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In Hilchot Kri'at Shema 3:14, Maimonides wrote:

If one is reciting [the Shema] and passes gas, he should stop until the odor subsides and resume his recitation afterwards. The same applies to one studying Torah.

When another person passes gas, even though one should stop reciting the Shema, he need not interrupt his Torah study.

Let's say I'm sitting with my headphones on, listening to some Jewish music on the Songza website, and the lyrics are from Tanach. I release some flatulence. Should I pause the song until the air clears?

Please cite sources.

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  • I guess it depends if you view listening to verses of Tanakh as a genuine religious experience or if you think our holy scriptures are just nice background noise. – Double AA♦ Dec 25 '14 at 4:42
  • @DoubleAA is one allowed to use pesukim as nice backround music, ie. working out to it? – Shoel U'Meishiv Dec 25 '14 at 6:45
  • @Nafkamina See the question: "Can songs use the words from pesukim?" – unforgettableid Dec 25 '14 at 22:30
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No, you don't need to.

Furthermore, according to some poskim, you could even listen to the song in the shower. See this Q/A set by dinonline.org:

The Question:
Is one allowed to listen to Jewish music while showering in the bathroom?

Answer:
Yes, I don’t see any problem in this. The music does not have the halachah of spoken pesukim, and even if they do there is no prohibition of listening to pesukim while showering. However, you should not sing along with pesukim, for one may not speak divrei torah in the shower.

According this reasoning, since it is not considered as if you are speaking the words, it would seem to be permissible even if there is a flatulent smell. Thus, you would not need to pause the music.

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  • +0. Thank you for replying. But what is your source (or your reasoning) for saying that I don't need to pause the song? – unforgettableid Dec 26 '14 at 2:23
  • @unforgettableid im pretty i explained my reasoning in the answer above : "According this reasoning, since it is not considered as if you are speaking the words, it would seem to be permissible even if there is a flatulent smell. Thus, you would not need to pause the music." – Shoel U'Meishiv Dec 26 '14 at 7:16

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