Pt1 Demons, Direction, and Decorum: A Talmudic Approach to Hygiene and Outhouse Use (Berakhot 61b-62b)
Outhouse Rules: Correct Orientation, Method of Wiping, Times, and Defenses from Demons
This is the first part of a two-part series. Outline is below. The sugya is about defecation. On urination, see my previous piece, on tractate Niddah, where it’s discussed together with the prohibition on male masturbation.
Historical Context
In classical antiquity, sanitation was extremely rudimentary compared to modern standards, and this was particularly true in regions like Sasanian Babylonia, where the Talmud was composed.1 Unlike today's advanced sewer systems, classical Babylonia lacked extensive infrastructure for waste management.
Public sanitation systems, as we understand them today, were virtually nonexistent. Most people defecated in communal or private outhouses, which were typically either simple pits dug into the ground2 or small, enclosed spaces without proper drainage. In urban areas, waste might be collected in pits or containers and periodically removed, but in rural areas, it was more common to relieve oneself in fields or other secluded spots. This lack of formal sanitation meant that the disposal of human waste was a daily concern. In practice, this meant that people would often go to great lengths to find a suitable place to defecate.
The Talmud discusses rules for defecation. These guidelines included instructions on the proper orientation while defecating to show respect for Jerusalem and rules for modesty. In addition, the outhouse was considered to be a place of extreme danger, whether from demons, snakes, or just generally being in an isolated area with unknown dangers. Specific methods for wiping took into account risk of harm from demons. As indicated in the final story, there was also a danger of snakes (at least in Roman Eretz Yisrael).
To stress this major difference from today, I consistently translate the talmudic term בית הכסא as “outhouse”, instead of the usual translation “bathroom”.
Outline
Outhouse Orientation Rules: Judea and Galilee; Rabba
Story of R' Akiva, R’ Yehoshua, and Ben Azzai
Reasons for Wiping with the Left Hand
Modesty in the Outhouse Leads to Supernatural Protection
Protective Rituals Against Demons in the Outhouse: The Practices of Abaye and Rava
Defecation Privacy
Times for Defecation; Protective Practices and Incantations Against Sorcery in Defecation Rituals
Health and Safety Guidelines: The Benefits of Proper Places to Rest and Sit, and Proper Defecation Routine
Bar Kappara’s maxims: proactive eating, drinking, defecating, and selling
Outhouse Story in Roman Eretz Yisrael: R’ Elazar, the Roman, and the Serpent
The Passage
Outhouse Orientation Rules: Judea and Galilee; Rabba
A baraita states that in Judea, one should defecate3 facing north and south to avoid facing Jerusalem, which is to the east or west.4 In the Galilee, which is north of Jerusalem, one should face east and west for the same reason.
The Talmud recounts that Rabba's outhouse bricks were placed east and west to ensure he would face north and south. Abaye moved the bricks to test Rabba's adherence to this rule, and Rabba, noticing the change, corrected it, stating that he follows R' Akiva's opinion, which prohibits facing Jerusalem during defecation anywhere.
תנו רבנן:
הנפנה ביהודה -- לא יפנה מזרח ומערב, אלא צפון ודרום.
ובגליל -- לא יפנה אלא מזרח ומערב.
[...]
רבה, הוו שדיין ליה לבני מזרח ומערב.
אזל אביי, שדנהו צפון ודרום,
על רבה, תרצנהו.
אמר: מאן האי דקמצער לי?!
אנא כרבי עקיבא סבירא לי דאמר: בכל מקום אסור.
the Sages taught:
One who defecates in Judea should not defecate when facing east and west, for then he is facing Jerusalem; rather he should do so facing north and south.
But in the Galilee which is north of Jerusalem, one should only defecate facing east and west.
[...]
The Gemara relates that in Rabba’s bathroom, the bricks were placed east and west in order to ensure that he would defecate facing north and south.
Abaye went and placed them north and south, to test if Rabba was particular about their direction or if they had simply been placed east and west incidentally.
Rabba entered and fixed them.
He said: Who is the one that is upsetting me?!
