May one recite Sh'ma facing a perforated bench (portable toilet-style seat) used for defecation, when no excrement is on the hole and no receptacle is beneath it?
Synopsis
The Mechaber permits Sh'ma facing such a bench when clean; later authorities dispute this, with many requiring the bench to be removed or covered.
More in Prayer Near Gentile Worship Sites
Is it forbidden to recite Sh'ma facing an old bathroom (beit hakisei) even after excrement has been removed?
6 opinions
What is the precise area of prohibition when facing an old bathroom — how far must one distance in front and behind?
2 opinions
Is it permitted to recite Sh'ma facing a designated (new) bathroom that has never been used?
5 opinions across 3 eras
When someone designates multiple rooms as bathrooms using the phrases 'and also this' vs. 'and this,' what is the halakhic status of the secondary room?
3 opinions
May one recite Sh'ma adjacent to a pit-toilet designed so waste rolls immediately into the pit, when no one urinates outside the pit?
6 opinions
If one recites Sh'ma in a place where recitation is forbidden, must one go back and recite again?
3 opinions
Can an old bathroom lose its forbidden status by being demolished, cleaned, and the site repurposed so no trace remains?
2 opinions
What height must bathroom partitions reach to create a leniency for Sh'ma recitation?
4 opinions
Related from other topics
May a blind person perform Poreis al Sh'ma and recite the blessing 'Yotzer HaMaorot' (Who forms the lights)?
Timing of Morning Shema
May one recite Shema in front of excrement that is enclosed in a glass lantern (where it is visible through the walls)?
Praying Near Waste
May one place a shoe over excrement in a hole to cover it and then recite Shema?
Praying Near Waste
May one recite Shema when excrement passes in front of him (moving excrement)?
Praying Near Waste
May one recite Shema when excrement is on his own skin but covered by his garment?
Praying Near Waste
Is it forbidden to recite Shema when excrement is on one's anus even if covered?
Praying Near Waste
Discussion
Discussion coming soon.
The Daily Law
One question. Every opinion. Every morning.
A new halakhic question and the full spectrum of rabbinic thought, delivered daily.