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DAAT · LEVEL 4 — DAAT HARAV (CHABAD) & HALACHA LEMA'ASSE

שולחן ערוך · יורה דעה

Siman 200 — When to Say the Blessing of the Immersion (Birkat haTevilah): Before or After the Tevilah, and the Custom of Blessing Covered in the Water

סימן ר׳ · דין ברכת הטבילה

אֵימָתַי תַּעֲשֶׂה בִּרְכַּת הַטְּבִילָה — קֹדֶם אוֹ לְאַחַר הַטְּבִילָה

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 🕯️

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Daat HaRav (Chabad) & Halacha lema'asse

The shitah of the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch and of Chabad on the ברכת הטבילה,
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 ר׳ (סעיף אחד)
אימתי תעשה ברכת הטבילה : פסק המחבר — מברכת קודם הטבילה כשעומדת בחלוקה (עובר לעשייתן), ואם לא ברכה — לאחר שתכנס במים עד צוארה, ובמים צלולים עוכרתן ברגליה ; פסק הרמ״א בשם בעל הלכות גדולות, רש״י והרמב״ן — שלא תברך עד לאחר הטבילה, מכסה עצמה בבגדה (וכן נוהגים) ; והשורש : עובר לעשייתן לעומת לבו רואה את הערוה, והכיסוי הפותר ; ומנהג ספרד לעומת אשכנז

Register (the blessing at the mikveh):
The siman governs the timing of a single blessing:
the ברכת הטבילה — before or after the טבילה,
and the custom of blessing covered in the water.
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 200 is the last siman of the Hilchot Niddah (and it closes the great block of the טהרת המשפחה): it no longer deals with the טבילה itself but with a single blessing — אֵימָתַי תַּעֲשֶׂה בִּרְכַּת הַטְּבִילָה: when to say the blessing of the immersion, before or after the טבילה. The siman has only one seif (סעיף אחד), but this dense seif carries three positions. (1) The Mehaber: she blesses before (עובר לעשייתן), when she removes her clothes and stands in her חלוק (shift) — "אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על הטבילה" — then removes the חלוק and immerses; if she forgot, she blesses after entering the water up to her neck, stirring the water with her foot (עוכרתן ברגליה) if it is clear. (2) The Rama (יש אומרים, in the name of the בעל הלכות גדולות / בה"ג, of Rashi and of Ramban): she blesses only after the טבילה; וכן נוהגים — after immersing, while she still stands in the water, she covers herself (מכסית עצמה) with her garment or her חלוק and blesses. (3) The halachic hinge: the tension between עובר לעשייתן (blessing before the deed) and the concern of blessing while uncovered — לבו רואה את הערוה — which the כיסוי (covering oneself, stirring the water) resolves. 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; and the Chabad custom, like the Ashkenazi custom, is to bless after the immersion, covered, in the water. (2) Halacha lema'asse: the general psak (Beit Yosef, 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 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 exact moment of the ברכת הטבילה, the gesture of the כיסוי and the conduct "if she forgot" 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 — she guides the exact moment at the mikveh, and one never rules alone on a doubt.

📑 תוכן העניינים

שורש הסימן — אימתי תעשה ברכת הטבילה (סעיף אחד)
פסק המחבר והרמ״א — שלוש העמדות שבסעיף
שיטת הצמח צדק וחב״ד — דעת הרב בברכת הטבילה
שיטת המחבר — לברך קודם, עובר לעשייתן, בחלוקה
שיטת הרמ״א — לברך לאחר הטבילה, מכוסה במים
לבו רואה את הערוה — צניעות הברכה והכיסוי
מנהג ספרד ואשכנז — ההנהגה למעשה במקוה
פסיקת זמננו וסיכום מעשי — נושאי הכלים והפוסקים

📜 The text of the Choulhan Aroukh — seif Alef (אימתי תעשה ברכת הטבילה)

