Rebbe Nachman was very strict about not wasting time for cleanliness and not spending a long time in the bathroom. He made fun of people who do this, and he spoke at length about this. The general principle is that “the Torah was not given to the angels (Brachos 25:).” So, a person doesn’t need to be more strict than the halachah, and the halachah is that it is only prohibited [to daven] when a person actually needs to go the bathroom, like the Gemarra says, “One who needs to go to the bathroom shouldn’t daven” – specifically, “needs to go.”
And even when a person actually needs to go to the bathroom, there are still halachic nuances in non-ideal situations and difficult circumstances, as it says in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 92 – see the Magen Avraham who brings the Rif who permits [a person to daven] lechatchilah as long as he is able to hold it in for the amount of time it takes to travel a parsah). What we see from here is that, in any case, if a person doesn’t actually need to go to the bathroom, there is no need to be strict and prevent himself from learning Torah and davening for nothing just because of concerns, extra stringencies, and plain foolishness. Rather, a person should daven right away after he gets out of bed. If it is possible for him to go to the bathroom easily, then he should do so, and if not, not, and he should daven the way he is. And even if he feels [movement] in his stomach, he shouldn’t pay attention or look at this at all.
In addition, a person shouldn’t spend a long time in the bathroom because this is very damaging to the body’s health and numerous illnesses come from this, especially in our kind of bathrooms where a person needs to suspend himself – and suspending oneself is very damaging, especially for the well-known sickness of hemorrhoids, may Hashem save us. Therefore, a person must be very careful not to spend too much time in the bathroom, and he shouldn’t look for stringencies and anxiety in this area, because these things weren’t mentioned for this generation at all.
Rebbe Nachman himself made this mistake earlier [in his life], and he did very strange things in order to clear his system to the point that he was almost in danger, and he wasn’t spared from illnesses due to this [practice], may Hashem save us. But now, he understands and says that it is all foolishness, and a person shouldn’t waste precious time over this, G-d forbid. And, in truth, it is not possible in any way for the body to be completely clean with nothing left inside of it, since even if a person fasts from Shabbos until Shabbos, he still needs to go to the bathroom at the end of the week, even though he didn’t eat for a number of days, because it is necessary for a little bit to remain in the body.
And [Rebbe Nachman] said that this is a big thing for him – that he spoke about this, since a very great teaching comes out of this – that is, not to waste time because of this and not to spend a long time [in the bathroom]. And if, sometimes, a person is forced to spend a long time there, it is better to go out and come back than to sit for a while.
