Ask the Rav: Q&A’s relating to Sundays and Mondays daily Halacha

1. Question: [Tuesday, 23^rd Mar Cheshvan, 5781]

Hi, thank you for your informative article regarding the allowance to pray near the door of the bathroom of your home due to being considered a shared wall unlike a mobile bathroom. There were a couple points that weren’t clear to me from this article.

A. Originally you write that even regarding a house bathroom, “one may not learn or pray [within four cubits of] the actual toilet,” but in the summary you add “if the bathroom door is open.” What about if the door is closed, but you are within 4 amos of the actual toilet on the other side of the door? May 1 pray next to a closed door of the bathroom if it is within four cubits of the toilet?

B. Regarding “shared walls,” is it considered a shared wall even if the bathroom is along the exterior wall of the house, and you are davening outside of the house right opposite the portion of the bathroom? And in this case, what if the actual toilet is near the exterior wall, and it comes out you are standing within 4 amos of the toilet even though you are outside the house. (This is relevant by outdoor minyanim in between houses.)

C. If a bathroom is built protruding from the wall, i.e., within a rectangular room, there is a box protruding from the side wall that houses a bathroom (see diagram below – this is the setup of a shul I’ve been to). Are these three walls considered purely for the bathroom, or are they still considered shared walls? Does it make a difference if they reach all the way to the ceiling or not?

Answer:

Good questions. While I have not seen any direct discussion of these matters in the Poskim I will try to answer them in accordance to my understanding and analysis of the Halacha. See below in red

A. Originally you write, “one may not learn or pray [within four cubits of] the actual toilet,” but in the summary you add “if the bathroom door is open.” What about if the door is closed, but you are within 4 amos of the actual toilet on the other side of the door?

While from the text this matter seems unclear as you state, nonetheless in my opinion one must conclude that it must be referring to an open door as otherwise it would contradict a law brought elsewhere regarding actual feces that if it is in a different area you may pray even if it is within four cubits of you. Thus in order to avoid this contradiction one must conclude that it refers to an open door. I actually addressed this in the footnotes. So practically if the door of the bathroom is closed you may pray even right next to it even if you’re within four cubits of the toilet. If the doors open then based on the ruling of Admur in the text in parentheses one should not pray within four cubits of the toilet even if he has turned around and will not see it.

B. Regarding “shared walls,” is it considered a shared wall even if the bathroom is along the exterior wall of the house, and you are davening outside of the house right opposite the portion of the bathroom? And in this case, what if the actual toilet is near the exterior wall, and it comes out you are standing within 4 amos of the toilet even though you are outside the house. (This is relevant by outdoor minyanim in between houses.)

In my opinion the answer is that yes it is still considered a shared wall being that it is part of the general structure of the home and serves as both the external wall of the home as well as the inner wall of the bathroom and therefore it is permitted to pray outside this wall even adjacent to it and even within four cubits of the toilet as explained previously.

C. If a bathroom is built protruding from the wall, i.e., within a rectangular room, there is a box protruding from the side wall that houses a bathroom (see diagram below – this is the setup of a shul I’ve been to). Are these three walls considered purely for the bathroom, or are they still considered shared walls? Does it make a difference if they reach all the way to the ceiling or not?

Yes, I am indeed familiar with this type of structure and actually lived in a home that had this type of bathroom which was made in a protruding addition from the house. While there certainly is more question relevant here regarding its status, practically I would again conclude as I answered you in the previous question in B, that it is not considered like feces being that at the end of the day it still serves as an external wall to the home. Only if this external bathroom was constructed in a way that the external walls of the house were already built, and afterwards one went ahead and constructed a bathroom outside one of the walls through which the entrance is from the outside, then in such a case I would agree that it’s walls are considered like feces as its walls have nothing to do with the house and are completely their own structure for the sake of the bathroom. However, I would state that if an entrance path was made through the house into this newly constructed external bathroom then it would lose its status as feces and become part of the structure of the house being defined as an external wall. The fact that it protrudes should not make any difference in this matter.

2. Question: [Tuesday, 23^rd Mar Cheshvan, 5781]

In a recent Q&A you answered individual that they should not cut both their hand and toenails on Friday even if they forgot to do so before hand and that it is best to cut the hand nails. I want to bring to your attention that in literature that you have written on the subject you wrote that it is permitted to be done. How do you explain the discrepancy?

Answer:

You are correct. After I did further research, I have come to the new conclusion. This is very common in Jewish law known as Mishneh Rishona versus Mishneh Achrona. I am not saying that those who are lenient don’t have upon whom to rely, but simply that based on what I now know my initial stance has changed to that it’s better not to do so.