The Impurity of the Water Used for Netilat Yadayim (with Special intro on Halacha in General)
The Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 4:8) writes that one should perform Netilat Yadayim in the morning by washing his hands over a utensil, as oppo...
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Episodes
20 of 135 episodesWashing the Hands of Young Children in the Morning
The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) writes that mothers should wash the hands of their young children in the morning – ev...
Having Somebody Else Pour the Water for the Morning Netilat Yadayim
The Gemara (Berachot 51a) lists three rules that were taught by none other than the Angel of Death, one of which is that one cannot fulfill...
The Morning Netilat Yadayim – Using Water That Was Left Uncovered, or Water That Had Been Previously Touched
The Shulhan Aruch (Yoreh De'a 116:1) writes that the Sages enacted a prohibition against drinking water that had been left exposed, due to t...
Using for the Morning Netilat Yadayim Water That Had Been in a Restroom
The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in his Od Yosef Hai (Parashat Toledot), writes that one should not wash the morning...
May One Use Scalding Hot Water for the Morning Netilat Yadayim?
The Poskim debate the question of whether one may use very hot water for Netilat Yadayim before eating bread, and the Shulhan Aruch ruled th...
Performing the Morning Hand-Washing by Dipping One’s Hands in a River or Mikveh
If one does not have a utensil with which to wash Netilat Yadayim in the morning, but he has access to a river or sea, or a Mikveh, he shoul...
If One Can Wash Only One Hand
If one of a person's hands is, Heaven forbid, bandaged or in a cast, and cannot be washed, he washes the other hand upon waking in the morni...
Can One Fulfill the Morning Hand-Washing Obligation by Dipping His Hands in a Bowl of Water?
One cannot fulfill the obligation of Netilat Yadayim in the morning by dipping his hands in a bowl of water, even if he dips both hands thre...
If One Does Not Have a Cup for the Morning Netilat Yadayim
When washing one's hands in the morning, one should abide by all the requirements that apply to Netilat Yadayim before eating bread. This me...
The Beracha Over the Morning Hand-Washing
When does one recite the Beracha "Al Netilat Yadayim" over the morning hand-washing? The Tashbatz (Rav Shimshon Ben Sadok, Germany, 13 th ce...
The Morning Netilat Yadayim – What to Do Immediately After Pouring the Water Over the Hands
When washing Netilat Yadayim in the morning, one pours water three times on each hand, in alternating fashion. Some, as we have seen, pour f...
If One Has Limited Water for the Morning Hand-Washing
When one washes Netilat Yadayim upon waking in the morning, he should use enough water that it covers both sides of each hand, until the wri...
The Proper Procedure for the Morning Hand-Washing
The accepted practice when washing Netilat Yadayim in the morning is to pour water on each hand three times, in alternating fashion. Meaning...
The Importance of the Morning Netilat Yadayim
Numerous sources emphasize the importance of washing one's hands upon waking in the morning. Rav Haim Palachi (Turkey, 1788-1868), in his Ka...
Why Don’t We Wash Our Feet Every Morning?
Halacha requires washing one's hands each morning, and the Rosh explains that this is because the hands move around during the night, and li...
The Reasons for the Morning Hand Washing
We find in our sources four different reasons for the obligation to wash one's hands upon waking in the morning. The Rosh (Rabbenu Asher Ben...
Reciting Berachot & Praying in a Mikveh
It is forbidden to pray or recite Berachot in a public bathhouse, such as a Mikveh. This applies not only in the interior area of the Mikveh...
Speaking in a Mikveh
A public bathhouse – such as a Mikveh – is treated by Halacha like a restroom in that one may not think about Torah matters there. Just as i...
Bringing or Storing Food in the Restroom
It is clear that one must not eat or drink in the restroom, as doing so is inappropriate. But is it forbidden also to bring food into the re...