Can one daven shacharis with talis and tefilin in the bathroom of an airplane?
Answer:
it is prohibited to enter a bathroom with one’s tefillin. It is likewise improper to enter a bathroom with one’s talis. It is also prohibited to daven in the bathroom. Instead, In-flight minyanim involve several problems, and sometimes the best option is simply to daven in one’s seat.
Sources: Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 40; Mishnah Berurah 21:14.
Entering into the bathroom with tefillin on is a machlokes between the Rosh and the Gra. The only shaala is in a real bais hkisay which has tzoah in it. However, the airplane bais hkisay has none after flushing.
It could be compared to the bais hkisay shel parsayim.except that you have to do a maaseh to get rid of the the dirt.
I actually heard this aitza bishem the belzer rebbe.
Thank you for the response. My initial reply was a little short, and I will elaborate a little.
Chazon Ish writes that he is in doubt as to the status of modern-day bathrooms. This doubt is also expressed by Shevet Halevi and Iggros Moshe (EH 1:114) [see also Avnei Yashfei, OH 5). The common custom is to be stringent concerning such matters as making berachos, wearing tefillin, and the like, because of their special stringency.
Concerning going into the bathroom with tefillin, although some rishonim (Berachos 23) permit it, Rema (OC 43) prohibits, and Magen Avraham writes that it is certainly prohibited (explaining Shulchan Aruch in a novel way). As Nahar Shalom writes, there is much room to dispute Magen Avraham’s understanding. Mishnah Berurah (in Biur Halachah) suggests a resolution to the question posed by Magen Avraham by distinguishing between just “passing through” a bathroom and actually staying there for a lengthy period — which would make davening there a problem.
Although this goes beyond the strictly halachic debate, I think praying in the bathroom is morally wrong, in that it occupies the bathroom for a long period of time, and for purposes for which it was never designated. Did the Belzer Rebbe actually recommend davening in the bathroom?!
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