Posture for Shma

Hi,

One should not recline while reciting the bedside Shma, in order to ensure concentration and also in order to display respect.

One who has already fulfilled the night's obligatory Shma (such as at maariv) and is already lying down, and for whom it would be burdensome to rise, may roll on to his side to recite the bedside Shma.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 239:1; Mishneh Berurah 239:6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Reciting Shma just before going to sleep

Hi,

The Shma we recite before bed is meant to be recited just before sleeping, so one should wait to recite it until he senses that sleep is near. However, one who lies in bed for some time after Shma, without engaging in another activity, need not repeat Shma.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 239:1; Mishneh Berurah 239:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Bedside Shma

Hi,

Today we begin a new set of laws, briefer than our discussion about washing for bread. Today we begin to discuss the bedside recitation of Shma - קריאת שמע על המטה, kriat shma al hamitah.

The practice is to recite just the first paragraph of Shma - Shma Yisrael and v'Ahavta. However, one who did not recite Maariv must say the entire Shma, in order to fulfill the biblical mitzvah of reciting Shma at night.

There are those who suggest there is merit in reciting the complete Shma by one's bed, even if one already recited Maariv. Certainly, there is no loss in doing so.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 239:1; Mishneh Berurah 239:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Washing in large gatherings and then waiting for the group

Hi,

First, a reminder that you can find Yom Kippur-related halachot by clicking here.

When a group gathers for a meal, it is good to have everyone participate in a single berachah, answering Amen to the leader's HaMotzi; this causes greater honor for Gd. However, if the group is large enough that there will be a significant pause between washing and eating, then one should not wait for the group.

Definining the "significant pause" is difficult, but note that the general advice of the Rama is to avoid a gap of time long enough to walk 22 amot - about 40 feet.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 165:2, 166:1; Mishneh Berurah 165:5)

גמר חתימה טובה, May we be sealed for a great year,
Mordechai

Covered parts of the body

Hello,

Regarding yesterday's post, in which I noted that touching the "covered parts of the body" would necessitate re-washing for bread, I have been asked to clarify the meaning of "covered parts of the body." After all, that changesfrom society to society, and from season to season.

In this area of law - washing for bread - the issue is fundamentally that of sweat; parts of the body which are covered tend to develop perspiration. Therefore, any part of the body which is covered on any given day is in this category.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 4:21; Mishneh Berurah 164:9, 4:54)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Washing during a meal

Hi,

Sorry for the lack of an email yesterday; I let the day get away from me.

We have talked about the need to wash before bread because of concern for what one’s hands might have touched before the meal. The same concern may apply during a meal – one might go to the bathroom, or even just have his hands wander and touch a part of the body which is normally covered.

In such a situation, one would, indeed, be required to wash again. There is some dispute over whether a berachah is required; please consult a competent rabbinic authority to determine your community’s practice.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 164:2; Mishneh Berurah 164:8, 12-13)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Netilat Yadayim when feeding someone

Hi,

Based on the reasons we have given for washing before eating bread, it would seem that one who will feed someone else would also be required to wash ritually. However, the sages made no such decree.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 163:2; Mishneh Berurah 163:8)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Fast of Gedalyah

Hi,

We fast on the day after Rosh haShanah; this is called "Tzom Gedalyah," "The Fast of Gedalyah."

The Meaning of the Fast: After the Babylonians destroyed the Temple, they appointed Gedalyah as governor of Israel's Jews. A group of Jews, supported by another nation, wanted the Jews to rebel against the Babylonians, and they accused Gedalyah of sympathizing with the Babylonians. They ambushed him and killed him, and in the aftermath the remaining Jews in Israel went into exile.

This day is commemorated as a public fast from first light to the emergence of the stars.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 549:1; Mishneh Berurah 549:2)

Have an easy and meaningful fast,
Mordechai

One who cannot wash for bread

Hi,

One who is prevented from washing his hand, such as due to illness, should wrap his hand in a cloth (or don a glove), lest his unwashed skin touch the food.

(Mishneh Berurah 162:69)

May we be inscribed and sealed for a great new year,
Mordechai

Washing a bandaged hand before bread

Hi,

I just want to take a moment to ask for forgiveness for anything I wrote or said to you, this past year or earlier. Please know that I am sorry; I would not do it on purpose. If you could please take the time to let me know of such mistakes in a constructive way, I would greatly appreciate it. May all of us be blessed with a כתיבה וחתימה טובה, an inscription and sealing for a great year.

One who has a bandage on part of his hand, and who cannot remove the bandage due to the wound beneath, should wash only the exposed part of his hand.

However: One should be very careful not to wet the bandage with the water he pours on his hand. This water would become impure, and would not be purified with a second pouring of water; the second pouring would only purify water that was on his skin, and so the water on the bandage, were it to later come in contact with his skin, would re-contaminate the hand.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 162:10; Mishneh Berurah 162:68, 70)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Contact after washing for bread

Hi,

When washing one’s hands for bread, one who has washed the first hand should avoid contact between the washed hand and the unwashed hand.

