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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman קנ״ח · Washing the hands for a meal

דיני נטילת ידים לסעודה — before eating bread over which one says HaMotsi, one washes the hands and recites « al netilat yadaïm » (על נטילת ידים) ; פחות מכביצה : without a blessing, פחות מכזית : יש מי שאומר that no netila is needed ; דבר שטיבולו במשקה : washing without a blessing ; the שיעור רביעית and the ניגוב
סימן קנ״ח · י״ג סעיפים
דיני נטילת ידים לסעודה
🌱 Introductory level · מתחילים
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This siman teaches the netilat yadaïm for a meal: before eating bread over which one says HaMotsi, one washes the hands and recites « al netilat yadaïm » (על נטילת ידים), even without knowing any impurity on them ; for bread that does not call for HaMotsi (לחמניות, פת הבאה בכסנין), אין צריך נטילת ידים. The siman details the quantities (פחות מכביצה, פחות מכזית), the food dipped in a liquid (דבר שטיבולו במשקה), the measure of water (רביעית) and the drying (ניגוב). Hebrew text, fluent English translation and explanation of the י״ג seifim, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: Washing the hands for a meal — נטילה לפת, שיעורים, טיבולו במשקה, רביעית וניגוב
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן קנ״ח · י״ג סעיפים

Compiled by: רב יוסף חיים סממה
DAAT · daattorah.com

Our Sages taught (חולין ק״ה.) that מים ראשונים מצוה — washing the hands before the meal is a mitzva. The siman teaches the conduct that precedes bread: to wash the hands, to recite the blessing, to take care with the measure of water and to dry them well before cutting. We study here at the level of principle; for personal conduct (measures, particular cases), one refers to the custom and to the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline

A. The י״ג seifim — washing for bread (séif 1), the quantities (séifim 2-3), דבר שטיבולו במשקה (séif 4), the related cases (séifim 5-9), רביעית, the blessing and ניגוב (séifim 10-13)
1. Practical case — which bread calls for netila with a berakha (פת המוציא / פת הבאה בכסנין)
2. Practical case — the food dipped in a liquid (דבר שטיבולו במשקה)
3. Practical case — the measure of water (רביעית) and the drying (ניגוב)
+ Comprehension questions and going further

A. Washing the hands for a meal — the י״ג seifim

נְטִילַת יָדַיִם לַסְּעֻדָּה — washing the hands for a meal — before eating bread, one pours water over the hands (the מים ראשונים) and recites the blessing « al netilat yadaïm ». This siman fixes for which bread the netila applies (with or without HaMotsi), what quantity of bread requires it, the case of the food dipped in a liquid, the measure of water (רביעית), and the importance of drying the hands well before cutting the bread.

Séif 1 — netilat yadaïm for bread over which one says HaMotsi

כשיבא לאכול פת שמברכין עליו המוציא יטול ידיו אפי׳ אינו יודע להם שום טומאה ויברך על נטילת ידים ; אבל לפת שאין מברכין עליו המוציא כגון לחמניות דקות או פת הבאה בכסנין ואינו קובע סעודתו עליהם אין צריך נטילת ידים.
Séif 1: when one comes to eat bread over which one says HaMotsi, he washes his hands — even without knowing any impurity on them — and recites « al netilat yadaïm ». But for bread over which one does not say HaMotsi, such as thin rolls (לחמניות דקות) or « pat haba b kisnin » (פת הבאה בכסנין) of which one does not make a meal, no netilat yadaïm is needed.
The bread of a meal. The netila with a blessing applies to bread over which one says HaMotsi — the bread of a meal — and one washes even without any known impurity, since it is a rabbinic ordinance. Bread that does not call for HaMotsi (thin rolls, פת הבאה בכסנין) of which one does not make a meal requires no netila.

Séifim 2-3 — the quantities: פחות מכביצה, פחות מכזית

יש מי שאומר שאם אינו אוכל אלא פחות מכביצה יטול ידיו ולא יברך. אם אוכל פחות מכזית יש מי שאומר שא״צ נטילה.
Séif 2: יש מי שאומר — some say that if one eats only less than a כביצה (the volume of an egg), one washes the hands but does not recite the blessing. Séif 3: if one eats less than a כזית (the volume of an olive), יש מי שאומר that no netila is needed.
Two thresholds. For the volume of an egg (כביצה) and above: netila with a blessing. Below it (down to the volume of an olive): יש מי שאומר that one washes without a blessing. Below the volume of an olive (כזית): יש מי שאומר that there is no netila at all. These are reported opinions (יש מי שאומר) ; for practice one follows one's Rav.

Séif 4 — דבר שטיבולו במשקה: food dipped in a liquid

אם אוכל דבר שטיבולו באחד משבעה משקין שסימנם י״ד שח״ט ד״מ [יין דבש שמן חלב טל דם מים] ולא נתנגב ואפי׳ אין ידיו נוגעות במקום המשקה צריך נטילה בלא ברכה.
Séif 4: if one eats a food dipped in one of the seven liquids — whose sign is י״ד שח״ט ד״מ [namely: wine, honey, oil, milk, dew, blood, water] — and it has not dried, even if his hands do not touch the place of the liquid, he washes the hands without a blessing.
The seven liquids. A food wetted by one of the seven liquids (sign י״ד שח״ט ד״מ : יין, דבש, שמן, חלב, טל, דם, מים) that has not dried calls for a netila without a blessing — even when the hands do not directly touch the wet place. This is a conduct of purity inherited from hands touching what is moist.

