Can One Be Lenient About Leaving an Unpainted Non-Plastered Area of the Wall?

Are there any situations in which one may be lenient about leaving an unpainted and non-plastered area of the wall, facing the entrance way, to commemorate the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash?

The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (126:1) indeed wonders why many people are lenient in fulfilling the requirement of leaving an amah by an amah unpainted and non-plastered in their newly built homes zecher l’churban. (See Aruch HaShulchan OC 560:3, 4 for a possible leniency.) Nevertheless, there is an opinion in the poskim which maintains that if one’s spouse does not want the area exposed, then one may paint a spot measuring an amah by an amah in a different color than the rest of the wall instead (Ohr L’tzion 3:30:1). However, Rav Belsky, zt”l maintained that this should not be done l’chatchilah (from the outset) (Piskei Halacha Vol. 1, p. 114).

The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt”l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.