II. Avoiding the Presence of Ervah347

1. It is forbidden for one in the presence of visible ervah to recite a davar shebekudashah, even if he closes his eyes or turns away his head so he is not looking at it.348
2. If, however, the ervah is in a different domain or is behind glass,349 a davar shebekudashah may be recited providing that one’s eyes are closed.350
3. One may also recite a davar shebekudashah if he turns his entire body so it is no longer facing the ervah and the ervah is no longer visible from the position in which he is facing.351
4. The Poskim disagree whether covering one’s eyes with a covering permits recitation of davar shebekudashah.352
5. These halachos hold true even if one cannot actually see the ervah because the area is dark; the what would be otherwise-visible ervah is considered to be in one’s presence when it is within the distance that he would be able to see it during the day.353

III. When in the Presence of Ervah

1. One may not recite a davar shebekudashah in the presence of ervah. One may, though, contemplate its words in one’s mind,354 which includes reading a sefer.355
2. One may not listen to another person recite a berachah with the intent of discharging one’s own obligation by doing so. The halachic mechanism of shomeia ke’oneh – “listening is tantamount to enunciating‎” via which one discharges their obligation by listening to another, also makes it considered as if he personally enunciated the berachah, which may not be done in the presence of ervah.356
3. Answering Amen to a berachah (without the intention of discharging one’s obligation) is permitted in the presence of ervah.357
4. One should refrain from writing divrei Torah when in the presence of ervah.358

IV. Covered Areas of the Body

Chazal expanded the prohibition against reciting devarim shebekudashah in the presence of ervah to include any part of the body that is usually covered. This is referred to as tefach meguleh, an exposed tefach.

In explanation, the Rishonim359 write that a man who sees normally covered parts of a woman’s body is liable to have inappropriate thoughts (hirhur), which would impede his kavanah and thus ability to focus on a davar shebekedushah. Reciting devarim shebekudashah in the presence of a tefach meguleh is forbidden even when one did not do anything wrong that caused him to see these areas, for example one’s wife, or one in the presence of a tefach meguleh who is doing nothing to purposefully gaze in its direction.

Although the prohibition of tefach meguleh is an extension of the prohibition of ervah, these two halachos in fact differ in several areas.

1. Gender – A davar shebekudashah may not be recited by a man when normally covered areas of a woman’s body are visible to him. There are no restrictions on a woman reciting devarim shebekudashah while seeing normally covered (non-ervah) parts of her own body,360 or of another woman.361 A woman may also recite a davar shebekudashah in front of normally covered (non-ervah) areas of a man.362
2. Age – The age at which tefach meguleh begins to be an issue is a matter of dispute among the Poskim. Some say the age that the concern of tefach meguleh begins when a girl reaches the age of ervah, which is three years old.363 Others reason that since the prohibition of tefach meguleh is out of concern for hirhur, the age from which the restriction against reciting a davar shebekudashah depends not on her age but rather begins when a girl matures to the stage that she may begin to elicit hirhur, for people no longer see her as a small child,364 and will depend on each girl. Some suggest that this age is certainly not before age five,365 while others rule that it there is no problem until age seven, approximately.366 This disagreement has no clear consensus, and many follow the lenient opinion.367

There is no issue with reciting davar shebekudashah in the presence of tefach meguleh areas of one’s own daughter until she is eleven years old.368

1. Looking Away – Some opinions rule that, in contrast to the presence of ervah, closing one’s eyes or looking away so one will not see tefach meguleh allows one to recite devarim shebekudashah. One may rely on this opinion when there is no other choice.369 For example, one speaking to a group which includes women who are not properly dressed should close his eyes or avert his gaze when saying a davar shebekudashah.370
2. Bedieved – The Poskim discuss whether one recited a davar shebekudashah while seeing tefach meguleh discharged his obligation bedieved. The accepted halachah is that he need not repeat what he already said if he merely saw the tefach meguleh, and was not pointedly looking at it.371 If he was pointedly looking, Kerias Shema must be repeated and Birchos Kerias Shema and Shemoneh Esrei, need not be repeated.372

347 The halachos enumerated in this section are also relevant to tefach meguleh, expect when otherwise noted.

348 In the presence of tefach meguleh, though, one may simply close their eyes.

349 This case is specifically one in which the ervah is behind glass. The fact that one is wearing glasses (and thus sees the ervah through them) is inconsequential (Chazon Ish 16:7).

350 Mishnah Berurah 75:29.

351 Mishnah Berurah ibid.

352 Chazon Ish 16:7 rules that this is ineffective, while Eishel Avraham (Buczacz) 75:6 permits one to do so.

353 Chayei Adam 4:3. It is possible that one who wears glasses calculates this distance based on his range of vision with glasses (R’ Chaim Kanievsky. cited in Ishei Yisrael 55, note 24).

354 Mishnah Berurah 75:29.

355 Teshuvos Vehanhogos 1:64.

356 Beiur Halachah ad loc.; see also Mishnah Berurah ibid. R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (cited in Ishei Yisrael 55 note 122) adds that the same applies when the ervah is not visible and the issue is only one of their heart being in proximity to ervah; even under these circumstances one should not have a berachah recited on their behalf.

357 Eishel Avraham (Buczacz) 84.

358 Eishel Avraham (Buczacz), Tinyana, 75:1; Salmas Chaim (Machon Keren Re’eim ed.) Orach Chaim 61.

359 Cited in Beis Yosef 75:1, s.v. tefach.

360 Rema 75:1.

361 Mishnah Berurah 75:8.

362 Aruch Hashulchan 75:5.

363 Beiur Halachah 75:1, s.v. tefach.

364 Chazon Ish 16:8.

365 Emes LeYa’akov 75, footnote 104.

366 Orchos Rabbeinu I (5774 ed.), Kerias Shema 18 (p. 100).

367 Emes L’Ya’akov ibid.; Kovetz Teshuvos II:8; and R’ Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, cited in Halichos Yisrael 42, note 6. See, however, Halichos Shlomo, Tefillah 20:9, who writes that regarding devarim shebekudashah specifically one should be stringent from the time that a girl is three years old.

Some Poskim (Emes LeYa’akov ibid.; R’ Shneur Kotler, cited in Halichos Yisrael ibid., note 5) rule that one who follows a more lenient ruling may not bring his young daughter, dressed in a manner in which areas of tefach meguleh are not covered, to shul when others there follow the stricter ruling, which will not allow them to daven. Cf. Kovetz Teshuvos ibid. who writes that in a shul where most people follow the lenient ruling one need not be concerned for the objections of the minority.

368 Beiur Halachah 75:1, s.v. tefach.

369 Mishnah Berurah 75:1; and Chazon Ish 16:7. Citing R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, BeYitzchak Yikarei (Mishnah Berurah, hashlamos to p. 215) writes that for the purpose of learning Torah one may lechatchilah rely on this opinion. Moreover, Shulchan Aruch Harav (75:1) rules that under pressing circumstances one may rely on the minority opinion in the Rishonim that prohibits reciting a davar shebekudashah only when one is pointedly looking at ervah and not simply when it is within his line of sight.

370 Salmas Chaim 67.

371 Mishnah Berurah 75:4.

372 See the end of Mishnah Berurah 76:8.