלוף / כחול); the wounds (דם יבש, רטיה, קוץ); the body and the nails (טיט, צבע, filth under the nail → נטילת צפרניים); the jewelry (רפויים / מהודקים); and the conduct (לחצוץ שיניה, אבק רגליה, immersed clothed, בלא כוונה).
Daat HaRav (Chabad): one follows the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch and the pisqei dinim of Chabad, with the care of the school (stringency in טהרת המשפחה joined to attention to the חפיפה and the examination of the חציצות); the minhagim are learned from a Chabad Rav, a balanit and a moret kalla.
Halacha lema'asse: Beit Yosef, Rama, Shach, Taz, Sidrei Tahara, Chochmat Adam, Aruch haShulchan, and the contemporary pesak (Taharat haBayit, Shevet haLevi, Badei haShulchan, Nishmat Avraham) — all on these same families.
The golden rule of this siman: the חפיפה and the examination of the חציצות (nail polish, false nails, contact lenses, fillings, a cast, permanent makeup) are concrete rules of daily life that are learned from a person. One never rules alone on a doubt of חציצה. For any application, and above all for a modern חציצה or a medical case, consult your Rav, the balanit or a moret kalla.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ DAAT · הרב יוסף חיים סממה
תלמיד חכם · מעביר שיעורים בהלכה ובחסידות דעת הרב והלכה למעשה בדיני טבילה וחציצה · סימן קצ״ח · 🕯️ Level 4 — Daat HaRav (Chabad) & Halacha lema'asse
⚠️ This content is for study (טהרת המשפחה). The positions cited (Daat HaRav / Chabad, Sephardi and Ashkenazi currents) are landmarks, not a personal psak. The חפיפה, the criterion of the מקפיד and the חציצות (nail polish, false nails, contact lenses, fillings, a cast, permanent makeup) are rules למעשה: for any practical application (לְמַעֲשֶׂה), and above all for a modern חציצה or a medical case, learn them from a qualified Rav (or a Chabad Rav / Dayan), the balanit or a moret kalla — and never rule alone.