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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman מ״ה · Tefilin in a cemetery and the bathhouse (בית הקברות ובית המרחץ)

דין תפילין בבית הקברות ובבית המרחץ — it is forbidden to enter a cemetery or the ד׳ אמות of a corpse with the tefilin on the head (משום לועג לרש); covered (מכוסים), it is permitted; and at the bathhouse the rule varies by room — חיצון (all dressed), אמצעי (mixed), פנימי (all naked)
סימן מ״ה · ב׳ סעיפים
דין תפילין בבית הקברות ובבית המרחץ
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
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After teaching the respect due to the sanctity of the tefilin (simanim 40, 43), the Shulchan Aroukh settles here, in ב׳ סעיפים, the conduct in two particular places. In the cemetery: it is forbidden to enter a בית הקברות or the ד׳ אמות of a corpse with the tefilin uncovered on the head, משום לועג לרש (“mocking the destitute” — the dead can no longer perform mitsvot); but covered (מכוסים), it is permitted. At the bathhouse (בית המרחץ): the rule varies by room — outer (all dressed), middle (mixed), inner (all naked). Hebrew text, fluent English translation and explanations of the two seifim, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: How to conduct oneself with the tefilin in a cemetery and at the bathhouse — the לועג לרש, the מכוסים, and the three rooms of the בית המרחץ
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן מ״ה · ב׳ סעיפים

Compiled by: Rav Yossef Haim Samama
DAAT · daattorah.com

The previous simanim taught us the general respect owed to the tefilin — objects of קדושה that must be guarded from any בזיון (see simanim 40, 43). This siman extends that principle to two sensitive places. The cemetery, where the presence of the dead imposes restraint: not to display before them a mitsva they can no longer perform — that is the לועג לרש, a mark of sensitivity toward those who have departed. And the bathhouse, a place of nakedness and זוהמא, where objects of קדושה must not remain uncovered. We study here at the level of principle; for personal conduct, one refers to the custom and to the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline

A. בבית הקברות · לועג לרש — forbidden to enter a cemetery or the ד׳ אמות of a corpse with the tefilin on the head; covered (מכוסים), permitted (seif 1)
B. בבית המרחץ · חיצון אמצעי פנימי — at the bathhouse, by room: all dressed, mixed, or all naked (seif 2)
+ Practical cases and comprehension questions

A. בבית הקברות — in a cemetery and within the ד׳ אמות של מת (seif 1)

Original text (seif 1)

אסור ליכנס בבית הקברות או בתוך ד׳ אמות של מת ותפילין בראשו משום לועג לרש, ואם הם מכוסים מותר.
It is forbidden to enter a cemetery (בית הקברות) or the four cubits (ד׳ אמות) of a corpse with the tefilin on the head, because of לועג לרש (“mocking the destitute”); and if they are covered (מכוסים), it is permitted.
לוֹעֵג לָרָשׁ — “mocking the destitute” — the verse (Mishlei 17) says לועג לרש חרף עושהו. The “רש” (destitute one) is here the dead person, who has become “free” of the mitsvot (חופשי מן המצוות) he can no longer perform. One who performs a visible mitsva before him — wearing the tefilin — appears to mock him. This is why it is forbidden to enter thus into a cemetery or within the ד׳ אמות of a corpse.
ד׳ אַמּוֹת שֶׁל מֵת — “the four cubits of a corpse” — the Sages set a distance of ד׳ אמות (about two metres) around the dead as a limit of proximity. Within this range, as in the cemetery itself, one does not stand with the tefilin uncovered on the head.
מְכֻסִּים — “covered” — if the tefilin are covered (for example under a garment) so that they are not visible, there is no longer any לועג לרש, for the mockery is not perceptible. That is why, covered, they are permitted even in the cemetery.
What this seif says:
The seif in one sentence: out of regard for the dead, one does not enter a cemetery nor the ד׳ אמות of a corpse with uncovered tefilin (לועג לרש); but covered, it is permitted, for the mockery is no longer visible.

