Berakhot 62a — the Talmud in English

It was taught: Rabbi Akiva said: Once I entered

after Rabbi Joshua

in Judea,

and I learned three things from him:

I learned that one does not relieve oneself east and west, but only north and south.

And I learned that one does not uncover himself [

revealing the body by removing the clothing] when he needs to relieve himself while

standing, but

only after he is

seated.

And I learned that

after relieving oneself,

one does not wipe with the

hand

right, but with the

hand

left.

Ben Azzai said

to Rabbi Akiva:

To this extent have you been so brazen toward your teacher?

He said to him,

Rabbi Akiva:

It is Torah, and I need to learn!

It was taught: Ben Azzai says: Once I entered after Rabbi Akiva into the lavatory

and I learned three things from him: I learned that one does not relieve oneself

east and west, but north and south; and I learned that one does not uncover oneself while standing but while seated; and I learned that one does not wipe with the right hand but with the left.

Rabbi Judah said to him

to Ben Azzai:

To this extent have you been so brazen

and looked at all these things

at your teacher? He said to him,

Ben Azzai:

It is Torah, and I need to learn!

Rav Kahana

was

lying beneath Rav’s bed [

he entered and lay beneath Rav’s bed].

He heard

Rav

that he

was

speaking

with his wife idle conversation intended to make her receptive to intercourse,

and laughing

with her,

and

afterward

performed

his needs [

had intercourse].

Rav Kahana said to him,

Rav, from his place beneath the bed:

My father’s mouth [

Rav’s]

is like

a person

who has never swallowed

or swallowed

a cooked dish

in all his days; that is, you conduct yourself frivolously like a person filled with desire who has never had intercourse.

He said to him,

Rav:

Kahana, are you here?! Go out [

leave] from here,

for it is not proper conduct

for you to be present here now.

He said to him,

Rav Kahana:

It is Torah, and I need to learn!

The Gemara discusses:

For what reason does one not wipe with the

hand

right, but with the left?

Rava said: Because the Torah was given with the right hand

of the Holy One, blessed is He,

as it is stated [

Deuteronomy]:

“From His right hand, a fiery law for them,”

and because of this, the right hand is more esteemed.

Rabba bar bar Hanna said:

the right hand is more esteemed

because it is close to the mouth,

for with it one is accustomed to bring food to the mouth, and a person’s life depends upon food.

And Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said:

the right is more esteemed

because one binds

the

phylacteries upon it.

Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said: Because

one who reads from the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings

shows with it the accents of the Torah

and its vowel points, for he moves his right hand according to the cantillation and vowel points.

And just as the amoraim disagreed about this,

so

did the

tannaim disagree about it:

For it was taught:

Rabbi Eliezer says:

one does not wipe with the right hand,

because he eats with it!

And this is in accordance with Rabba bar bar Hanna.

Rabbi Joshua says: Because he writes with it

sacred words.

Rabbi Akiva says: Because he shows the accents of the Torah with it,

and this is like Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak.

Rav Tanchum bar Chanilai said: Anyone who is modest in the lavatory is saved from three things,

and these are:

from

snakes, from scorpions, and from harmful spirits [

demons], because by conducting himself modestly, calmly, and silently, the snakes and scorpions do not sense him, and even the harmful spirits take pity on him.

And some say: Even his dreams are settled for him,

because the harmful spirits that bring some of the dreams [as above, 55b] do not frighten him.

There was a certain lavatory in Tiberias

even

when two people entered it

together, and

even in the daytime,

they

were harmed. Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi would enter it,

each

one

alone, and nevertheless

they were not harmed.

The Sages said to them:

Do

you not fear

the harmful spirits when entering there?

They said to them,

Rabbi

Ami and Rabbi Asi: We have a received tradition

that we have learned,

we have received two traditions;

one tradition

is that

in

a

the lavatory

it is proper to conduct oneself with

modesty and silence!

Then one is not harmed by the harmful spirits. Therefore, we entered each alone, because it is not the way of modesty for two to enter together, since each one sees the other’s nakedness. And it is also not silence, because two together come to speak with one another.

And another tradition

we have received:

that

one must accept

suffering

with

silence,

and not kick against suffering, but a person must pray

and

seek

mercy

from God, that He have mercy upon him.

Abaye’s mother raised a lamb for him [

she raised a sheep for him], in order

to enter the lavatory with him!

So that he would not go there alone, because of the harmful spirits.

The Gemara asks:

And why should she have raised a kid [

why did she not raise a young goat] for this purpose?

The Gemara explains: A kid is of the species “sa’ir,” and the lavatory demon is also called “sa’ir,” and there was concern lest

one sa’ir be confused with another sa’ir,

so that the kid would be confused with the demon and it would harm him.

Rava, before he became head [

before he became head of the academy], when he would enter the lavatory,

the daughter of Rav Chisda

would make noise

for him

who was Rava’s wife,

with a nut in a copper vessel [

she would place a nut in a copper cup and make noise with it outside the lavatory], and through this he was protected from the harmful spirits.

When

after he became king

and became head of the academy, and he needed greater protection [because the harmful spirits are more jealous of Torah scholars than of other people],

she made for him

a lavatory

a window [

an opening], and when Rava entered there, his wife would put her hand through the window

and place her hand on his head.

Ulla said:

If he is

behind a fence,

then he

relieves himself immediately,

and he need not distance himself at all. But if he relieves himself

in an open field,

which is an exposed place, he may relieve himself only at a distance from people. And

as long as

he is

making sounds [

sounds of the lower body]

and his fellow does not hear,

that is sufficient, and he need not distance himself until they are unable to see him.

