Three basic conditions determine when a stain renders a woman temei'ah: that it is larger than a gris, that it is on a surface that can receive tum'ah, and that the surface is white. Here is a fourth condition, and this one opens the door to leniency: location. The question is whether uterine blood could plausibly have reached this spot at all.

An important note: this siman contains many details that affect one another. Until we finish the whole siman and have all the information in hand, do not draw conclusions about real situations that may arise. If a question about a stain comes up before we have finished, even one that seems already covered, seek halachic guidance.

What we have learned so far

  1. A stain the size of a gris or smaller does not render a woman temei'ah.
  2. A stain on a surface that cannot receive tum'ah does not render her temei'ah.
  3. A stain on a colored surface does not render her temei'ah.

The fourth condition: a place uterine blood can reach

Halachah assumes that certain areas of the body could have come into contact with uterine blood and others could not.

Places where a stain renders a woman temei'ah (if larger than a gris)

Places where a stain does not render a woman temei'ah

Anywhere else on the body — above the pelvis and so on. The stain most likely came from another source, so it does not render her temei'ah.

An exception: a woman who did gymnastics or another sport in which her pelvis was higher than her torso. In theory, uterine blood could have reached her upper body too.

Situations that call for a question

A stain on clothing

The rule is similar. A stain found on a garment above the waist is assumed not to be uterine.

Now that women wear underwear, the case comes up less often. If a woman finds a stain on a white dress but sees no blood on her underwear, the stain on the dress is clearly not uterine.

Questions still arise in practice. A woman who showered, put on a white robe before dressing fully, and then found a stain on the robe: here the location of the stain does bear on whether she is a niddah.

Expanding the sources

Masechet Niddah (Mishnah 57b) establishes that a woman who found a stain on her skin at the בית התורפה is temei'ah; if she found it elsewhere, she is tehorah. So too, a stain on the heel, on the big toe, on the inner side of her legs, or on the front or back of her legs, renders her temei'ah.

בית התורפה is a euphemism for the reproductive organs. תורפה can be rendered as "weak point" or "soft spot." I would suggest another reading. A halachic document such as a get has two parts: the טופס and the תורף. The tofes is the part identical in every such document, all the legal formulae. The toref is the personal part — in a get, the names of the couple, the place and the date. It is the individual part of the document. The בית התורפה is the personal area of a woman's body, her intimate part.

A stain on the back of the hand

The Gemara states that a stain found on the back of the hand renders a woman temei'ah, because "hands are busy" (יָדַיִם עַסְקָנִיּוֹת הֵן): hands are always in motion and may have come into contact with uterine blood.

There is a machloket among the Rishonim whether the Gemara is speaking about every woman or only one who performed an internal bedikah.

The Rashba holds that an ordinary woman need not be concerned about a stain on her hand, since a woman will generally take care to wash her hands if they touched the intimate area. The Gemara is speaking of a woman who did a bedikah and did not wash afterwards.

The Rambam and the Ramban hold that the Gemara addresses every woman, since hands are busy and move constantly without conscious intent.

The Shulchan Aruch rules that a stain on the heel, on the inner sides of the legs, on the front of the legs, on the back of the legs, or on the big toe renders a woman temei'ah. A stain on the hands renders her temei'ah. A stain on the outer sides of the legs, or above the pelvis, does not.

The Rema adds that a stain on any toe renders her temei'ah, not only the big toe.

A woman who did gymnastics

The Mishnah discusses a woman who found a stain on her dress, distinguishing a stain above the belt from one below the belt. The Rashba explains that the belt was a garment women wore around the pelvic area for modesty. A stain above it leaves her tehorah; below it, temei'ah.

The Gemara raises the case of a woman who "stood on her head" — a gymnastic position. There the usual ruling cannot apply, since the upper part of the dress was below the pelvis and uterine blood could have dripped onto it (women in those days did not wear underwear).

The Rishonim work through the variations: a stain on both the skin and the dress, only on the dress, or only on the skin.

The Shulchan Aruch's ruling for a woman who stood on her head