h) Question: If Tefilin are permitted in a Beis ha'Kisei Kavu'a, why are they forbidden in a Beis ha'Kisei Arai?
(i) Answer: One who urinates must clean the drops off of his shoes (lest people suspect that he does not urinate properly, a sign of sterility, and this will cause suspicion about his children), therefore he cannot hold Tefilin; this does not apply to defecating.
My question is... If you are allowed to take your Tefilin in to a Beis ha'Kisei Kavua when afterwards you would have to clean yourself using the hand NOT holding the Tefilin, why would you not be able to wipe the urine droplets off of your shoes with your free hand?
Thanks
Ian
Ian Liebenthal, Toronto, Canada
The Mishnah B'rurah (43:8) specifically writes that the reason for the prohibition of entering a Beis ha'Kisei Ara'i in order to urinate is 'because we are afraid that one will clean the droplets that fall on his legs with the hand that is holding the Tefilin .
Regarding defacating (which, the Rema stresses, has nothing to do with Kavu'a, as you suggest. Kavu'a and Ara'i he says, are mentioned to distinguish between sitting and standing when urinating, respectively), the Mishnah B'rurah (SK 20) explains that one holds the Tefilin in one's right hand (and with one's clothes), because the left hand is reserved to clean oneself. Consequently, one will not come to use the hand holding the Tefilin for that purpose.Kol Tuv
Eliezer Chrysler