Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 4 - Laws Relating to Washing Hands

SECTION 4 Laws Relating to Washing the Hands. (1–2)

1 Our1 Sages ordained that one should wash his hands with water every morning and recite the blessing Al netilas yadayim, [praising G‑d for the mitzvah of washing the hands].2 The rationale [for this ordinance] is explained by some3 [as preparation] for the morning recital of Shema and Shemoneh Esreh, for the hands are active4 and probably touched unclean parts of the body during sleep, as will be explained.5

A supportive allusion to this washing may be found in the words,6 “I will wash my hands with cleanliness and I will encircle Your altar, O G‑d, raising my voice in thanksgiving....”

If water is not available one may clean his hands with any substance that serves that purpose,7 as will be explained in sec. 92[:4-5], for the verse does not state, “I will wash my hands with water,” but rather “...in cleanliness.” Nevertheless, it is a mitzvah to go as far as a mil8 to seek water [for the morning washing]. Even if one is on a journey, one should retrace one’s steps as far as a mil, as will be explained in that section. A blessing is recited for this mitzvah,9 as is done when fulfilling any mitzvah of Rabbinic origin.10

By contrast, [a person who needs to clean his hands] before studying Torah or before mentioning G‑d’s name in any blessing apart from the recitation of Shema and Shemoneh Esreh need not search for water;11 it is sufficient that he clean his hands with any substance that serves that purpose. Therefore even if a person in such a situation washes his hands with water, he should not recite a blessing.

According to this opinion, however, for the afternoon and evening prayers one is required to search for water for a distance of a mil,12 as for the morning prayers. According to this opinion, moreover, one is required to recite the blessing Al netilas yadayim before the afternoon and evening prayers, if his hands are not clean and he is required to wash.13

This, however, is not the prevailing custom throughout the Jewish world.14 Instead, [the blessing] Al netilas yadayim is recited only in the morning. For this was the practice ordained by our Sages: to wash one’s hands with water in the morning alone, not so that they should be clean before prayer, but for the reason explicit in the Zohar (Parshas Vayeishev [I, 184b]) and also mentioned in the Talmud15 — to remove the spirit of impurity that rests on the hands that results from the withdrawal of the soul’s holiness from the person’s body at night when he is asleep.16 [The washing enables the person] to sanctify himself in G‑d’s holiness17 by the pouring of pure water from a container, just as a kohen [in the Beis HaMikdash] would sanctify his hands,18 [washing] from the Basin. This is the reason [our Sages] ordained the recitation of the blessing [which states] “Who sanctified us....”19

In practice, nevertheless, out of deference to the first opinion,20 one should seek water up to the distance of a mil in order to wash before the afternoon and evening prayers as well. A blessing, however, should not be recited,21 for whenever there is a doubt with regard to the recitation of a blessing, leniency prevails and it is not required.22 Moreover, [at those times] it is unnecessary to wash from a container; the hands may be rinsed in water in a container even if it is not whole,23 or in water collected on the ground — even if the water does not amount to a reviis24 and even if it would be [otherwise] invalid for washing before a meal.25

[The rationale is that] since washing before prayer is only for the sake of cleanliness, a container is not necessary,26 nor is it necessary that the water be poured by a person,27 nor must the water meet the usual requirements for acceptability,28 nor must the other prerequisites for washing for a meal be met.

However, as when washing for a meal, one must wash the [fingers] up to the joint,29 i.e., where the fingers reach the palm of the hand, as stated by the first opinion cited at the conclusion of sec. 161[:8]. And to fulfill the requirement stated by the second opinion there, one should take a little more water in one’s hand and rub the palms together, in fulfillment of the verse, “I will wash my hands in cleanliness.”

2 In the Talmud, as well,30 [the Sages] cautioned about this spirit of impurity that rests on a person’s hands [upon awakening], saying that it is not removed entirely until he washes them three times,31 alternately.32 They also warned33 that before washing one should not touch his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, anal opening, any place where he has let blood, or his organ — i.e., from the corona and below, or for the purpose of relations. Nor should he touch water that was prepared in a tank to enable all the members of his household to wash, so that his hands will not make it impure. Similarly, when washing his own hands from a container, he should be very careful not to touch the water in the container and make it impure, for water will render hands pure only when it is poured over them.34

One should be especially careful not to touch any food35 or drink36 before washing, so that they will not be rendered impure. Women in particular should be alerted about this, because food is mostly prepared by them.

However, one need not be concerned about non-Jews touching [food without having performed Netilas Yadayim], for this spirit of impurity seeks to rest only in a sacred medium37 in place of the holiness which has departed from it — i.e., the bodies of the Jewish people. When they sleep and their holy soul departs from their bodies,38 the spirit of impurity rests on their bodies; when the soul returns to the body, the spirit of impurity departs from the entire body and remains only on the hands.

For this reason, it has become customary to be lenient with regard to the touch39 of younger children who have not reached an educable age [with regard to the Torah and its mitzvos] — because the major entry of the holy soul into a man40 is completed when he reaches thirteen years and one day, and into a woman, when she reaches twelve. This is why at that time they are obligated by Scriptural Law to observe mitzvos, and are considered to be of punishable age.

The entry of this holy soul begins at the age at which the child begins his training41 in the observance of the Torah and its mitzvos, as is obligated by the Sages.42 ([An earlier phase of this entry begins] with the mitzvah of circumcision.43 Therefore a person who is careful with regard to the touch of an infant from the day of circumcision onward may rightfully be called “holy.”44)