Davening Outside Facing Trash Cans

Q. Due to social distancing, I daven with a minyan outside on a driveway. There are garbage cans near the end of the driveway. Is there any issue in davening while facing the garbage cans?

A. Shulchan Aruch (OC 79 and 87) writes that one may not recite Shema, berachos, tefillah and words of Torah when facing a “graf shel re’i”. A graf shel re’i is a pail that serves as a commode, as well as a garbage can used for the disposal of soiled diapers or any refuse with a foul odor (OC 79:8). It would therefore seem that it is problematic to daven in a driveway when facing garbage cans that typically hold spoiled refuse.

However, poskim maintain that our garbage cans do not have the status of a graf shel re’i. This is because garbage is typically placed in plastic bags and then disposed, and the bags cover the foul contents in the pail. As such, one may face the garbage pails in the driveway while davening. Nonetheless, if the garbage emits a foul odor, one must stand four amos away from the spot where the odor is no longer discernible. (See B’tzeil Hachochma 6:26 and Ishei Yisroel 53:36)

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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.