Halakhah sa Mga Awit 12:7: Mishneh Torah, Reading the Shema, Sefer Chasidim & Sefer HaChinukh

Not only the sections of the Shema, but anything that appertains to things sacred may not be uttered in a bath house or latrine, even in a secular language. It is forbidden to speak there of such topics. Even to meditate silently on the words of the Torah in a latrine, in a bath house, or in any unclean place that contains ordure or urine, is also prohibited.

He who honors is honored,¹Aboth 4:8. he who honors the Holy One, blessed be He, and that which He commands, is honored by Him.²Midrash Tanhuma, ed. Horeb, Vayigash, p. 140. It is not proper that you put books on a bed which you slept upon lest there be semen on the bed or one broke wind in the bed, similarly it would not be proper that you hold between your legs or behind you holy writings, for it is said “And has cast Me behind they back” (I Kings 14:9). And it is not proper when a man has had intercourse in bed and the moisture of sperm is yet upon him that he mention any matter of holiness, prayer or Torah. Rather let him wash himself well with water that there not cleave to him even the smallest piece³Shulhan Arukh, “Orah Hayim” 76. Mogen Avraham, note 7. (of semen). We find two purifications for three commands,⁴The Perush states that the three commands are: to meditate on Torah; to pray; to speak to friends only of Godly matters. The two purifications are directives to abstain from the aforementioned commands when he finds himself in a place of filth or if his person is soiled with semen. “The words of the Lord are pure words” (Ps. 12:7). “But words of pleasantness are pure” (Prov. 15:26). This is to teach you that a man should not be in a place of filth and think of matters of Torah or pray,⁵Berakoth 24b. or speak to his friend of any matter concerning the Holy One, blessed be He, and neither (should he do so) when there is semen upon him. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but the foolish despise wisdom and discipline” (Prov. 1:7). “For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord” (Prov. 1:29). “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God” (Prov. 2:5).

Behold, they explained that the deterrent to our [understanding of] the explanations of the commandments is only from the blindness of our intellects; and that the explanation of the most difficult one of them was already revealed to the sages of Israel. And there are many such statements in their words — and in the Torah and in Scripture, very many. And Rambam, may his memory be blessed, mentioned some of them. But [as far as] those homiletic teachings (aggadot) with which the Teacher was challenged, according to [Ramban’s] opinion, they are about a different matter: that they wanted to say that there is no benefit in the commandments to the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself, may He be blessed. Rather, the benefit is for the person, himself, to deter him from harm or a bad belief or an ugly trait or to remember wonders of the Creator, may He be blessed, [so as] to remember God. And this is [what was meant by] “to refine them with them” — that they should be like refined silver. As the action of the one who refines silver is not without explanation, but [rather] to remove all the dross. So too are the commandments to remove from him any bad belief and to inform him of the truth and to always remind him. And the language of the aggadah itself in Yilamdenu in the section, “This is the animal” (Midrash Tanchuma, Shemini 8) is “And for what would the Holy One, blessed be He, care if one slaughters a beast and eats or stabs [it] and eats? Does it help Him or hurt Him at all? Or what would He care whether one would eat pure foods or eat carcasses? ‘And if you have been wise, you have been wise for yourself.’ Behold, the commandments were only given to refine the creatures with them, as it states (Psalms 12:7), ‘The words of the Lord are pure words’; ‘The word of the Lord is refined’ (Psalms 18:31). Why? So that it will be a shield for you.”