Handwashing in Judaism

The Talmud used the requirement of handwashing in Leviticus 15:11, "The person who is touched by one who has a discharge without rinsing his hands in water must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening," as a hint for general handwashing law, using the principle of asmakhta or "allusion."

[9] The one exception to this rule is when a man or a party of men are encamped while on a journey, and there is no water to be found in the vicinity of their camp, in which case the Sages of Israel have exempted them from washing their hands before breaking bread.

[10] Rabbinic sources discuss the practice of washing hands after a meal before reciting Birkat Hamazon.

However, Tosafot ruled that mayim aḥaronim is not required in current circumstances since the salt of Sodom is no longer served at meals.

[15] Similarly, Yaakov Emden ruled that it is not required since nowadays it is customary to eat with forks and knives and salt is unlikely to get on the fingers.

[19] Although mayim aḥaronim was once not widely practiced (for example, until recently, it did not appear in many Orthodox Passover Haggadahs), it has undergone something of a revival.

Generally, only a small amount of water is poured over the outer two segments of the fingers,[20] while a minority (primarily Yemenite Jews or related groups) wash the entire hand up to the wrist.

Abraham Isaac Kook explained that our involvement in the physical act of eating can potentially diminish our sense of holiness.

"This dangerous salt, which can blind our eyes to the needs of others, is rendered harmless through the purifying ritual of mayim acharonim.

"[23] Some sources speak of washing hands before eating a piece of food dipped in a liquid (e.g., water, honey, oil, etc.)

[24] While the Shulhan Arukh requires the washing of hands before eating fruits that are merely damp with one of the seven liquids,[25] Maimonides does not mention this stringency in his Mishneh Torah.

This washing is likened to the ritual purification required before entering the Temple in Jerusalem, in whose absence prayer, in Orthodox Judaism, serves in its place.

[31] According to the Shulchan Aruch, a person who has slept is required to wash upon arising,[32] and says the netilat yadayim blessing.

Reasons given for this washing vary: to remove an evil spirit from one's fingers,[33] or in preparation for the morning prayer, or to make the hands physically clean before reciting blessings and studying Torah.

The Talmud states God commanded Jews to wash their hands and provides the text of the netilat yadaim blessing still in use.

For some, the custom has developed to recite the blessing only after he has poured water over his hands and rubbed them together while they are raised in the air to the height of their chin before drying them with a towel.

[43] A text from the Cairo Geniza, following the Palestinian minhag, has been discovered where the blessing concluded al mitzvat shetifat yadayim.

Although the minimal quantity of water needed to fulfill one's religious duty is 1/4 of a log (a liquid measure of capacity equal to the bulk or volume of one and half medium-sized eggs),[48] and must be sufficient to cover at least the middle joints of one's fingers,[49] water poured out more than this amount is considered praiseworthy in Jewish law.

It is looked upon with such rigidity, that those who willfully neglect its practice are said to make themselves liable to excommunication,[50] and bring upon themselves a state of scarcity,[51] and are quickly taken out of the world.

[43] Exodus 30:17–20 requires the priests to wash their hands and feet before offering korban or entering the Tabernacle.

According to the Babylonian Talmud, King Solomon made an additional decree that priests must wash their hands before eating meat from animal sacrifices.

By this handwashing degree, all human hands automatically have second-level impurity (sheni letumah) until washed,[56] a level which is sufficient to invalidate terumah.

According to the Babylonian Talmud, the reason for the decree is that "hands are busy" (i.e. fidgety), and tend to touch objects and become dirty.

[66] This last phrase is unclear; according to one opinion in the Talmud, it simply refers to the commandment to obey the sages after they instituted the handwashing requirement.

[71] Jesus, however, and the disciples did not do it - even though one proclaimed to be the Messiah might be expected to follow the highest standards for holy behavior.