Should the two hands touch, one would be required to re-wash.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 162:6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Three times on each hand?

Hi,

Hand-washing for bread should really only require two pourings on each hand - one which purifies the hand but leaves behind impure water, and the second to purify the water itself.

We have noted, though, that one is supposed to make sure his hands are clean before washing. Therefore, some people pour water three times, using the first pour to remove any dirt.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 162:2; Mishneh Berurah 162:19-20)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Raise your hands

Hi,

We have learned that there are two halachic reasons for washing before bread - one is removal of impurity, the other is cleanliness.

The issue of impurity poses a special challenge: We can purify our hands by washing them, but that purification ends at the wrist. Water that travels past the wrist becomes impure. Therefore, one should be careful to hold his hands in such a way that water that travels above the wrist does not return below it.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 162:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Removing rings for netilat yadayim

Hi,

There is great debate as to whether one must remove rings from his fingers before washing for bread.

It seems that if a ring is loose enough for water to pass easily beneath, and if one does not remove the ring in the course of ordinary work, then one may leave it on for washing. However, as a general rule people are strict about this because of doubts as to the standard for looseness of the ring.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 161:3; Mishneh Berurah 161:19)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Removing dirt from under one's fingernails

Hi,

We have said that one may not wash for bread if he has dirt on the majority of his hand, or on the minority of his hand if it is the sort of material he would normally want to remove from his hand.

Therefore: One need not clean out the dirt from under his fingernails before washing ritually, unless:
a) It is the sort of dirt which people would ordinarily remove, or
b) It is the sort of dirt which he would personally wish to move (even if other people do not).

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 161:1; Mishneh Berurah 161:10)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Washing before washing before bread

Hi,

The rule for netilat yadayim is that one may not have a chatzitzah, an interruption, between his hands and the water. Therefore, one may need to wash his hands for cleanliness before washing ritually.

"Chatzitzah," for this purpose, is defined as one of two things:
a) A foreign material that covers the majority of the hand's surface area, or

b) A foreign material that covers any part of the hand's surface area, and is something which people ordinarily remove.

(Mishneh Berurah 161:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Holding a full reviit of water in the washing cup at once

Hi,

We have said that one must use a reviit (just under four ounces) of water when washing his hands for bread.

Although one may divide up the reviit between the two pourings, an entire reviit must be held in the cup at the start. Thus one may not use a cup holding 2 ounces for the first pour, and then add 2 ounces for the second pour.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 160:14; Mishneh Berurah 160:81)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Washing for bread with salt water

Hi,

The water used for washing before bread must be potable, at least to the point that a dog would drink it. If it is salty, smelly or bitter to the point that a dog would not drink it, one may not use it to wash for bread.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 160:9; note Mishneh Berurah 160:38 on desalination)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The water used for hand-washing

Hi,

The water we use to wash for bread should be clear; if it gains color or opacity from some added ingredient, like ink, then it is not usable. However, water that is somewhat cloudy from dust is acceptable.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 160:1; Mishneh Berurah 160:2-3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Washing for bread in a stream

Hi,

We have been learning about Netilat Yadayim (hand-washing) before eating bread.

One may dip his hands in a river or stream, so long as he is able to immerse the whole hand simultaneously.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 159:14; Mishneh Berurah 159:77)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The pourer for Netilat Yadayim

Hi,

Anyone may pour the water used for hand-washing before eating bread; it need not come from the person who is washing, or even from a Jew.

There is some debate whether it is acceptable to have a minor pour the water, if the minor is under the age of six (and therefore of immature intelligence).

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 159:11-12; Mishneh Berurah 159:70)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Immersing hands for netilat yadayim

Hi,

We have discussed washing one’s hands before bread by pouring water on them. One may also immerse his hands.

This immersion need not be in a kosher mikvah. One may also immerse his hands in a ditch or pool containing 40 se’ah (estimates vary, from 120 gallons and up), if water arrived there via a flow of water along the ground. Even if the water is not kosher as ‘mikvah water,’ and it actually came from a receptacle, one may immerse his hands so long as the water ran at least 3 tefach (about 11 inches) along the ground before arriving in its resting place.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 159:7; Mishneh Berurah 159:40-42)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

How water is poured for hand-washing

Hi,

The water used for hand-washing (as opposed to immersion) must be poured on one’s hands by an immediate human force. Therefore, one may not wash from a drainage pipe.

One may wash from a pipe if a human poured the water from an acceptable receptacle (see previous emails) into the pipe, assuming the distance from the pourer to one’s hands is brief. Determing the specific allowable length requires analysis; it depends on circumstances, because the key point is the dissipation of the human’s contributing force.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 159:7; Mishneh Berurah 159:37)

Have a great day,
Mordechai