Cleanliness of Godliness – the long read
At this week’s Bagel Shiur a question was raised as to whether the ritual of Netilat Yadayim is merely
an act of cleanliness prior to eating or something else entirely.
Are Jews obsessed with cleanliness? What is all this hand washing about?
First thing in the morning as soon as we have awoken and said Modeh Ani (Acknowledging Hashem)
we wash our hands ritually with a special vessel 3 times on each hand alternately (this article will not
address this form of hand washing)
And again prior to eating bread (considered by the sages a mainstay food for man) we wash our
hands this time two (some wash three) times on each hand but not alternately (i.e. two times on
the right and two times on the left)
The blessing we make on both forms of washing is “Al Netilat Yadayim” which means "on the lifting
the hands which is strange as we would expect the phrase to be on the washing of hands Al
Rechitzas Yadayim. (the second stage of seder night is called Urchatz from the root to wash). We
will answer this point at the end of the article.
Staying Healthy
It is a basic premise in serving God properly that we must look after our bodies and avoid risking our
health in any way.
Maimonides (1138-1204) who was both a Doctor and the greatest codifier of Jewish law sums it up
in Hilchot Deot Chapter 4 where he writes:
“Since maintaining a healthy and sound body is among the ways of God – for one cannot understand
or have any knowledge of the Creator, if he is ill – therefore, he must avoid that which harms the
body and accustom himself to that which is healthful and helps the body become stronger”
Many of the instructions he goes on to codify are best summed up as preventative medicine which
in the 21st century is fast becoming seen as the key to sustaining long term health.
The two basic biblical verses where God commands us to look after our health are:
“Guard yourself and guard your soul very much (Deut. 4:9)” and “You shall guard yourselves very
well (Deut. 4:15
Back to hand washing!
We know today that hand washing is key to prevention of germs spreading. Soap and water is
effective. But Japanese researchers in 2019 found that washing hands under running water may be
even more effective than (ethanol based) hand sanitizers commonly used in hospitals!
When wet mucus surrounds the virus, it acts as a protective hydrogel keeping the disinfectant from
reaching and killing the germs. But when you wash with running water, the rubbing action of your
hands (if you do it thoroughly) removes the mucus and washes the virus down the drain.
Now we can look at Netilat Yadayim
Based on our scientific knowledge I would say that Netilat Yadayim would not be very effective at
sanitising our hands. There is no soap, no lather or rubbing of the hands and the water is poured
from a vessel which lacks the pressure of running water from a tap!
So if Netilat Yadayim is not about physical cleanliness then it must have a spiritual meaning behind
it which I would like to explore.
Netilat Yadayim is NOT in the Torah yet is so much a part of Jewish living. where does it originate?
Ans:
It was instituted by King Solomon. nearly 3000 years ago. More on this at end of article.
The Torah has two basic layers. Biblical law which we cannot add or detract from, and Rabbinic law.
The Rabbis in the days when we had the Sanhedrin (the central authority of the Oral Law) had the
power to make decrees to protect the Torah ("Make a fence for the Torah" is a famous Mishna in
Ethics of the Fathers). They were also able to institute social laws as well as ritual laws. The Jewish
people are bound by rabbinic law as behind every rabbinic law is a general Biblical law "not to turn
to the right or left of what the sages instruct you in each generation".
Yet at the same time a new institution had to be accepted by the Jewish people of that day. Netilat
Yadayim was embraced by the people and thus we have it still today!
Understanding Netilat Yadayim
It can be very hard to relate to the ancient Jewish world which in many ways was different to the
Jewish world we now live in.
One area in particular is very hard to connect to and that is Tumaa and Taharah meaning spiritual
impurity and purity. This is not something that can be sensed our five senses. But major parts of the
Torah talk about how we can contract spiritual impurity and how to become purified from it. The
consequences of impurity can be extremely severe E.g. entering the Temple whilst impure results in
the most severest of spiritual penalties known as Karet or spiritual excision.
What is Tumaa?
In a nutshell ( a very small nutshell!) spiritual impurity is related to death and the seeming lack of
God’s presence. That is why a dead body conveys impurity which is why a person who is in a state of
impurity cannot enter the Holy Temple where God's presence is openly manifest. That is until he or
she has completed a purification process.
In the days of the Temple and in particular the days of King Solomon the people took the intricate
laws of purity and impurity extremely seriously. We must realise that since Tumaa and tahara are
invisible, people had to keep track of themselves and their property at all times to ensure they knew
its status.
(Perhaps when Mashiach comes and these laws are restored we will develop a Tumaa/Tahara app to
keep track of our status. This will entail "smart knowledge of the status of every object that has
come into contact with death. Gazillions of data easily processed with todays technology!!!)
