Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu
Side Bar

Stain in toilet water

16 May, 2022

Question:

What is the Halacha when seeing a stain in toilet water?

1) I know that water is not mekabel tuma but what’s the halacha if there was no delay between using the bathroom and noticing the stain?

2) And is the rule any different during the clean days?

3) Is this a universal Halacha or do people hold differently?

Thanks so much.


Answer:

1) As you note, blood found in the toilet water is treated as a stain on a surface that is not mekabel tum’ah (susceptible to ritual impurity), since the toilet in which it is found is attached to the ground.

The timing of noticing the stain does not affect this halacha even though the sensation of urinating might mask a halachic sensation of menses (hargashah). Rather, the presumption is that in order to notice a stain in the water after urination, a woman would need to stand up or otherwise move, and the time it takes to do so would be considered sufficient delay after urination so that concerns of masked hargashah would not be relevant to evaluating it.

2) This rule does not change during the clean days.

3) Halachic consensus considers toilet water as a surface that is not mekabel tum’ah, on which stains may be disregarded. Ashkenazi halachic decisors are generally more concerned than Sefardi authorities regarding blood found immediately following urination, to which the usual leniencies of stains may not apply.

The position that a delay makes a difference in evaluating the relevance of masked hargashah is widely accepted, and is rooted in the Talmud, further developed in halachic codes, and articulated in particular with respect to cases like this by Rav Moshe Feinstein.

We hope that this answers your questions. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.


This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases. All health and health-related information contained within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with your health care professional. The advice is intended to offer a basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider but not individual advice. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Web site user but should not be considered official. Advice for actual medical practice should be obtained from a licensed health care professional. For further questions or comments:  The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha Site is a public service of Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. This project and others like it are made possible by contributions from people like you. If you have benefited from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.

Users of Internet filtering services: This site discusses sensitive subjects that some services filter without visual indication. A page that appears 100% complete might actually be missing critical Jewish-law or medical information. To ensure that you view the pages accurately, ask the filtering service to whitelist all pages under yoatzot.org.

Accessibility Toolbar