18. Foul Smells

5:5 People with very small children expect a certain amount of bodily waste in their daily lives. For the purpose of these halachos, the waste of a toddler or baby who is old enough to eat food is exactly the same as an adult’s. There is room to be lenient with an infant who is still nursing but it is preferable to be stringent even with an infant only eight days old. The Mishnah Brurah cites the Magen Avraham, advising against reciting the Shema in the presence of an infant (81:3).

5:6 These laws apply to human excrement (even if it doesn’t smell bad), as well as to those of cats and a few other specific animals (the English hen or domestic turkey, for example. See Mishnah Brurah 79:26). We only need to distance ourselves from the waste of other animals and birds if it actually causes a bad smell. We must likewise distance ourselves from animal carcasses, chicken coops and other things that produce foul odors if we’re going to want to recite prayers or study Torah.