סימן ג - הנהגת בית הכסא ובו כ"ה סעיפים

Siman 3: Conduct in the Bathroom, containing twenty-five seifim:

Recording: Seifim 1–25

1. Each time he enters the bathroom, he should say to the angels who accompany him: "Be honored, honored ones, etc."^[1].

And nowadays it is not the custom to say this, because we do not consider ourselves so G‑d-fearing that the angels accompany us^[2]:

2. He should be modest in the bathroom.

And he should not uncover himself until he sits.

And two people should not go together, for this is not the way of modesty.

And if he is afraid to sit alone, another may place his hand on his head through a window^[3].

And he should not speak there.

And he should close the door behind him, on account of modesty:

3. If he wishes to probe the anal opening with a pebble or a sliver of wood in order to open his bowels, he should probe before he sits.

And he should not probe after he has sat, because it makes one vulnerable to witchcraft:

4. If he needs to relieve himself and cannot:

He should walk four cubits and sit, stand and sit, stand and sit, until he relieves himself.

Or he should turn his mind to other matters:

5. He should not relieve himself standing:

6. He should uncover himself only behind one handbreadth and no more, on account of modesty. And in front two handbreadths: for as he presses himself for solid waste he comes to pass urine, and he needs two handbreadths because of the stream of urine, which sprays far.

And a woman should uncover herself only behind one handbreadth, and in front nothing at all^[4]:

7. And when he sits, he should see to it that his face is to the south and his back to the north, or the reverse.

But he should not sit between east and west^[5], whether his face is to the east or his face is to the west, because the Shechinah is in the west. Therefore he should not relieve himself toward the west, nor toward the east, because it is opposite the west.

When does this apply? When he relieves himself. But to pass water is permitted even with his face to the west, although he uncovers himself in front:

8. And even to relieve himself, if there is a partition on the west side, it is permitted to relieve himself close to the partition, if he turns his back to the west.

And if the partition is on the east side, he turns his back to the east^[6]:

9. Just as it is forbidden to relieve oneself between east and west, so it is forbidden to sleep between east and west, if his wife is with him in the bed and he intends marital relations. Rather, he should see to it that the head and foot of the bed are one to the north and the other to the south^[7].

And it is proper to take care even when his wife is not with him:

10. One for whom it is not easily possible to turn his bed between north and south has no prohibition on marital relations between east and west.

And one may rely on the Sefer HaZohar, which requires specifically that the head and foot of the bed be one to the east and the other to the west:

11. One who passes water from Tzofim (meaning: any place around Yerushalayim from which the Beis HaMikdash can be seen, and beyond which it cannot be seen, is called "Tzofim") and inward should not pass water with his face directly toward the Holy Place, but should turn his face a little to another side:

12. When he relieves himself in a place where no partition separates him from people, such as in a valley, he must go far enough that his fellow cannot see what he uncovers of his flesh when he relieves himself.

And even though his fellow hears the sound of his passing wind below, he nevertheless need not go farther.

And if there is a partition separating him from people, whether he relieves himself behind the wall of a house or in a valley behind a fence, he may relieve himself right there, close to the partition.

Even though his fellow hears the sound of his passing wind below, he nevertheless need not go any distance at all^[8]:

13. He should not sit and relieve himself quickly and forcefully, for the opening then widens with force, and the folds of the rectum are torn.

For this reason too he should not strain and press himself too much:

14. He should not wipe himself with the right hand, because with the right he ties the tefillin on the left; therefore it is not fitting to wipe himself with it^[9].

And a left-handed person wipes with his left, which is the right of everyone else.

And even one who does all his actions with the right but writes with the left should not wipe with the left, with which he writes, because with it he ties the tefillin on the right, as will be explained in Siman 27, seif 9:

15. It is good to take care not to wipe with the middle finger, on which he winds the tefillin strap, as will be explained in Siman 27, seif 11:

16. He should not wipe with a piece of earthenware that is not smooth and has small sharp points, because of the danger, lest he tear the folds of the rectum with it.

And even with the rims of earthenware vessels, which are smooth and do not tear the flesh, he should not wipe, because it makes one vulnerable to witchcraft.

And he should not wipe with dry grasses, which are sharp and cut the flesh.

And so too with anything that fire consumes, one does not wipe with it, because for one who wipes with something that fire consumes, the folds of the rectum fall away.

And nowadays, when our bathrooms are not in the field, the custom is to wipe with a smooth piece of earthenware.

For the main concern is that since the earthenware lies in the field, in an ownerless place, sorcerers may take it and work witchcraft with it. But nowadays, when our bathrooms are not in an ownerless place, we are not concerned that the earthenware will come into the hands of sorcerers.

And so too the custom nowadays is to wipe with something that fire consumes, and it does no harm; go out and see what the people do:

17. He should not wipe with a pebble with which his fellow wiped, because it brings a person to hemorrhoids.

And if the matter on it has dried, or if he wipes not with the side his fellow wiped with but with another side of that pebble, there is no concern.