Thankfully for the average Jew in the Pew this was not too relevant as the only time it really
mattered was when they came to visit the Temple. However, for the Kohanim were a different story.
They were dedicated to temple service and food was donated to them by the Israelites known as
Terumah (same name as this week’s Torah Portion meaning a heave offering). This Terumah once
given to the Kohen had to be eaten in a state of purity. If either the Kohen or the Terumah were
impure, it could not be eaten. E.g. a Kohen went to a hospital and was in a room with a dead person
then he could not eat Terumah until purified which took a week! Or if a rodent touched the food it
would become impure and have to be destroyed! So quite serious stuff. and of course, eating
impure Terumah was punishable by Karet.
Therefore Kohanim (religious ones) were vigilant to maintain their purity. This is evidenced in
Jerusalem where many Mikvahs have been found in the ancient homes where Kohanim lived as
every purification process always involved immersion in a Mikvah.
Ok but what does that have do with us and Netilat Yadayim?
King Solomon was concerned that Kohanim would lose track of their status and end up eating
Terumah in a state of impurity. He therefore instituted a law that Kohanim wash their hands prior to
eating either Terumah or sacrificial meat.
In subsequent years, many priests were ignoring the requirement to wash hands before
touching terumah.
It was therefore enacted (first century) that all Jews should wash their hands prior to eating bread
even if it is Non-Terumah. This was in order to encourage the Kohanim to do the same where for
them it really mattered. In fact it was decreed that hands prior to washing have a certain level of
default impurity which invalidates the Terumah. Again this was to push the Kohanim to live to the
higher spiritual level expected of them.
So from a technical perspective (and I have been brief on what is an intricate topic) the reason we
wash Netilat yadayim was to help bring the Kohanim into conformity with their obligatory hand
washing instituted by King Solomon.
Nowadays although in israel we take Terumah from produce as without doing so its forbidden to
consume. Never the less Kohanim are forbidden to consume this Terumah as it is presumed we all
have a status of impurity associated with death which can only be removed using the ashes of the
red Heiffer which we don’t have!
Nevertheless the custom continues as a remembrance and is therefore an obligatory halacha.
Spiritual underpinning of Netilat Yadayim
The above only explains the surface level. In Judaism there is always deeper reason for what we
do and how it can elevate our lives in the here and now.
All Halacha (whether Torah or Rabbinic law) is more than symbolic. They reflect deeper spiritual
truths.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotz (1787-1859) one of the great chassidic masters explains with
penetrating insight the inner meaning of Netilat Yadayim on a conceptual level. He explains that King
Solomon is famous for two institutions in Jewish law
1) Netilat Yadayim
2) the Eruv which enables a person to carry on shabbat
Netilat Yadayim conceptually is about lifting ourselves out of the impurity found in this world. This
explains the language of the blessing "on the lifting of the hands". Our hands are the tools we use to
interact with the world. The world has negativity which our "hands" engage in and this can sully our
souls. So, through the Nitilat Yadayim we remove ourselves from the world to a place of purity.
In contrast the concept of an Eruv is about encouraging interaction with other members of society.
The concept of an Eruv is essentially about transforming many domains into one.. Carrying is only
the external symptom of the Eruv. The deeper meaning of the Eruv is that it "melts" the boundaries
that usually exist between people and engenders a coming together of people in peace and harmony
on shabbat which is the day of oneness. This is reflected in the word Eruv which means to
mix/mingle!
The Kotzker Rebbe explains that the religious man/woman who strives to connect to God must live
in paradox
On the one hand he must lift himself out of society to a place of purity where none of the
distractions of this world can affect him
Yet at the same time he must find a way to live harmoniously with others as that is where God
wants us to find him. He wants us to seek out the image of God found in the heart of another Jew or
even a stranger.
Only the wisest of men King Solomon was able to give us the religious tools to live with this
paradox.
And of course after we wash Netilat Yadayim lifting ourselves to a higher plane of consciousness we
come straight back down to eat our daily bread, and on Shabbat this is done in the company of our
family and friends together as one!
So to finally answer the question raised at Bagel breakfast
Netilat Yadayim is more than cleanliness. It’s a matter of Godliness of creating in ourselves purity
of mind heart and soul.
If this was needed in King Solomon’s times when we had the Temple where God’s presence was
openly felt then how much more so we need Netilat Yadayim today when God’s presence is so
obscured and concealed by the materialistic culture we are immersed in.
Next time we wash Netilat Yadayim there is a lot to think about!
Shabbat Shalom!