If one was saying the Amidah (Standing prayer) and then remembered that he had a seminal emission, he should not stop praying, but rather shorten it, saying the beginning and the end of each of the eighteen blessings. This rule goes back to the time before the lenient opinion of Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira was accepted.
If one who had an emission went to a mikveh just before the ideal time to say the Shema – sunrise – then if he is able to get out of the water, cover himself, and recite the Shema – he should do it. However, if the time passes, he should “cover himself with water,” that is, stand with only his head above the water, and say Shema that way. But we know that the one is allowed to say the morning Shema much later, until the three hours into the day, why is he rushing? – He decided to do the “prayer of the refined” today, and that gives him the right to rush.
Since people used to wear tefillin all day, what is the proper way to go to a latrine in them? Initially, they would put the tefillin in a window of the latrine, facing the street, and that is the opinion of Beit Shammai. However, people were stealing them, and once a prostitute took a student's tefillin and brought them to the study hall, claiming that it was her reward from him. After that, Beit Hillel allowed to roll the tefillin and take them with oneself to the latrine, holding them in the right hand. Rabbi Yochanan took it a step further: if he had a scroll in his hand, he would leave it with his students, but he would take the tefillin into a latrine, saying that once the Sages allowed it, the tefillin will protect him there.
Art: Edward Henry Potthast - Bathing Boy
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