Halakhah for Berakhot 45:11
תניא אידך הנכנס לבית הכסא קבוע חולץ תפיליו ברחוק ד' אמות ומניחן בחלון הסמוך לרשות הרבים ונכנס וכשהוא יוצא מרחיק ד' אמות ומניחן דברי בית שמאי ובית הלל אומרים אוחזן בידו ונכנס ר"ע אומר אוחזן בבגדו ונכנס
There is a further teaching : When one is about to enter a regular privy, he divests himself of the Tefillin at a [minimum] distance of four cubits, leaves them on the window-sill which is near the public road, and then enters. When he comes out, he walks a distance of four cubits and relays them. These are the words of Bet Shammai. Bet Hillel declare that he may hold them in his hand and enter. R. 'Akiba says : He holds them in his garment and enters.
Peninei Halakhah, Women's Prayer
The Sages teach that one who needs to use the bathroom, be it to urinate or to defecate, may not pray (Berakhot 23a). There are two reasons for this: 1. The need for relief is likely to disrupt one’s kavana (Rambam); and 2. It is not proper to come to pray before God when the body is made repulsive by the excrement inside it (Hagahot Maimoniyot). Even if one is uncertain as to whether or not she needs to use the bathroom, the Sages say that le-khatḥila one should use the bathroom (Berakhot 15a). The Sages support their statement with the verse (Amos 4:12), “Israel, prepare to meet your God.” It is also written: “Guard your foot when you go to the House of God” (Kohelet 4:17), which they interpret to mean that one should ensure that she does not need to relieve herself when she gets up to pray.
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