B. בבית המרחץ — the three rooms of the bathhouse (seif 2)

Original text (seif 2)

בבית המרחץ בבית החיצון שכל העומדים בו הם לבושים יכולים להניח שם תפילין לכתחילה, ובבית האמצעי שמקצת בני אדם עומדים שם לבושים ומקצתן ערומים אינו יכול להניחם לכתחילה ואם היו בראשו אין צריך לחלצן, ובבית הפנימי שכל העומדים שם ערומים אפילו היו בראשו צריך לחלצן.
At the bathhouse (בית המרחץ): in the outer room (בית החיצון) where all who stand there are dressed, one may put on the tefilin at the outset (לכתחילה); in the middle room (בית האמצעי) where some people are dressed and some are naked, one may not put them on לכתחילה, but if they were already on the head, one need not remove them; and in the inner room (בית הפנימי) where all stand naked, even if they were on the head, one must remove them.
בֵּית הַחִיצוֹן — “the outer room” — the first hall of the bathhouse, where all stand dressed. Not being a place of nakedness, one may put on the tefilin לכתחילה (at the outset), without difficulty.
בֵּית הָאֶמְצָעִי — “the middle room” — the hall where some are dressed, others naked. Because of this mixture, one does not put on the tefilin לכתחילה; but if they were already on the head, one is not obliged to remove them (אין צריך לחלצן).
בֵּית הַפְּנִימִי — “the inner room” — the hall where all stand naked. The ערווה (nakedness) there being certain, even if the tefilin were already on the head, they must be removed (צריך לחלצן), for there is no honour in holy objects being uncovered before nakedness.
What this seif says:
The seif in one sentence: at the bathhouse everything depends on the state of those present — all dressed: permitted at the outset; mixed: not at the outset, but one does not remove what is already there; all naked: one removes even what is already on the head.

Practical cases

Case 1 — Going to the cemetery (burial, visit) in tefilin

Situation: one must go to a burial or visit a cemetery while still wearing the tefilin (for example after the morning prayer). What should he do?
Conduct: it is forbidden to enter a cemetery or the ד׳ אמות of a corpse with the tefilin uncovered on the head, משום לועג לרש (seif 1). One removes them, or covers them: if they are מכוסים, it is permitted. In practice, one takes care that the tefilin not be visible near the dead; for a concrete case, one asks the Rav.

Case 2 — A place of nakedness (bathhouse, changing room)

Situation: one enters a bathhouse, a changing room or a place where people undress, while wearing or wishing to put on the tefilin. What is permitted?
Conduct: it depends on the room (seif 2). Where all are dressed (בית החיצון), one may put on the tefilin לכתחילה. Where it is mixed (בית האמצעי), one does not put them on לכתחילה, but if already there, no need to remove them. Where all are naked (בית הפנימי), even on the head, they must be removed. The principle: one does not leave holy objects uncovered before the ערווה.

Case 3 — The respect owed to the mitsvot and to the dead

Situation: beyond these two cases, what does this siman teach us about the respect owed to the mitsvot and to the dead?
Conduct: this siman links two forms of respect. Toward the dead — one does not flaunt a mitsva they can no longer perform (לועג לרש); it is a mark of sensitivity toward those who have departed. Toward the קדושה — one does not leave tefilin uncovered in a place of nakedness or זוהמא. In both cases, one protects an honour: that of the dead, and that of the holy objects. For the actual conduct at the cemetery or the bathhouse, one asks the Rav.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. What does לועג לרש mean, and why is it forbidden before a corpse?
  2. What is the limit of the ד׳ אמות של מת, and what does the tefilin being מכוסים permit?
  3. What are the three rooms of the בית המרחץ, and what is the rule in each?
  4. Why, in the בית האמצעי, does one not put on the tefilin לכתחילה while not being obliged to remove them if already there?
  5. Why, in the בית הפנימי, must one remove them even when already on the head?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 46 →
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