כְּשֶׁפּוֹשֶׁטֶת מַלְבּוּשֶׁיהָ כְּשֶׁעוֹמֶדֶת בַּחֲלוּקָהּ תְּבָרֵךְ אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל הַטְּבִילָה, וְתִפְשֹׁט חֲלוּקָהּ וְתִטְבֹּל ; וְאִם לֹא בֵּרְכָה — אָז תְּבָרֵךְ לְאַחַר שֶׁתִּכָּנֵס עַד צַוָּארָהּ בַּמַּיִם, וְאִם הֵם צְלוּלִים עוֹכַרְתָּן בְּרַגְלֶיהָ וּמְבָרֶכֶת. הגה: וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים שֶׁלֹּא תְבָרֵךְ עַד אַחַר הַטְּבִילָה (טוּר בְּשֵׁם בַּעַל הֲלָכוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת, וְרַשִׁ"י וְרַמְבַּ"ן) ; וְכֵן נוֹהֲגִים, שֶׁלְּאַחַר הַטְּבִילָה בְּעוֹדָהּ עוֹמֶדֶת בְּתוֹךְ הַמַּיִם מְכַסֵּית עַצְמָהּ בְּבִגְדָהּ אוֹ בַּחֲלוּקָהּ וּמְבָרֶכֶת.

When to say the blessing of the immersion. When she removes her clothes and stands in her חלוק (shift), she says "אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על הטבילה", then removes the חלוק and immerses; and if she did not bless, she blesses after entering the water up to her neck, and if the water is clear (צלולים), she stirs it with her foot (עוכרתן ברגליה) [so as not to see her body] and blesses. Rama: And some say (יש אומרים) that she blesses only after the טבילה (Tur in the name of the בעל הלכות גדולות, and Rashi and Ramban); and such is the custom (וכן נוהגים) — after the טבילה, while she still stands in the water, she covers herself with her garment or her חלוק and blesses.

— Choulhan Aroukh, Yoreh De'ah 200:1 (סעיף אחד) · base: נדה ; ברכת הטבילה · Sefaria YD 200:1

1. שורש הסימן — when to say the ברכת הטבילה

The foundation. All mitsvot receive their blessing עובר לעשייתן — "before their performance", right next to the deed. If the טבילה were a mitsva like any other, one would therefore bless before immersing. But two difficulties peculiar to the טבילה blur this principle. (1) Before immersing she is still נדה / טמאה: can one bless "על הטבילה" while the טהרה has not yet come about? (2) One does not bless while naked: לבו רואה את הערוה — "the heart sees the nakedness" forbids pronouncing a בְּרָכָה when the body is uncovered. Yet at the very moment of the טבילה she is naked. The whole siman is the resolution of this double tension: where and how to place the blessing so that it is at once close to the deed and said with modesty. The Mehaber places it before (in the חלוק); the Rama, following the בה"ג, places it after (covered, in the water).

One blessing, two moments. This last siman of the Hilchot Niddah no longer bears on the validity of the טבילה (treated through siman 199) but on its בְּרָכָה. The question is not which blessing (it is "אשר קדשנו... על הטבילה", without dispute) but when to say it. The Mehaber, faithful to the general principle עובר לעשייתן, has it said before — but since one does not bless while naked, he places it while she is still in her חלוק, just before entering. The Rama, following the בה"ג, Rashi and the Ramban, holds that one cannot bless "על הטבילה" before the טהרה has come about, and has it said after — but then, for modesty, covered in the water (מכסית עצמה). The "כיסוי" (the garment, or the stirred water) is the shared pivot of both ways: it makes the blessing modest. Measuring this moment concretely at the mikveh is learned from the balanit or a moret kalla.

2. פסק המחבר והרמ״א — the three positions of the seif (סעיף אחד)

Siman 200 has only one seif, but this single, dense seif carries three positions — the way of the Mehaber, his case "if she forgot", and the way of the Rama. Here is the map faithful to the text.

Position	Who	Psak (anchored in the text)
1. Bless before (עובר לעשייתן)	Mehaber	When she stands in her חלוק (clothes removed, shift kept), she says "אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על הטבילה", then removes the חלוק and immerses. The blessing precedes the deed — עובר לעשייתן — but is said covered (still wearing the חלוק).
2. If she forgot	Mehaber	If she did not bless beforehand, she blesses after entering the water up to her neck; and if the water is clear (צלולים), she stirs it with her foot (עוכרתן ברגליה) — so as not to see her body through the water — and blesses then.
3. Bless after (וכן נוהגים)	Rama, in the name of the בה"ג / רש"י / רמב"ן	יש אומרים that she blesses only after the טבילה; וכן נוהגים: after immersing, while she still stands in the water, she covers herself with her garment or her חלוק (מכסית עצמה) and blesses. (The טהרה having come about through the טבילה, and modesty preserved by the כיסוי.)

