The Ancient Bathhouse: Blessings and Risks

The bathhouse is mentioned many times in Jewish texts, and a special blessing was even created for it. Have you ever recited the Bathhouse Blessing?

In Tractate Berachot (60a), it says: "The Sages taught: One who enters the bathhouse says: 'May it be Your will, Hashem my God, that you rescue me from this and similar dangers, and let no mishap or sin happen to me. If a mishap or sin should occur, let my death be an atonement for all my sins.'" Abaye says one should not say, "Let my death be my atonement," as it implies opening one's mouth to the Satan.

What does one say upon exiting the bathhouse? "Rav Aha says: 'I thank You, Hashem, for saving me from the fire.'"

Why was the bathhouse considered such a dangerous place?

Today, we turn on the tap and hot water flows freely without much concern for our safety. But in ancient times, hot water wasn't available in private homes unless specially heated in a pot or cauldron. The bathhouse, however, contained a pool of hot water. How was this achieved?

Beneath the bathhouse floor was a room filled with dense support columns to hold up the floor. Between these columns, fires burned constantly. Hot coals were placed there, keeping the fire lit. The floor of the bathhouse became very hot, in turn heating the water.

No thermostat controlled the temperature, and there weren't always engineers to assess the floor's strength, which led to potential dangers like collapses and burns.

The Talmud recounts a story of a sage in the bathhouse when the floor began to collapse. Fortunately, the section beneath him did not, as a column supported it. He quickly extended his hand to those around him, holding them until help arrived.

Given such scenarios, it's understandable that the sages saw entering the bathhouse as risky and established a special blessing. They couldn't avoid bathing altogether due to health and hygiene needs. However, they were careful to ask for safety and express gratitude afterward.

Several stories in the Talmud tell of sages in bathhouses. Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh mourned after his rabbi, Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, passed, and attempted to relax at the baths of Dyomsit (likely Emmaus near Latrun), where he forgot his studies, leading to a warning from the sages not to spend excessive time in bathhouses. Rabbi Judah the Prince visited the bathhouse of Gezer (Hamat Gader), where he was asked questions by locals, teaching them about the Shabbat boundaries in their areas.

Once, the Romans placed a statue in a bathhouse at Acre, but Rabban Gamliel did not avoid bathing there. When his students questioned him, he explained that the bathhouse predated the statue—it hadn't been built for the idol. Instead, it was argued, being placed in such a location where people disrobe doesn't honor the statue at all; hence, the bathhouse hadn't been forbidden.