סימן ד - דיני נטילת ידים ובו כ"א סעיפים

Siman 4: Laws of Netilas Yadayim, containing twenty-one seifim:

Recording: Seifim 1–21

1. Every person who rises from his bed in the morning, whether or not he has relieved himself, must wash his hands with a revi'is of water from a vessel.

Even if he does not wish to pray until several hours later, because when the Holy One, blessed be He, returns a person's soul to him, he becomes like a new creation. As it is written, "חדשים לבקרים כו'" ("They are new every morning, etc.") (Eichah 3:23).

For a person entrusts his soul weary, and the Holy One, blessed be He, returns it to him new and rested, so that he may serve Hashem, blessed be He, with all his ability, and minister to Him all day, for this is the whole of man.

Therefore we must sanctify ourselves with His holiness, and wash our hands from a vessel, in order to do His service and minister to Him.

Like a kohen, who would sanctify his hands from the basin each day before his service^[1]. And since he must wash his hands specifically from a vessel, he should therefore bless "on netilas yadayim", and not "on the washing of the hands".

Because the vessel from which the hands are washed is called a "natla" in the language of the Sages.

Therefore they ordained in this blessing the word "netilah", to indicate that a vessel is required:

2. In this washing, the water need not come upon his hands specifically through human force. Even if he rubbed his hands inside a vessel of water, the washing counts for him^[2]:

3. If he has no vessel at all, but washes his hands in drawn water, or he does not have the measure of a revi'is of water, he should not on that account refrain from blessing "on netilas yadayim". For the Sages made no distinction, since he washes his hands with water fit for washing.

But if he has no water at all fit for washing, in the way that will be explained below in Siman 160, if he does not wish to pray until much later, so that he will take his mind off guarding his hands and will have to wash his hands again in order to pray, then he should not bless at all on this washing.

And if he has no water at all: if he wishes to pray immediately, he must clean his hands before the prayer with a pebble, or earth, or a beam, or anything that cleans, and bless, "who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us on the cleanliness of the hands"^[3].

And if he does not wish to pray immediately, he need not even clean his hands, if he lay down in his clothes.

And he may so recite all the morning blessings without washing his hands.

For ordinary hands, in which he knows of no impurity, do not disqualify a blessing.

For they ordained washing the hands only for the reading of the Shema and for prayer.

But if he was sleeping on his bed unclothed, it is forbidden for him to mention any of the seven Names that may not be erased, or to utter words of Torah, until he cleans his hands with anything that cleans.

Because presumably he touched the covered places on a person.

Such as the calf and thigh and the like, on which there is residue of sweat, for the hands are busy:

4. The Sages said: Whoever sleeps at night sixty breaths, once his soul has departed from him, a spirit of impurity comes and rests on his body.

And as soon as he awakes from his sleep, the spirit of impurity departs from his whole body, except for his hands.

For the spirit of impurity does not depart from them until he pours water on his hands three times on each hand separately.

And he should not pour on one hand three times in succession.

Rather, once on the right and once on the left.

And so he should do three times^[4]:

5. And before he washes them in the way explained, he should not touch his mouth with his hands, lest he become mute. Nor his ears, lest he become deaf. Nor his eyes, lest he become blind. Nor his nose or mouth, lest he suffer from polypus, that is, a foul smell of the nose and mouth:

6. So too, he should not touch with his hands, before washing, the place of a bloodletting.

And so too he should not touch any food or drink, lest he make them impure:

7. He need not dry his hands after the morning washing.

And it is permitted to recite the blessing "on netilas yadayim" without drying.

And the same applies to all the other blessings.

And he need wash only the fingers.

But it is good to wash them up to the joint of the arm^[5]:

8. In the morning washing of the hands, one does not wash onto the ground but into a vessel.

And it is good that the lower vessel be unsightly:

9. The water of the morning washing of the hands may not be used for any use.

Because it is forbidden to benefit from it, because of the evil spirit that rests on it.

Therefore he should not leave it overnight in the house.

And so too he should take care not to pour it out in the house, or in any place where people pass, lest someone touch it and be harmed:

10. When he washes his hands, he must wash his right hand first.

For the reason explained in Siman 2.

And because it is good that the water should come upon his hands from the right hand to purify them, for the reason explained in the Zohar.