כלל הפסק של הסימן :
בִּרְכַּת הַטְּבִילָה — לְהַמְחַבֵּר מְבָרֶכֶת קֹדֶם, עוֹבֵר לַעֲשִׂיָּתָן, כְּשֶׁעוֹמֶדֶת בַּחֲלוּקָהּ ; וְאִם לֹא בֵּרְכָה — לְאַחַר שֶׁתִּכָּנֵס עַד צַוָּארָהּ, עוֹכַרְתָּן בְּרַגְלֶיהָ. וּלְהָרְמַ"א, בְּשֵׁם בה"ג רש"י וְרַמְבַּ"ן — לְאַחַר הַטְּבִילָה, מְכַסֵּית עַצְמָהּ בְּתוֹךְ הַמַּיִם וּמְבָרֶכֶת (וְכֵן נוֹהֲגִים). וְהַשֹּׁרֶשׁ — לְבּוֹ רוֹאֶה אֶת הָעֶרְוָה, וְהַכִּסּוּי הַפּוֹתֵר. וּמִכָּל מָקוֹם — הֲלָכָה לְמַעֲשֶׂה, אֶל רַב, בַּלָּנִית אוֹ מוֹרַת כַּלָּה.

3. שיטת הצמח צדק וחב״ד — Daat HaRav on the ברכת הטבילה

Method note (important). This part presents the Chabad halachic approach to Niddah and, here, to the timing of the ברכת הטבילה. There is a genuine tradition of Chabad 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 do not attribute to the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch or to a Rebbe any precise psak, responsum number or minhag that we could not verify. For the detail of a case — the exact moment of the blessing, the gesture of the כיסוי, the conduct "if she forgot" —, the Chabad custom is to turn to a Chabad Rav or a Dayan, and the woman to a balanit or a moret kalla: these dinim are learned, one does not deduce them alone.

The Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch — Chabad's halachic authority of reference on Niddah

The Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch — Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1789-1866), third Rebbe of Lubavitch and grandson of the Admour HaZaken — is the posek of reference of Chabad, particularly in טהרת המשפחה. His collection of responsa and pisqei dinim (the שו״ת צמח צדק) covers Yoreh De'ah and the laws of Niddah extensively, and it is to him that the Chabad tradition turns first for these questions. On the very point of this siman — the timing of the ברכת הטבילה —, the Chabad custom follows the Ashkenazi way of the Rama: one blesses after the immersion, while she stands covered in the water (מכסית עצמה), in accordance with the בה"ג, Rashi and the Ramban. It is precisely the custom of the Rama that Chabad follows — at the level of principle. The minhagim of Chabad in the conduct of the טבילה and its בְּרָכָה 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 bedrock of this siman — when to say the ברכת הטבילה —, the Chabad approach, like the whole Ashkenazi custom, follows the Rama: the blessing is said after the טבילה, the woman מכסית עצמה (covered) in the water, per the בה"ג / רש"י / רמב"ן. The specificity of Chabad shows in the care brought to the conduct of the טבילה and to the scrupulous respect of modesty (לבו רואה את הערוה), and in the systematic referral to the Rav, the balanit and the moret kalla. We attribute to it no precise ruling on the detail of a case — for example "if she forgot" or the exact measure of the כיסוי — that is not attested: for actual practice, one follows the instruction of a Chabad Rav and the guidance of the balanit.

Lema'asse (Daat HaRav). According to the Chabad tradition, one follows in this matter the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch and the Ashkenazi custom of the Rama: one blesses after the immersion, covered, in the water. For day-to-day application — the exact moment, the gesture of the כיסוי, the conduct "if she forgot" —, 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. שיטת המחבר — bless before, עובר לעשייתן, in the חלוק

The lines of the Mehaber's way

עובר לעשייתן: she blesses before immersing, faithful to the general principle that every mitsva receives its blessing right before the deed.
In the חלוק: but since one does not bless while naked, she says the בְּרָכָה while standing in her חלוק (clothes removed, shift kept), then removes the חלוק and immerses.
If she forgot: she blesses after entering the water up to her neck — already in the bath, modesty being assured by the water.
Clear water (עוכרתן ברגליה): if the water is limpid (and she would see her body), she stirs it with her foot before blessing, so as to see nothing.