Isi bar Natan taught it this way:

If he is

behind a fence,

he must distance himself, and he may relieve himself only

as

long as

he is

making sounds and his fellow does not hear. And

if he is

in an open field,

he may relieve himself only at a great distance, whose measure is

as long as his fellow does not see him.

It was objected:

But we learned [Tahorot 10:2]: Guardians of oil of purity, if they needed to relieve themselves,

they leave the entrance of the olive press and relieve themselves behind a fence,

and they do not fear that meanwhile an am ha-aretz entered and touched the oils and rendered them impure, but rather

they [

the oils]

are pure!

It follows that it is permitted to relieve oneself behind a fence, even without any distance at all. This is difficult for Isi bar Natan, who said that even behind a fence one must distance himself until his fellow does not hear him when he makes sounds.

The Gemara answers: The law of guardians of pure oil is different, because

for

the sake of guarding

purities they were lenient

in the laws of the lavatory.

The Gemara raises another difficulty:

Come and hear: How far should guardians of purities distance themselves

from the purities

and

still

remain pure,

so that we do not fear that an am ha-aretz touched them and rendered them impure? —

So that the guardian will

be

able to see him

whether he touched them or not. Since they cannot distance themselves farther, it necessarily follows that if they need to relieve themselves, they may relieve themselves even in a place where they can be seen. This is difficult regarding what Isi bar Natan said, that if one relieves himself not behind a fence, he must distance himself until they cannot see him.

The Gemara answers:

The eaters of purities are different, for the Sages were lenient with them

in the laws of the lavatory, and permitted them to relieve themselves even in a place where they are visible, so that they would be able to guard their purities.

Rav Ashi said: What is the meaning of “as long as his fellow does not see

him”

that Isi bar Natan said

“as long as his fellow does not see his exposed flesh”

(the exposure of his body),

but as for him

personally, it is permitted for his fellow to

see him.

If so, the difficulty from those who guard ritually pure food is resolved, for they are not required to distance themselves except to the extent that their exposed flesh will not be seen; nevertheless, they can still see whether an am haaretz touches the ritually pure food.

There was a certain eulogizer who came before Rav Naḥman

to deliver a eulogy for the deceased, and

said

about the deceased:

“This

deceased

was modest in his conduct!”

Rav Naḥman said to him:

But

did you enter the bathroom with him, and know whether he was modest

or

not?

If you do not know how he conducted himself there, you have no right to call him “modest,”

as it was taught: The Sages

мудрецы

call a person “modest” only if he is

является

modest in the bathroom!

The Gemara asks:

And what difference did it make to Rav Naḥman

what the eulogizer said, and why did he need to reprimand him?

The Gemara explains:

Because it was taught: Just as the dead are punished

for mitzvot that they did not fulfill,

so too eulogizers are punished

for saying about the dead that they fulfilled a mitzva that they had not performed,

and

also

those who answer after them

and agree with the eulogizers’ words are punished. Therefore, Rav Naḥman reprimanded the eulogizer, because he did not want to be punished like the others who answered after him.

The Sages taught: Who is a modest person? —

This is one who relieves himself at night in the place where he

он

relieves himself during the day,

because even when he goes out at night, he distances himself from people, just as he does during the day.

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

Is that so? But Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: A person should always accustom himself

to relieving himself in the

morning

(before daylight)

and evening

after dark,

so that he will not need to distance himself

from others when he relieves himself [because delaying one’s bodily functions while distancing oneself is dangerous ], for this shows that one need not distance himself except during the day.

And furthermore,

there is a difficulty:

Rava,

when he needed to relieve himself,

during the day he would go as far as a mil. And

whereas

at night he would say to his attendant, “Prepare a place for me in the town square,”

and he would not distance himself at all.

And likewise,

a difficulty can be raised from what

Rabbi Zeira said to his attendant

at night:

“See whether there is anyone behind the house of the scholars”

(whether there is anyone behind the house of study), because

“I wish to relieve myself”

(there). This shows that one need not distance himself at night.

The Gemara answers:

Do not say

that the beraita says, “One who relieves himself at night

in the

place where he relieves himself during the day”;

rather, say: “In the manner in which he relieves himself during the day,”

meaning that just as during the day he exposes only one handbreadth behind him and two handbreadths in front of him, and relieves himself while seated, so too he must conduct himself in this manner when relieving himself at night.

Rav Ashi said: You may even say

that “one who relieves himself at night

in the

place where he relieves himself during the day” presents no difficulty, because

it was not necessary

for the beraita to teach us how far one must distance himself at night when he is in an exposed place;

rather, it came

to teach what the law is when there is nearby

a corner,

for he must relieve himself there even at night, as during the day, and he should not relieve himself in an exposed place.

The essential text: Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: A person should always accustom himself

to relieving himself

in the morning and evening, so that he will not need to distance himself!

It was taught likewise: Ben Azzai says: Rise early and go out

to relieve yourself before daylight.

And go out in the evening

to relieve yourself after dark.

So that you will not need to distance yourself

from people when you relieve yourself in daylight.

And when you probe your openings with a stone or a splinter in order to open them, first

probe, and

afterward

sit. And do not sit

first,

and

afterward

probe,

because

anyone who sits and

afterward

probes

is endangered because of sorcery. For

even if sorcery is performed in Aspamia,

which is very far away, their sorcery

comes upon him.

But if he forgot

and

sat and then probed, what is his remedy? —

When he rises

from the bathroom,

he should say the following: “Not for me, not for me

(you cannot prevail over me),

not Teḥim and not Taḥtim

(these are names of sorcery that operate through excrement),

not all of it and not part of it

(neither all sorcery nor even a portion of it ),

not the sorcery of male sorcerers and not the sorcery of female sorcerers

(not the magic of male sorcerers and not the magic of female sorcerers).