I hold in accordance with the opinion of R' Akiva, who said: It is prohibited everywhere.
Story of R' Akiva, R’ Yehoshua, and Ben Azzai
In a baraita, R' Akiva recounts that he once observed his teacher, R' Yehoshua, in the outhouse and learned three lessons about proper conduct:
one should defecate facing north-south, not east-west;
uncover oneself while sitting, not standing, for modesty;
and use the left hand, not the right, for wiping (מקנחין).5
When Ben Azzai questioned R' Akiva's boldness in observing his teacher even in the outhouse, R' Akiva responded that “it is Torah, and I must learn”.
תניא,
אמר רבי עקיבא:
פעם אחת, נכנסתי אחר רבי יהושע לבית הכסא,
ולמדתי ממנו שלשה דברים:
למדתי שאין נפנין מזרח ומערב אלא צפון ודרום,
ולמדתי שאין נפרעין מעומד אלא מיושב,
ולמדתי שאין מקנחין בימין אלא בשמאל.
אמר לו בן עזאי: עד כאן העזת פניך ברבך?!
אמר לו: תורה היא, וללמוד אני צריך.
[...]
It was taught in a baraita in tractate Derekh Eretz that
R' Akiva said:
I once entered the bathroom after my teacher R' Yehoshua,
and I learned three things from observing his behavior:
I learned that one should not defecate while facing east and west, but rather while facing north and south;
I learned that one should not uncover himself while standing, but while sitting, in the interest of modesty;
and I learned that one should not wipe with his right hand, but with his left.
Ben Azzai, a student of R' Akiva, said to him: You were impertinent to your teacher to that extent that you observed that much?!
He replied: It is Torah, and I must learn.
[...]
Reasons for Wiping with the Left Hand
The Talmud asks why one should not wipe with the right hand, offering several explanations:
Rava: The Torah was given with God's right hand.
Rabba bar bar Ḥana: The right hand is used for eating.
R' Shimon ben Lakish: The right hand ties the tefillin onto the left hand.
Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak: The right hand is used to point to the cantillation notes of the Torah (טעמי תורה).
The discussion parallels a tannaitic dispute with similar reasons:
R' Eliezer: The right hand is used for eating.
R' Yehoshua: The right hand is used for writing.6
R' Akiva: The right hand is used to point to the cantillation notes of the Torah.
מפני מה אין מקנחין בימין אלא בשמאל?
אמר רבא: מפני שהתורה ניתנה בימין, שנאמר: ״מימינו אש דת למו״.
רבה בר בר חנה אמר: מפני שהיא קרובה לפה.
ורבי שמעון בן לקיש אמר: מפני שקושר בה תפילין.
רב נחמן בר יצחק אמר: מפני שמראה בה טעמי תורה.
כתנאי:
רבי אליעזר אומר: מפני שאוכל בה.
רבי יהושע אומר: מפני שכותב בה.
רבי עקיבא אומר: מפני שמראה בה טעמי תורה.
The Gemara asks: Why must one not wipe himself with his right hand, but with his left?
Rava said: Because the Torah was given with the right hand, as it is stated: “At His right hand was a fiery law unto them” (Deuteronomy 33:2).
Rabba bar bar Ḥana said: Because the right hand is close to the mouth, i.e., people eat with the right hand.
And R' Shimon ben Lakish said: Because one ties the phylacteries onto his left hand with his right hand.
Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: Because one points to the cantillation notes of the Torah with his right hand.
The Gemara notes that this is parallel to a tannaitic dispute:
R' Eliezer says: One is forbidden to wipe himself with his right hand because he eats with it.
R' Yehoshua says: Because he writes with it.
R' Akiva says: Because he points to the notes of the Torah with it.
On the more advanced contemporary Roman sanitation, see Sanitation in ancient Rome - Wikipedia
Apparently, it was understood that most people in Judea live to the west or east of Jerusalem, as opposed to north or south of it.
Compare Anal hygiene - Wikipedia > “Washing”:
many cultures assert that only the left hand is to be used for [anal cleansing].
Presumably, since the vast majority of people are right-handed (approximately 90% of people are right-handed).