May a davar shebekedusha be said in a bathhouse?

In earlier times, a bathhouse was divided into three rooms: 1) the outer room--where people were always dressed, 2) the middle room--a dressing room in which some people were dressed and some undressed, and 3) the inner room--the actual bathing room, where everyone was undressed. In the outer room there were no restrictions regarding devarim shebekedusha. In the middle room, devarim shebekedusha were forbidden but greeting with the word “Shalom”, thinking Torah thoughts, and answering Amen were permitted. In the inner room, even these activities were forbidden. The poskim disagree about whether the restrictions in the middle room were in force when all those assembled were dressed. The restrictions in the inner room were always in force, even when the room was empty.

סימן פ"ד ס"ק ד' ו' וז'

May a davar shebekedusha be said in a mikvah?

The inner washing room used to be steamy, dirty, and smelly. Nowadays, a mikvah room or room containing a bath does not have these characteristics. Some poskim say that these rooms have the status of the middle room. Therefore, one may think Torah thoughts and recite the brocha over tevilah in such rooms. Other poskim permit the recitation of other devarim shebekedusha in these rooms. If there are unclothed people in the room, the halachos of saying a davar shebekedusha in front of an ervah apply.

ס"ק ד',ה, וז, ביאורים ומוספים דרשו 6-7

Can the name Shalom be uttered in a bathhouse?

Shalom is one of the names of Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Therefore, one may not greet his fellow in an unclean area by using this word. It is also forbidden to greet a person with the word Shalom if he is bareheaded. The poskim discuss whether it is permissible to greet a bareheaded person in a way that will cause him to return the greeting by using the word Shalom. The poskim disagree about whether one may call a person named Shalom by his name in an unclean area. One way to avoid the issue is by dropping the final mem of the word. Alternatively, one may replace the mem with a nun. One should not write the word Shalom on a letter which is likely to be thrown out. Erasing the word Shalom is permitted.

ס"ק ו' ביאורים ומוספים דרשו 9-10

• In earlier times, there was a bathroom known as beis hakisei shel Parsaim. This bathroom was built on a slope, so tzoah never remained in the beis hakisei. Involvement with a davar shebekedusha in such a beis hakisei was permitted as long as there was no foul odor there. Contemporary poskim debate whether a modern-day bathroom falls into the same category.

• The poskim discuss whether a bathroom which contains a sink in addition to a toilet is in a different category than a regular beis hakisei. They rule that one should be stringent.

• The Biur Halacha writes about seeing homes of unscrupulous people where sefarim were stored in a room which was used as a bathroom. The homeowners tried to justify themselves by saying that they covered the hole where tzoah was located. This was clearly not sufficient, since a foul odor permeated the room. 

• What did Gedolim do when they were unable to learn Torah?

• Which Aramaic word may not be said in a place where it is forbidden to learn Torah?

• Why can one enter a beis hakisei when he is learning Torah?