Why before, and how modesty is preserved. The Mehaber holds to the guiding principle עובר לעשייתן: the blessing must precede the act, right next to it. The difficulty is not the "before" but the nakedness: one does not bless לבו רואה את הערוה. His solution is elegant — to bless while still in her חלוק, then to remove it and immerse at once: the blessing is thus both before and covered. The case "if she forgot" is the safety net: already in the water, she blesses up to her neck; and if the clear water lets her see her body, she stirs it with her foot (עוכרתן ברגליה) — the clouded water then playing the role of the כיסוי. We see that, in both cases, the Mehaber seeks to reconcile the closeness of the deed with modesty. Conducting this moment at the mikveh is learned from the balanit or a moret kalla.

Lema'asse (the Mehaber's way). The Sephardi principle, faithful to the Beit Yosef: bless before, in the חלוק, עובר לעשייתן; and "if she forgot", bless in the water, stirring it if it is clear. But the exact moment, and the conduct if something was omitted, are settled case by case. Learn the conduct of the בְּרָכָה from the balanit or a moret kalla, and for a particular case ask your Rav.

5. שיטת הרמ״א — bless after the טבילה, covered in the water

הגה: וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים שֶׁלֹּא תְבָרֵךְ עַד אַחַר הַטְּבִילָה (טוּר בְּשֵׁם בַּעַל הֲלָכוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת, וְהוּא בה"ג, וְרַשִׁ"י וְרַמְבַּ"ן) ; וְכֵן נוֹהֲגִים, שֶׁלְּאַחַר הַטְּבִילָה בְּעוֹדָהּ עוֹמֶדֶת בְּתוֹךְ הַמַּיִם מְכַסֵּית עַצְמָהּ בְּבִגְדָהּ אוֹ בַּחֲלוּקָהּ וּמְבָרֶכֶת.

— שולחן ערוך יו״ד ר׳:א (הגהת הרמ״א)

The lines of the Rama's way

יש אומרים — bless after: some hold that she blesses only after the טבילה, for one says "על הטבילה" only when the טהרה has already come about.
The sources (Tur): in the name of the בעל הלכות גדולות (בה"ג), of Rashi and of the Ramban — first-rank Rishonim.
וכן נוהגים: such is the (Ashkenazi) custom. In practice: after immersing, while she still stands in the water, she blesses.
מכסית עצמה: for modesty, she covers herself with her garment or her חלוק before blessing — the כיסוי resolving the לבו רואה את הערוה, even in the water.

Why the בה"ג makes an exception to עובר לעשייתן. The general rule is to bless before (עובר לעשייתן); why do the בה"ג, Rashi and the Ramban make an exception here? Because the טבילה is not a neutral deed: before immersing, the woman is still נדה / טמאה, and the טהרה — the very object of the blessing "על הטבילה" — has not yet occurred. To bless "על הטבילה" before the טהרה comes about would be, for them, to bless on what is not yet. They therefore place the בְּרָכָה after, once the טהרה is acquired. There remains the obstacle of modesty — she is naked in the water —, lifted by the כיסוי: she covers herself (מכסית עצמה) with her garment and blesses. Thus the Rama's way is coherent: after (for the טהרה) and covered (for modesty). This is the Ashkenazi custom, and it is the custom of Chabad (see the Daat HaRav part).

Lema'asse (the Rama's way). The Ashkenazi principle (and the custom of Chabad): bless after the טבילה, covered by her garment in the water, per the בה"ג, Rashi and the Ramban. But the exact measure of the כיסוי, the precise moment and the conduct before a lapse are a שאלה and a gesture that is learned. Learn the conduct of the בְּרָכָה from the balanit or a moret kalla, and for a particular case consult your Rav.

