Ritual washing in Judaism

Tevilah (טְבִילָה) is a full body immersion in a mikveh, and netilat yadayim is the washing of the hands with a cup (see Handwashing in Judaism).

Men experiencing a seminal discharge, including through regular marital intercourse, were prohibited from entering the Temple in Jerusalem and required to immerse in a mikveh, remaining ritually impure until the evening.

The Talmud ascribes to the Great Assembly of Ezra a Rabbinic decree imposing further restrictions on men ritually impure from a seminal discharge, including a prohibition on studying Torah and from participating in services.

Maimonides wrote a responsum lifting the decree of Ezra, based on an opinion in the Talmud stating that it had failed to be observed by a majority of the community and the Jewish people found themselves unable to sustain it.

According to Leviticus, anyone who comes into contact with or carries any creature that had not been deliberately killed by shechita was regarded by the biblical regulations as having made themselves unclean by doing so, and therefore was compelled to immerse their entire body.

[19] Washing of corpses was not observed among the Jews living in Persian Babylon, for which they were criticised as dying in filth, without a candle and without a bath;[23] at the time, the non-Jewish Persians were predominantly Zoroastrian, and consequently believed that dead bodies were inherently ritually unclean, and should be exposed to the elements in a Tower of Silence to avoid defiling the earth with them.

A special building for the corpse-washing existed in the cemetery in 15th century Prague,[24] a practice which obtains in many Jewish communities today; a mikveh is provided at a number of ancient tombs.

A more elaborate ceremony, known as the grand washing (rechitzah gedolah, רחיצה גדולה), is available for the corpses of the more significant individuals; Hillel the Elder is traditionally credited with its invention.

[28] Both Orthodox and Conservative Judaism currently have multiple views on the reason for contemporary observance of ritual washing and immersion obligation.

Two of the opinions reflect reasoning similar to the respective Orthodox views (Biblical requirements or rabbinic ordinances enacted in remembrance of the Temple.)

[29] At Qumran, basins which served as baths have been identified, and among the Dead Sea scrolls, texts on maintaining ritual purity reflect the requirements of Leviticus.

[19] The Christian New Testament states that in Jesus' time, "Pharisees, and all the Jews" would not eat until they had washed their hands to the wrist, and it was noteworthy that Jesus and his followers did not wash.[31] According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, the historic requirement for priests to first wash their hands, together with the classical rabbinical belief that non-priest were also required to wash their hands before taking part in a holy act, such as prayer, was adhered to very strongly, to the extent that Christianity adopted the practice, and provided worshippers with fountains and basins of water in Churches, in a similar manner to the "Molten Sea" in the Jerusalem Temple functioning as a laver.

[32][33] Although Christianity did not adopt the requirement for priests to wash feet before worship, in Islam the practice was extended to the congregation and expanded into wudu.

[19] According to Peake's Commentary on the Bible, Biblical scholars regard the requirement of Kohanim washing their hands before the Priestly Blessing as an example of the taboo against the profane making contact with the sacred,[11] and similar practices are present in other religions of the period and region.

[19] A baraita offers, as justification for the ritual of hand-washing after waking, the belief that a spirit of impurity rests upon each person during the night, and will not leave until the person's hands are washed,[38] and the Zohar argues that body is open to demonic possession during sleep because the soul temporarily leaves the body during it;[19] the kabbalah argues that death awaits anyone who walks more than four yards from their bed without ablution.

According to Peake's commentary on the Bible, the Priestly Code specifies that individuals were washed before they could become members of the Jewish priesthood,[39] and similarly requires Levites to be cleansed before they assume their work.