Netilat Yadayim — Hand Washing: Starting the Day with Holiness

Jewish morning handwashing, known as netilat yadayim, is more than just a hygienic practice. This daily mitzvah connects body and soul and protects against spiritual harm.

1. Why Is It Important to Wash Hands Upon Waking?

According to Torah sources, when a person sleeps at night, a ruach ra’ah—a spiritually harmful force—comes to rest upon his body. When he wakes up, the ruach ra’ah leaves most of the body but remains on the hands. To remove it, one must perform netilat yadayim, ritually washing the hands three times in alternating fashion.

Until this washing is performed, one must be careful not to touch the mouth, nose, ears, or eyes — even externally — lest they be harmed by this force. If it is necessary to touch these areas, it should be done through a cloth or garment.

Food should not be touched before handwashing. If one did touch food, the food should be rinsed three times. If it cannot be rinsed (for example, it would be ruined by rinsing, or it is liquid), it may still be eaten or drunk.

2. How Is Netilat Yadayim Performed?

The hands should be washed using a vessel that holds at least a revi'it of water (approximately 3 fl. oz.), alternating three times on each hand, in the following manner (Sephardi custom):

• Fill the vessel with water while holding it in the right hand.
• Pass the vessel to the left hand, and pour once over the right hand.
• The water should reach the wrist joint, and one should rotate the hand being washed so that the water reaches every part of it, including between the fingers.
• Pass the vessel to the right hand and pour once over the left.
• Repeat this alternating pattern twice more, for a total of three pours per hand.

After washing, recite the brachah (blessing):

“Baruch Atah Hashem, Elokeinu Melech ha’olam, asher kid'shanu be'mitzvotav ve'tzivanu al netilat yadayim.”
“Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us regarding the washing of the hands.”

Then dry the hands thoroughly.

Ashkenazi minhag (custom) differs slightly from Sephardi. The washing procedure is identical, but the brachah is not recited at this first handwashing of the day. Rather, one first uses the bathroom and then, after washing the hands (in the same manner), and either before or after drying them, one recites the brachah.

Some are particular to wash each hand four times, to ensure that the last traces of water from the third washing are removed. This is a chumra (voluntary stringency) and not an obligation.

3. Can You Wash Hands in a Bathroom?

Netilat yadayim should not be performed in a bathroom or any room containing a toilet. However, in extenuating circumstances (such as on a plane or train) one may wash in such a room. One should then leave the room with hands still wet and recite the brachah outside, and only then dry the hands.

If the bathroom contains only a shower and no toilet, handwashing is permitted there, but the brachah should still be recited outside, before drying the hands.

If the first netilat yadayim of the day is done in a kitchen sink in which dishes are lying, the dishes should be rinsed before use, as the ruach ra’ah is considered to have rested on them.

4. Should Children Wash Their Hands with a Brachah?

It is a mitzvah to educate young children to perform netilat yadayim with a brachah. Even infants should ideally have their hands washed, to increase their spiritual purity and because they sometimes touch food items.

This practice is also a powerful segulah (spiritual safeguard) so that children grow up in purity and holiness.

5. What Are the Birkot HaShachar (Morning Blessings)?

Ideally, after waking up in the morning we should immediately begin the day by thanking Hashem for restoring our souls to us, and go to pray as soon as possible, without wasting time on anything unnecessary. The Birkot HaShachar were instituted to reflect the normal experiences of waking up and they focus our attention on so many aspects of “normal” daily life which we would otherwise take for granted.

Thus, there are brachot related to opening our eyes and seeing, standing up, getting dressed, walking, putting on shoes, and so forth.

Even someone who is bedridden (e.g., due to illness) or otherwise unable to perform all the deeds referred to in the brachot, recites all of them, as they refer to the concept and not merely the action. This includes the brachot “malbish arumim” (“Who clothes the naked”), “hameichin mitzadei gaver” (“Who directs the steps of man”), and “she’asah li kol tzarki” (“Who has provided for all my needs”)—which was originally composed in reference to footwear.

When reciting the blessing “Elokai, neshamah shenatatah bi tehorah hi...” (“My God, the soul You placed within me is pure...”), one should pause slightly between the words “Elokai” and “neshamah” so it does not appear that one is saying, “My God is the soul...”

6. May One Recite Morning Blessings While On the Move?

The brachot may be recited while standing, sitting, or walking. However, it is best not to say them while walking in the street. The Birkot HaShachar require kavanah (focused attention) on the words and on Hashem’s Name, and that level of focus is difficult to achieve while on the move.

Furthermore, if one recites brachot while going from place to place, it is easy to become distracted and accidentally skip a brachah or say them out of order.

By beginning the day with netilat yadayim and the Birkot HaShachar, we not only fulfill halachic obligations but also set a tone of purity, gratitude, and awareness of Hashem’s presence. These simple yet powerful practices anchor the Jewish day in holiness from its very first moments.