VAYAKEHL-PEKUDEY - WASHING HANDS

February 28, 1994

"And he set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water therein, wherewith to wash;  that Moses and Aaron and his sons might wash their hands and their feet thereat; when they went into the tent of meeting, and when they came near unto the altar, they should wash;  as the Lord commanded Moses."  Exodus 40:30

When a non-observant person is invited for a Shabbos meal, the first mitzvah he is invited to participate in is washing for bread.  He is shown how to pour water on both hands, and repeats the brocha 'Who has commanded us concerning the washing of the hands?'  He very well may ask about the meaning of this ritual.  Let's explore an answer we may give him.

The Gemorrah says that the Sages decreed that the hands should have a status of a 'shaynee le tumah', a second decree of impurity, because we never know what the hands have been touching.  Because of the laws of purity and impurity, this required the Kohanim, the Priests, to wash their hands before eating their food. Later the Sages extended this decree to have all Jews wash their hands before eating bread, as a remembrance that the Priests used to wash their hands before eating their food. 

But this may not be the whole answer.  The Gemorrah in Sotah (4b), while discussing immorality between men and women,  says: "Whoever eats bread without previously washing his hands is as though he had relations with an immoral woman (isha zona)...Whoever makes light of washing the hands will be uprooted from the world (implying death)...With the first washing it is necessary to lift the hands up."  What does washing hands before eating bread have to do with morality with women, why would it cause death, and what does lifting the hands up have to do with it? 

The first place we find washing hands in the Torah is in Exodus 30:18: "You shall make a Kiyor (laver) of brass, and the base of brass, a place to wash, and shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it.  And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet there;  when they go into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so they don't die."

Again, there seems to be a very strict punishment for not washing one's hands.  Why is there a death penalty for bypassing washing one's hands?

To attempt to answer these questions, let's look at the three step process involved in eating bread. First we announce our intention to eat the bread by washing our hands.  Then, when we are actually ready to eat the bread, we say the brocha 'Hamotzi lechem min haaretz' (Who brings forth bread from the earth).  The Gemorrah in Brochas says that we need to say a brocha before eating food to get permission to partake from God's bounty, otherwise we are considered like a thief.  During the meal, we can eat almost all kinds of food without saying any new brochas.  Finally, when we are done with the meal, we 'bench', after which we must begin the process all over if we want to eat again.

This bears a remarkable similarity to the three step process involved in marriage.  First, a man indicates his intention to marry a woman through Kedushin, usually done by handing her a coin and her accepting it.  Then when they are actually ready to get married, they perform the second step, Nesuin, where the financial and conjugal responsibilities and priveleges of marriage actually begin.  If for some reason the man wants to end the relationship, there is Gerishon, divorce, after which the relationship is severed. 

The desire for food and relations are two of man's greatest needs.  Before one enters a new situation to satisfy either of these very powerful desires, the Sages instituted a preparatory step to announce one's intention to begin this 'relationship', both washing one's hands for bread or Kedushin before marriage.  A state of sanctity and restraint exists during this period, as evidenced by the fact that one musn't talk between washing and saying the brocha over the bread, just as relations with the woman is prohibited between Kedushin and Nesuin. 

This preparatory step is deemed to be crucial by the Sages, because it is a mechanism that announces our willingness to put a brake on our most powerful desires.  Hunger in both areas can be intense, and our Sages have instituted a preparatory step that shows restraint. 

That is why the Gemorrah in Sotah equates the two desires, and says that any man who doesn't wash before eating bread is as though he showed no restraint with women.  And it goes on to say that such a person who makes light of such restraint and formality with regards to such strong desires will end up dying before his time, because it will likely lead at some point to an uncautious and headstrong act whose risks and dangers will be too great.

When we wake up in the morning, we are also called upon to wash our hands.  In addition to its removing a certain tumah from our hands, our Sages impress upon us that we are to regard ourselves as Kohanim ready to do the Avodah, the service of the day.  That may be why the Gemorrah in Sotah says we should lift our hands UP after washing for bread, to indicate our intention to satisfy our desires only in the context of serving God. 

And that is perhaps why the Kohane, as he was about to enter the holy area to perform the Avodah, had to wash his hands, and failure to do so entailed such a strict punishment.  Washing one's hands is an act of Kedushah, holiness, a formal act of preparation that shows that we are willing to bridle our desires in the process of serving God.  That might also be a reason why this preparatory step of marriage is called Kedushin. 

An issue that arises now and then in the Orthodox world is the permissability of eating 'mezonas' bread, bread with fruit juice added, without first washing. In considering the various issues involved, perhaps one should notice that the word 'mezonas' is similar in spelling to the word 'mezana', one who has relations with an immoral woman. 

We live in a world that has become progressivelly less formal, and that is contemptuous of preparatory rituals that bespeak restraint.  In comparison to only 50 years ago, people are much less formal in how they dress, speak, treat others, and satisfy their impulses.  Washing one's hands before bread is a powerful message instituted by our sages to inform us that respect, formality, preparation, and restraint, are absolutely needed with regard to satisfying our strong desires.  And this is perhaps why washing one's hands before eating bread is the first mitzvah that our Shabbos guest is invited to participate in.