Why Do We Wash Hands Before Eating Bread? A Torah Guide to Netilat Yadayim

Until relatively recent times (and in many parts of the world, to this very day), bread was a staple food and formed the basis of every meal. Halachah (Jewish law) does not consider food to have the full significance of a seudah (meal) unless bread is eaten. Birkat Hamazon (Grace after Meals) is only recited when bread is part of the meal. Other foods require only a short after-blessing.

Before eating bread, we perform netilat yadayim—ritual handwashing—a mitzvah of Rabbinic origin that carries both practical and spiritual meaning.

Why Do We Wash Before Eating?

This mitzvah originated with the practices of the kohanim (priests) in Temple times. Kohanim did not work the land; they were dedicated to Hashem’s service in the Beit Hamikdash, and they lived mainly off terumah, the portions of farm produce brought to them as offerings. The kohanim were required to eat all offerings in a state of taharah (ritual purity), which included washing their hands before eating. To ingrain this practice among the kohanim, the Talmudic Sages made a decree that all Jews should wash their hands before eating bread.

Aside from this practical explanation, there are many spiritual reasons why we wash our hands before eating a substantial meal. One reason is that this handwashing serves as a reminder that we are sustained by Hashem. Kohanim know they receive their bread from Hashem, in the shape of the offerings brought by the people according to the Torah’s laws. But the rest of us can easily fool ourselves into thinking we obtained our bread through our own efforts. Handwashing before eating thus serves as a reminder: all sustenance comes from Hashem.

Therefore, we wash not only because our hands may be physically dirty (though that’s also likely, since our hands are constantly active), and not only when our hands are spiritually unclean (tamei—due to contact with anything that confers spiritual impurity), but also because the act holds a deep spiritual message.

How to Wash: Step-by-Step

Preparing for Washing

The water can only purify the hands if there is nothing stopping it from reaching every part of the hands (up to the wrist). Therefore, anything that could be considered a barrier must first be removed.

• Clean off all visible dirt from the hands, including dirt under the fingernails if it’s significant enough to bother you.

• Anything raised above the surface of the skin (e.g., paint) should be removed. Ink is not an issue, as it is not discernable by touch.

• Nail polish is generally not a chatzitzah (barrier), since it is viewed as part of the hand.

Rings and Bandages

• Remove rings if you are accustomed to removing them for tasks like kneading dough. This indicates that you do not consider them part of your hand.

• If you never remove them, they are considered part of the body and not a barrier that prevents water from reaching all parts of the hand.

• Band-aids should be removed before washing if possible. Even sticky residue should be cleaned off.

  • If removal is too painful or the wound is still bleeding, leave it on — but be certain to pour at least a full 3 oz (revi’it) over that hand in one continuous flow to prevent impure water from under the band-aid flowing back onto clean areas.

  • Some halachic authorities recommend covering that entire hand with a glove or cloth during the meal until after Birkat Hamazon.

  • If the bandage falls off during the meal, you must wash both hands again, but the brachah is not repeated.

Procedure

• Use at least a revi’it (86 ml or approximately 3 oz) of water per pour, and preferably more.

• The water must reach the entire hand from wrist to fingertips, in one continuous pour.

• Fill the vessel, then:

  1. Take the vessel with your right hand and transfer it to your left.

  2. Pour water over your right hand using your left, three times in succession (using at least a revi’it for each pour).

  3. Transfer the vessel to your right hand, and pour water over the left hand three times.

Even someone who is left-handed and performs most tasks with their left hand should perform netilat yadayim this way.

Saying the Blessing

Most mitzvot are performed after reciting a blessing. But here, we wash before saying the brachah, because it is forbidden to recite a brachah with spiritually unclean hands.

The brachah “Al Netilat Yadayim” should however be said before drying the hands, since drying is part of the mitzvah and reciting the brachah at this stage is considered fulfilling the halachic requirement of blessing prior to completion of the mitzvah.

If someone has already dried their hands and only then realizes that they forgot to say the brachah, they may not say it, as it would be considered a redundant blessing (known as a brachah levatalah) now that the mitzvah has already been completed.

Avoiding Interruptions Between Washing and Eating

Since we wash our hands in order to eat bread, the process of washing hands through eating the first kezayit (olive-sized piece) of bread should not be interrupted unless necessary.

• After washing, recite the brachah immediately, and even if you hear someone reciting a brachah before you recite your own, you may not respond, “Amen.”

• After the brachah, do not speak until you have recited Hamotzi (the brachah over bread). However, if you hear someone making a brachah at this point, you may respond, “Amen.”

• If you spoke unnecessarily between washing and drying, you should wash again — but without repeating the brachah.

Drying the Hands

Hands must be dried thoroughly, because the water remaining on one’s hands after the third pour is considered to hold tumah (ritual impurity).

• You may use either a towel or a hot-air dryer.

• Do not dry your hands on your clothing, as this causes forgetfulness of Torah knowledge.

Taking Care While Hands Are Still Wet

Water on the hands can transfer tumah which is why we need to be careful until we dry our hands.

• If your wet, washed hand touches another person’s unwashed hand, you should dry your hands and rewash. (This also applies if your wet washed hand touches your own unwashed hand.)

• If the other person had already washed their hands, there is no need for you to rewash.

• In public places, avoid if possible drying your hands on a damp communal towel, as the water in it may transfer impurity.

If you need to rewash before saying the blessing, first touch an impure area of your body (e.g., the sole of your foot) and then rewash with a brachah.

If you already said the blessing, do not repeat it after rewashing.

Do You Have to Recite Hamotzi Immediately After Washing?

One should not delay unnecessarily between netilat yadayim and Hamotzi.

Short pauses for meal-related needs (e.g., fetching salt or a knife) are permitted. But avoid doing anything unrelated to the meal until after Hamotzi is recited and at least a kezayit of bread has been eaten.

Washing Hands During the Meal

The entire meal must be eaten in a state of purity (taharah). What this means in practice is that if we become tamei (spiritually unclean) during the meal, we need to wash our hands again before continuing the meal.

• Even if only one hand touched something impure, rewash both.

• If food is in your mouth when you become tamei, try to wash your hands before swallowing.

• If that’s not possible, you may swallow and then wash.

No new blessing is made — neither Al Netilat Yadayim nor Hamotzi.

Using a Kosher Washing Vessel

• The vessel used to wash our hands must be capable of holding at least 3 oz (a revi’it) of water. If it holds less, it is not valid for the mitzvah of handwashing, even if you refill it multiple times.

• A bottle with a narrow opening may be used if nothing better is available, as long as the water is poured in a continuous stream.

• A pitcher with a pouring spout may be used.

• Do not use a perforated, cracked, or broken vessel.

• Paper, cardboard, or disposable plastic cups may be used as long as they are large enough.

In a pressing situation with no vessel available, cover your hands with a cloth, recite Hamotzi, and eat. This is also the halachah for someone who has no access to water for washing at all. The hands should be kept covered until after Birkat Hamazon.

Using Water That Was Previously Handled

If water has already been used for some purpose, such as rinsing hands after the bathroom, one may not use it for netilat yadayim.

This applies even if the water has not become dirty — for instance, it was used to cool a baby bottle, or to fill a hot-water bottle.

A Spiritual Reminder

The mitzvah of netilat yadayim is so much more than a matter of hygiene. It originates with the kohanim, who were required to eat in a state of spiritual purity, and when we emulate them, we too can elevate the physical act of eating into a spiritual act of connection.