Therefore he should take the vessel of water in his right hand and give it to his left, so as to pour water on his right first^[6]:

11. One who has not yet washed his hands in the morning should not pour water on another's hands.

As it is said, "והזה הטהור על הטמא" ("And the pure one shall sprinkle on the impure") (Bamidbar 19:19):

12. If he swished his hands in a vessel of water three times in one vessel, the washing does not count for him to remove the evil spirit from them.

For as soon as he swished his hands the first time in the vessel, all the water in the vessel became impure, and it is like waste water.

And if he swished his hands three times in three changes of water, or in a river, where the first waters flow away and these are others, it is doubtful whether the washing counts for him to remove the evil spirit on them.

And it is good that he wash them again properly, because it may be that the evil spirit departs from the hands only by pouring three times from the vessel:

13. If he stayed awake all night, he must wash his hands as soon as day breaks^[7].

Even though all night he did not take his mind off guarding his hands.

Such as when he kept them in gloves.

Nevertheless he must wash his hands from a vessel, without a blessing, when day breaks.

Because it may be that when the Sages ordained washing the hands every morning, for the reason explained in seif 1, they did not wish to distinguish between one who slept, who becomes a new creation, and one who did not sleep at all:

14. One who rises before dawn and washes his hands^[8].

It is good that he again pour on his hands three times properly^[9] when day breaks.

Because it may be that night causes an evil spirit to rest on the hands, even without sleep.

Nevertheless, even if he afterward lay down to sleep a second time, a fixed sleep, when an evil spirit certainly rests on his hands, and he must pour on them three times when he rises from his bed.

Nevertheless he should not bless on this washing.

For they ordained the blessing "on netilas yadayim" only when he becomes a new creation, as explained in seif 1.

And in this second sleep he does not become a new creation.

For one becomes a new creation once, and not twice:

15. If he slept by day for the measure of sixty breaths, it is good that he pour water on his hands three times.

Because it may be that sleep causes an evil spirit to rest on the hands, even by day:

16. King David, peace be upon him, was careful not to sleep sixty consecutive breaths all night, so as not to taste the taste of death.

He would only doze like a horse until midnight, and at midnight he would rise with the strength of a lion:

17. Some are accustomed to rinse their mouths in the morning because of the saliva inside the mouth, so as to bless the great Name in holiness and purity^[10]:

18. These are the things that require washing specifically with water, and not with anything that cleans.

But he need not pour on his hands three times.

They are:

One who rises from bed.

One who leaves the bathroom or the bathhouse.

One who cuts his nails.

One who takes off his shoes with his hands.

One who touches his feet.

One who touches his body with his hand.

One who washes his hair.

One who touches a louse.

One who has marital relations.

One who searches his garments for lice, even if he touched no louse, since he found none.

One who walks among graves.

And one who touched a dead body.

But if he went near a dead body, he need not wash.

However, the custom is to wash even if he entered where a dead body lay.

And the same applies to those who accompany it.

And whoever did one of all these and did not wash his hands:

If he is a Torah scholar, his learning is forgotten.

And if he is not a Torah scholar, he loses his mind:

19. One who lets blood from the shoulders and does not wash his hands afterward is afraid for seven days, and does not know of what he is afraid.

One who shaves his hair and does not wash his hands is afraid for three days.

One who cuts his nails and does not wash his hands is afraid for one day:

20. One who washes his face and does not dry it well, his face cracks or sores break out on it.

And his remedy is to wash much in beet water:

21. A person washes his face and feet every day for the honor of his Maker.

As it is said, "כי בצלם אלהים עשה את האדם" ("For in the image of G‑d He made man") (Bereishis 9:6)^[11]:

