It is clear that one must not eat or drink in the restroom, as doing so is inappropriate. But is it forbidden also to bring food into the restroom? Many people keep sucking candies or other small snacks in their pockets throughout the day. Must they remove these products from their pockets before entering the restroom? For that matter, may food or beverages be stored in the bathroom cabinets?
Hacham Ovadia Yosef cites the ruling of the Shalmeh Sibur that although there are harmful forces of impurity in the restroom, these forces affect only the hands (which is why one must wash his hands after entering the restroom even if he does not perform his bodily functions). They have no effect on food products, and so one may bring food into the restroom.
However, as Hacham Ovadia brings, other Poskim – including Rav Haim Palagi (Turkey, 1788-1868) and the Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) – disagree, and maintain that the impurities of the restroom indeed impact food and beverages, and they should thus not be brought into the restroom. Hacham Ovadia ruled that one should act stringently in this regard, and refrain from bringing foods or beverages into the restroom, but one may rely on the lenient position of the Shalmeh Sibur after the fact, or if one has nowhere to place the food, such as if he is in a public area. This is particularly so given that our restrooms, which are more hygienic than the restrooms of old, and from which the bodily waste is immediately expelled, may not have any impurities at all. Hacham Ovadia writes that if one must bring food into the restroom, he should preferably ensure that it is wrapped. If unwrapped, exposed food was brought into the restroom, then it should be rinsed three times before it is eaten.
There is even greater room for leniency when dealing with foods given to children, as some Poskim maintain that the impure forces of the restroom pose harm only to adults, who are obligated to observe the Torah, but not children. Therefore, if a schoolteacher keeps candies in his pocket to give to the children, he may give them to the children even if the candies had been in his pocket when he used the restroom. Preferably, though, he should remove them from his pockets before entering the restroom.
If a person keeps in his pocket pills which he must take at certain times, they may be brought into the restroom, as they are likely not considered food, in addition to the factors noted above (the lenient ruling of the Shalmeh Sibur, the relative cleanliness of modern restrooms, and the fact that pills are not exposed). Medications that are flavored – such as chewable tablets and sweet liquid medicine – must be treated like food, and should preferably not be brought into the restroom. Therefore, one may store ordinary pills in the bathroom cabinets, but flavored medications should preferably be stored elsewhere. Of course, if flavored medications were brought into or stored in the restroom, they may nevertheless be used, just as food which was brought into the restroom may be eaten after the fact, as discussed.
Many apartments in Israel are constructed with a utility room off the bathroom, where the washing machine is located, and many people use that area for storing food products. It is permissible to bring food products to and from the utility room through the restroom. This leniency is based on the factors discussed above, as well as the fact that since the restroom was from the outset intended to serve as a passageway, and not exclusively as a restroom, it perhaps does not have impurities.
A woman should preferably refrain from nursing her infant in the restroom, as the impurities could affect the milk. In fact, the Poskim write that a woman should preferably refrain from nursing her infant for 18 minutes after using the restroom, and it would thus seem that all the more so, she should not nurse in the restroom. Rav Chaim Kanievsky (1928-2022) refuted this line of reasoning, asserting that it is only after a woman uses the restroom that she should wait for 18 minutes before nursing her infant. There is thus no proof that a woman should not nurse in the restroom. Rav Chaim therefore ruled that Halacha allows nursing in the restroom, though it is preferable not to. Rav Yisrael Bitan questioned this view, noting the Shulhan Aruch's ruling (Orah Haim 4:8) that impurities are always present in the restroom, even when it is not being used for bodily functions. Therefore, a woman should avoid nursing in the restroom, though, needless to say, when she has no alternative – such as when she has no other private room – she may, in light of the grounds for leniency discussed earlier (in addition to the possibility that the impurities do not affect children). Likewise, a woman should not express milk from her body in the restroom unless this is necessary.
Summary: One should not bring food or beverages into the restroom, or store food or beverages in the restroom. If a person is in a public area with food or beverages and has nowhere to keep them outside the restroom, he may bring them into the restroom, and should preferably ensure they are covered. If a food product was brought uncovered into the restroom, it should be rinsed three times before being eaten. Tasteless pills may be brought into or stored in a restroom, but flavored medications are considered food and thus should not be brought into or stored in the restroom. A woman should not nurse her infant in the restroom unless she has no other private room in which to nurse.