And if he himself wiped with it, there is no concern in any case:

18. All the modesty that has been explained must be kept by day must also be kept at night, except that he need not go any distance.

And if no one is there, he may relieve himself even in a public domain.

But if someone is there, even a gentile, it is forbidden to relieve himself in his presence.

All this is for relieving oneself, but to urinate is permitted even by day, before many people, if he needs to.

Because there is danger if he holds himself back:

19. Although a woman uncovers nothing of herself when passing water, she should nevertheless not stand to urinate facing a man, even facing a small child, because it is impudence if she urinates directly facing him.

But to the side, where she is not urinating directly facing him, there is no concern:

20. He must rub away with his hand the drops of urine that spray onto the tops of his feet, so that he not go outside with them and appear like one with a severed urethra, whose urine does not flow in a stream but dribbles; and one with a severed urethra does not father children, and they would say of his children that they are not his.

When is it enough for him to rub? When he holds the organ while urinating, in the way that will be explained below.

But if he does not hold the organ, since many drops spray onto his feet, even if he rubs with his hand their mark will still be noticeable, and they would say of him that he has a severed urethra.

Therefore he should urinate into loose earth, or stand on a high place and urinate to a low place, or urinate sitting, for in all these cases there is no concern about drops:

21. He should take great care not to hold the organ while urinating, because this causes him to emit seed in vain. Unless he holds it from the corona and below, toward the ground, for when he holds it there it does not lead to heating at all.

And even if the organ is already erect, it is permitted to hold it from the corona and below.

And only the organ is it forbidden to hold, but he may assist with the testicles, because this does not cause heating:

22. All this is when he is not married, or his wife is not with him, or she is a niddah. But if his wife is with him in the city and is pure, since he has bread in his basket, his inclination does not overpower him so much, and it is permitted to hold the organ even from the corona and above, toward the body.

Nevertheless, it is a trait of piety to take care even when his wife is with him.

For since the sin is so great that it is like bringing a flood upon the world^[10], it is fitting for a person to keep far from it and to sanctify himself in what is permitted to him.

It is permitted to hold the organ with a thick cloth, which does not cause heating, to urinate or to check whether he has had an emission:

23. A married man was permitted to hold the organ only to urinate, which is a person's need, so that drops should not fall on his feet. But to scratch, or to check himself whether he has had an emission, is forbidden even for a married man whose wife is with him.

And even from the corona and below, one should be stringent:

24. Whoever delays relieving himself when he needs to transgresses "בל תשקצו" ("Do not make yourselves abominable") (Vayikra 11:43)^[11].

And if he needs to urinate and delays, he transgresses "bal teshaktzu" and "לא יהיה בך עקר" ("There shall be no sterile one among you") (Devarim 7:14):

25. He should take great care to wipe well, for excrement in its place is forbidden in any amount, as written in Siman 76, seif 6, see there.

And if he can, it is good to wash with water:

Notes

1. Be honored: "One who enters the bathroom says: Be honored, honored holy ones, servants of the Most High; give honor to the G‑d of Israel; leave me until I enter and do my will and come back to you" (Berachos 60b).

2. Not the custom: For this reason it is not brought in Mahadura Basra or in the Siddur (notes of the Kehot edition, Siman 3, note ד).

3. His hand on his head: As in the account in the Gemara: "She would make a window for him and place her hand on his head" (Berachos 62a).

4. In front nothing: Mahadura Basra says: "And some have the reverse reading. And for a woman: in front nothing, and behind one or two handbreadths, according to the different readings. And in practice, one should limit it as far as possible" (Mahadura Basra 3:1). See note 2 there.

5. East and west: "The Sages taught: One who relieves himself in Yehudah should not do so east and west, but north and south" (Berachos 61b).

6. A partition: Mahadura Basra adds: "And some say that no partition is effective for this. And it is good to take their words into account at the outset, where possible, not to build a bathroom in the first place for relieving oneself toward the west or east, but only toward the north" (Mahadura Basra 3:7). See note 8 there.

7. North and south: "Whoever places his bed between north and south will have male children" (Berachos 5b). This law is not brought in Mahadura Basra or in the Siddur (notes of the Kehot edition, Siman 3, note כו).

8. Need not go any distance: "Ulla said: Behind a fence he may relieve himself right there; and in an open valley, as long as he may pass wind and his fellow does not hear" (Berachos 62a).

9. The right hand: Mahadura Basra says: "One who is not fastidious and wipes with his actual fingers should not wipe with the right hand but with the left, because with the fingers of his right hand he ties the tefillin on his left" (Mahadura Basra 3:9).

10. A flood: "Rabbi Eliezer says: Whoever holds his organ and passes water is as if he brings a flood upon the world" (Niddah 13a).

11. Bal teshaktzu: Mahadura Basra says: "He transgresses by rabbinic law on account of 'Do not make yourselves abominable'", and there: "And some say that with urine there is no issue of bal teshaktzu, but that they forbade it because of danger" (Mahadura Basra 3:11). See note 15 there.