Séifim 5-9 — related cases: fruit, drinking, the desert, the gravity of netila

הנוטל ידיו לפירות הרי זה מגסי הרוח. השותה אין צריך ליטול אפי׳ ידו אחת. מי שהיה במדבר או במקום סכנה ואין לו מים פטור מנטילת ידים. צריך ליזהר בנטילת ידים שכל המזלזל בה חייב נידוי ובא לידי עניות ונעקר מן העולם.
Séif 5: one who washes his hands for fruit shows haughtiness (מגסי הרוח) — for the netila is only for bread. Séif 6: one who merely drinks need not wash, not even one hand. Séif 8: one who was in the desert or in a place of danger and has no water is exempt from netila. Séif 9: one must take care with netila, for whoever slights it is liable to נידוי, comes to poverty and is uprooted from the world.
The netila and its limits. It is for bread, not for fruit (to wash for it as an obligation would be haughtiness) nor for mere drinking. One who has no water (desert, danger) is exempt. But where it applies, one takes it seriously: the Sages attached great gravity to one who neglects it. (Séif 7 deals with one who washed for a dipped food and then wants bread.)

Séifim 10-13 — רביעית, the blessing and ניגוב

אע״פ ששיעורם ברביעית יוסיף ליטול בשפע. מברך קודם נטילה שכל המצות מברך עליה׳ עובר לעשייתן ונהגו שלא לברך עד אחר נטילה. וינגבם היטב קודם שיבצע שהאוכל בלי נגוב ידים כאילו אוכל לחם טמא. המטביל ידיו יכול לאכול בלא נגוב.
Séif 10: although their measure is a רביעית (a quarter of a log), one adds and pours abundantly. Séif 11: by the letter of the law one blesses before the netila, for all mitzvot are blessed « before doing them » (עובר לעשייתן) ; but the custom is to bless only after the pouring. Séif 12: one dries the hands well before cutting the bread, for one who eats without having dried his hands is as if he eats impure bread. Séif 13: one who immerses his hands (in a mikvé) may eat without drying.
Measure, blessing, drying. The minimal measure is a רביעית per washing, yet it is praiseworthy to pour abundantly. The blessing, in principle before the act (עובר לעשייתן), is said by custom after the pouring, when the hands are clean. Finally one dries the hands well before cutting the bread — כאילו אוכל לחם טמא — and one who has immersed his hands may eat without drying.
The siman in one sentence: before the bread of a meal (over which one says HaMotsi), one washes the hands and recites « al netilat yadaïm » ; the quantities (כביצה, כזית) modulate the blessing ; a food dipped in one of the seven liquids calls for a netila without a blessing ; one does not wash for fruit nor for mere drinking ; the measure is a רביעית but one pours abundantly ; and one dries the hands well before cutting the bread.

Practical cases

Case 1 — Which bread calls for netila with a berakha

Situation: one hesitates between ordinary bread and small cakes (פת הבאה בכסנין). On which does one make the netila with a blessing?
Conduct: for bread over which one says HaMotsi — the bread of a meal — one washes and recites « al netilat yadaïm ». For bread that does not call for HaMotsi (thin rolls, פת הבאה בכסנין) of which one does not make a meal, אין צריך נטילת ידים. For the practical definition of פת הבאה בכסנין and of קביעות סעודה, one follows one's Rav.

Case 2 — The food dipped in a liquid

Situation: one is about to eat a wet vegetable or fruit (dipped in water, in wine…) that has not dried. Must one wash the hands?
Conduct: yes — נטילה בלא ברכה. A food dipped in one of the seven liquids (י״ד שח״ט ד״מ : wine, honey, oil, milk, dew, blood, water) that has not dried calls for a netila without a blessing, even if the hands do not directly touch the liquid. For the details (which foods, when it applies today), one follows one's Rav.

Case 3 — The measure of water and the drying

Situation: how much water should one pour, and must one dry the hands before cutting the bread?
Conduct: the minimal measure is a רביעית per washing, but it is praiseworthy to pour abundantly (יוסיף ליטול בשפע). Then one dries the hands well before cutting the bread, שהאוכל בלי נגוב ידים כאילו אוכל לחם טמא. For the order of pouring, the number of times and the details, one follows one's Rav.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. Over which bread does one make the netila with a blessing, and which does not require it (séif 1)?
  2. What does the quantity of bread (פחות מכביצה, פחות מכזית) change regarding the netila and the blessing (séifim 2-3)?
  3. What is a דבר שטיבולו במשקה, and what are the seven liquids (séif 4)?
  4. Why does one not wash for fruit nor for mere drinking (séifim 5-6)?
  5. What is the measure of water, and why must one dry the hands well before cutting the bread (séifim 10, 12)?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 159 →
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DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה

סימן קנ״ח · י״ג סעיפים · Level 1 — Introduction
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