6. לבו רואה את הערוה — the modesty of the blessing and the כיסוי

The hinge common to both ways: do not bless the body uncovered

Beyond the machloket over the moment, the two positions share a single concern of modesty: one does not pronounce a blessing when the body is uncovered — לבו רואה את הערוה ("the heart sees the nakedness"). It is this concern that shapes each way. With the Mehaber, it commands blessing in the חלוק (before removing it), or, in case of a lapse, stirring the water with the foot (עוכרתן ברגליה) so as not to see her body. With the Rama, it commands covering oneself (מכסית עצמה) with the garment before blessing in the water. The כיסוי — the shift, the garment, or the clouded water — is thus the pivotal gesture of the whole siman: it makes the blessing dignified and modest. Everything here is said with sobriety and restraint, without crudeness.

Three forms of one כיסוי. The siman offers three ways of covering in order to bless, according to the situation: (1) the חלוק kept on (Mehaber, before the טבילה); (2) the stirred water from the foot (Mehaber, "if she forgot", when the clear water lets the body be seen); (3) the garment with which she covers herself in the water (Rama, after the טבילה). In all three cases the principle is the same: the בְּרָכָה is said, but never with the body uncovered. This is also why the actual conduct at the mikveh — where to stand, how to cover oneself, at exactly which instant to pronounce the blessing — falls so naturally to the guidance of the balanit: these are gestures that one is shown and learns, with dignity, more than one deduces from a text.

Lema'asse (modesty and the כיסוי). The principle: one does not bless the body uncovered (לבו רואה את הערוה), hence the כיסוי — the חלוק, the stirred water, or the garment with which she covers herself. But the exact gesture, in modesty, is one of those that one learns by seeing. Learn the conduct from the balanit or a moret kalla; for a particular case, ask your Rav.

7. מנהג ספרד ואשכנז — the actual conduct at the mikveh

Two customs, one same care

Custom	Conduct (anchored in the text)	Source
ספרד (Mehaber)	Bless before, in the חלוק (עובר לעשייתן), then remove the חלוק and immerse; "if she forgot", bless in the water up to her neck, stirring it with the foot if it is clear.	Beit Yosef / Mehaber (200:1)
אשכנז (Rama)	Bless after the טבילה, covered in the water (מכסית עצמה) — in the name of the בה"ג, Rashi and the Ramban; וכן נוהגים.	Rama, in the name of the בה"ג (200:1)
Chabad	Follows the Ashkenazi custom of the Rama: bless after, covered, in the water (see the Daat HaRav part, §3).	cf. Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch / minhag Chabad

The balanit guides the exact moment. On the ground, the woman follows the custom of her community — Sephardi (before, in the חלוק) or Ashkenazi / Chabad (after, covered in the water). But the precise moment, the gesture of the כיסוי, the sequencing with the immersion: all this is settled at the mikveh, under the guidance of the balanit, and is learned beforehand from a moret kalla. The siman does not give a detailed protocol; it sets out the two ways and their hinge (עובר לעשייתן, לבו רואה את הערוה, the כיסוי), and leaves to oral transmission — Rav, balanit, moret kalla — the concrete conduct. This is exactly why every conclusion of this level refers to them: one learns these gestures from a person.

Lema'asse (the custom at the mikveh). The principle: one follows the custom of one's community — Sephardi (before, in the חלוק) or Ashkenazi / Chabad (after, covered in the water). But the exact moment and the gesture are settled at the mikveh. The balanit guides the exact moment; learn the conduct from her or from a moret kalla, and for any question consult your Rav.

8. פסיקת זמננו וסיכום מעשי — the contemporary psika and the summary

Method note. The works cited below extend the principle of siman 200 to today's practice (the timing of the ברכת הטבילה, the gesture of the כיסוי). They are cited as recognized streams 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.

The contemporary psika starts, for the Sephardim, from the Beit Yosef and the Shach: the practical reference is the Taharat haBayit of Rav Ovadia Yosef (and its abridgment Yalkut Yosef — Taharat haBayit), which details the timing of the ברכת הטבילה per the Sephardi custom (before, in the חלוק). For the Ashkenazim, it starts from the Rama, the Shach and the Taz (present on this siman, on the timing of the בְּרָכָה, the עובר לעשייתן and the כיסוי), 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). For responsa, the Pitchei Teshuva gathers on this siman the positions of the Acharonim (the timing of the בְּרָכָה, the ערוה, the custom). For the 20th-21st century, the major practical reference is the Shevet haLevi of Rav Shmuel Wozner, often accompanied by the Badei haShulchan (commentary of reference on the Hilchot Niddah), which treats in detail the conduct of the טבילה and its בְּרָכָה. All insist on learning these dinim from a moreh hora'ah, a balanit and a moret kalla.