Notes

1. Like a kohen: Mahadura Basra says: "But this is not the custom now throughout Israel... but rather for the reason stated in the Zohar... to remove the spirit of impurity that rests on the hands" (Mahadura Basra 4:1; see note 1 there). And the Rebbe writes on the connection of immersion to prayer: "ויש להסבירה גם ע"פ נגלה, ע"פ דברי הרשב"א - הובא במגן אברהם ריש סי' ד' - אשר האדם בקומו בבקר הוא ככהן המתכונן לעבודה, והרי אין נכנסים לעבודה אלא בטבילה תחלה. וג"ז דבר משנה הוא (יומא ל, א). אף שלא קבעו זה חובה" ("It can be explained in the revealed Torah as well, according to the words of the Rashba, brought in the Magen Avraham at the beginning of Siman 4: that a person on rising in the morning is like a kohen preparing for the service, and one does not enter the service without first immersing. This too is the word of a Mishnah (Yoma 30a), although they did not establish it as an obligation") (Igros Kodesh, vol. 11, no. 3782). And in another letter: "הזהירות בטבילת עזרא שייכת ביותר ומשפיעה ביותר על אופן התפלה ומדריגתה" ("Care with the immersion of Ezra relates most of all to, and most affects, the manner and level of one's prayer") (Igros Kodesh, vol. 18, no. 6654); and see Shulchan Menachem, Immersion Before Prayer.

2. The washing counts: Sefer HaMinhagim (Morning Conduct), from the Alter Rebbe's Siddur and the responsa of the Tzemach Tzedek: the water for the morning washing must be as fit as water for washing before a meal, and it is poured through human effort, with a vessel, over the whole hand up to the wrist.

3. The cleanliness of the hands: This blessing is not brought in Mahadura Basra, which says: "But the blessing 'on netilas yadayim' is said only in the morning" (Mahadura Basra 4:1). See note 1 there.

4. Three times: "It was taught: Rabbi Nasan says: She is a free woman, and she is particular until he washes his hands three times" (Shabbos 109a). And on washing not in alternation, the Rebbe writes: "ומנהג החסידים מוציא מהדעות שצ"ל לא בסירוגין" ("And the custom of Chassidim excludes the views that it must be not in alternation") (Igros Kodesh, vol. 3, no. 764).

5. The joint of the arm: See Mahadura Basra 4:1 and note 4 there, and the Rebbe's letter on this (Igros Kodesh, vol. 3, no. 506). Sefer HaMinhagim (The Morning Blessings), from the custom of the Rebbe Rashab: during the blessing, after washing and drying the hands, they are held apart at the height of the peyos.

6. On his right first: The Previous Rebbe writes: "נהגו כל החסידים ליקח הכלי בימין וליתנה ליד שמאל, ולשפוך על ימין תחלה" ("All Chassidim are accustomed to take the vessel in the right, give it to the left hand, and pour on the right first"), brought in the publisher's note to Igros Kodesh, vol. 3, no. 764. See Mahadura Basra 4:2, note 6.

7. Awake all night: The Rebbe writes: "איך נוהגין כשניעור כל הלילה באמירת ברכות ענט"י ואלקי נשמה - הוראה לרבים שא"א וכמש"כ בס' אדה"ז. ומובן שאפשר לשמוע ממי שישן (הוראה בחשאי - לאומרם. כן שמעתי מכ"ק מו"ח אד"ש)" ("What is done when one stayed awake all night, regarding the blessings on netilas yadayim and Elokai Neshamah: the instruction to the public is that one does not say them, as written in the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch. And it is understood that one can hear them from someone who slept. (A private instruction: to say them. So I heard from my father-in-law, the Rebbe, shlita)") (Igros Kodesh, vol. 3, no. 409). Sefer HaMinhagim (The Morning Blessings), from the Alter Rebbe's Siddur: one recites the morning blessings as printed even if they do not apply to him, such as when he stayed awake all night and did not change his clothes, provided it is after daybreak.

8. And washes his hands: Seemingly he also blessed, since he has become a new creation, and no condition was mentioned that he becomes a new creation only after dawn.

9. Properly: That is, in alternation.

10. Rinsing the mouth: "אאמו"ר (אדוני אבי מורי ורבי) אמר: קודם רחיצת הפה שחרית, אין לברך מלבד בימי התעניות - ברכות השחר" ("My revered father said: Before rinsing the mouth in the morning, one does not recite the morning blessings, except on fast days") (HaYom Yom, 22 Menachem Av). This is brought in Sefer HaMinhagim (Morning Conduct), in the name of the Rebbe Rashab.

11. In the image of G‑d: These matters are also explained in the Alter Rebbe's Siddur, in Piskei HaSiddur: Laws of the Morning Washing and Order of the Washing.