Point of the siman	Contemporary orientation (to be verified)
The timing of the בְּרָכָה	Sephardim: before, in the חלוק (עובר לעשייתן) → Beit Yosef, Taharat haBayit. Ashkenazim / Chabad: after, covered in the water → Rama, Aruch haShulchan; balanit.
The כיסוי & modesty	חלוק, stirred water (עוכרתן ברגליה) or garment (מכסית עצמה) → Taz, Sidrei Tahara, Badei haShulchan; balanit, moret kalla.
If she forgot	Bless in the water up to the neck, stir it if it is clear → Mehaber, Pitchei Teshuva; שאלה to the Rav.
Community custom	ספרד vs אשכנז; conduct at the mikveh → Shevet haLevi, Taharat haBayit; balanit (cf. siman 197-199).

Chabad within the psika

For the Chabad practice on this bedrock, one refers to the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch (whose שו״ת covers the הלכות נדה) and to the Ashkenazi custom of the Rama: one blesses after the immersion, covered (מכסית עצמה) in the water, in accordance with the בה"ג, Rashi and the Ramban. The care proper to the school — stringency in טהרת המשפחה joined to scrupulous respect of modesty — shapes the actual conduct. The minhagim of Chabad at the mikveh are a living domain, learned from a Chabad Rav, a balanit and a moret kalla. We attribute here no precise psak or minhag that is not 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 three positions of the siman, in practice

טבלה — who says what (nossei kelim of the siman)

טבלה — Daat HaRav and contemporary streams (to be verified)

Sefaria links (text and nossei kelim)

Position	In substance	Reference
Bless before (Mehaber)	In the חלוק, עובר לעשייתן, then remove and immerse	Mehaber (200:1)
If she forgot (Mehaber)	In the water up to the neck; clear water → עוכרתן ברגליה	Mehaber (200:1)
Bless after (Rama)	After the טבילה, covered in the water (מכסית עצמה); וכן נוהגים	Rama, בה"ג / רש"י / רמב"ן (200:1)
The hinge	עובר לעשייתן vs לבו רואה את הערוה; the כיסוי resolves	the whole seif

Posek	Decisive contribution (corpus-anchored)
Mehaber	Bless before, in the חלוק (עובר לעשייתן), then remove and immerse; and "if she forgot", bless in the water up to the neck, stirring it with the foot (עוכרתן ברגליה) if it is clear. This is the Sephardi custom.
Rama (הגה)	The after way, in the name of the בה"ג, Rashi and the Ramban: bless after the טבילה, covered (מכסית עצמה) in the water; וכן נוהגים (Ashkenazi custom, followed by Chabad).
Taz (Turei Zahav)	On the timing of the בְּרָכָה, the עובר לעשייתן applied to the טבילה and the כיסוי — the articulation of the two ways.
Shach (Siftei Kohen)	On the principles of the ברכת הטבילה (to be completed by the Sidrei Tahara and the Chochmat Adam, major references on Niddah, and the Pitchei Teshuva).

👈 הלכה למעשה — the golden rule of this level

On substance, retain the three positions of the single seif: the Mehaber — bless before, in the חלוק (עובר לעשייתן), and "if she forgot", in the water, stirring it if it is clear (עוכרתן ברגליה); the Rama — bless after the טבילה, covered in the water (מכסית עצמה), in the name of the בה"ג, Rashi and the Ramban (וכן נוהגים); and the hinge — the tension between עובר לעשייתן and לבו רואה את הערוה, which the כיסוי resolves.
Daat HaRav (Chabad): one follows the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch and the Ashkenazi custom of the Rama (bless after, covered in the water), with the care of the school (stringency in טהרת המשפחה joined to scrupulous respect of modesty); 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) — each per the custom of one's community (ספרד before, אשכנז after).
The golden rule of this siman: the timing of the ברכת הטבילה, the gesture of the כיסוי and the conduct "if she forgot" are concrete rules of life at the mikveh that are learned from a person. One never rules alone on a doubt. For any application, and especially for the exact moment or a lapse, consult your Rav, the balanit or a moret kalla — it is the balanit who guides the exact moment.