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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman קס״ג · One who has no water, and one who feeds others

דין מי שאין לו מים והמאכיל לאחרים — one who has no water available (farther than ד׳ מילין ahead, מיל behind) wraps his hands in a cloth (יטול ידיו במפה) and eats, or eats with a spoon ; one who feeds others does not need netila, but the one eating does — even fed by another or eating with a fork
סימן קס״ג · ב׳ סעיפים
דין מי שאין לו מים והמאכיל לאחרים
🌱 Introductory level · מתחילים
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This siman treats two situations connected to netilat yadayim before bread. First, one who has no water (מי שאין לו מים) available within a certain radius: he wraps his hands in a cloth (יטול ידיו במפה) so as not to touch the bread with bare hands, or he eats with a spoon. Second, one who feeds others (המאכיל) — he does not need netila, whereas the one eating (האוכל) does, even fed by another or eating with a fork. Hebrew text, fluent English translation and explanation of the ב׳ seifim, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: One who has no water and one who feeds others — מי שאין לו מים, נטילה במפה, המאכיל והאוכל
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן קס״ג · ב׳ סעיפים

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

Netilat yadayim before bread is not suspended by circumstance: even without water at hand, one does not eat the bread with bare hands. The siman teaches two paths. With no water nearby, one wraps the hands in a cloth (יטול ידיו במפה) or eats with a spoon, so as never to touch the bread directly. And when another feeds us, it is the one eating — not the one giving — who must have washed. 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 ב׳ seifim — מי שאין לו מים and the נטילה במפה (séif 1), the המאכיל and the האוכל (séif 2)
1. Practical case — traveling, with no water at hand (מי שאין לו מים)
2. Practical case — feeding a child or an invalid (המאכיל)
3. Practical case — eating with a fork or a spoon (מגרפה, כף)
+ Comprehension questions and going further

A. One who has no water and one who feeds others — the ב׳ seifim

מַיִם מְצוּיִים — available water — for netila before bread, one is obliged to go seek water up to a certain distance: four mil ahead (on one's way) and one mil behind. Beyond that distance one is no longer obliged to seek it — yet one still does not eat the bread with bare hands: one wraps the hands in a cloth (נטילה במפה) or eats by means of a utensil. The second seif distinguishes the one who feeds (המאכיל) from the one eating (האוכל): the obligation of netila rests on the one eating.

Séif 1 — מי שאין לו מים: יטול ידיו במפה

אם אין מים מצויים לפניו ברחוק יותר מד׳ מילין ולאחריו מיל יטול ידיו במפה ואוכל פת או דבר שטיבולו במשקה, או אוכל ע״י כף.
Séif 1: if water is not available to him, farther than four mil ahead of him and one mil behind him, he wraps his hands in a cloth and eats bread or food dipped in liquid, or else eats by means of a spoon.
No water at hand. On a journey, one must go up to four mil ahead (ד׳ מילין) to find water, or return one mil behind (מיל). If water is farther still, one is exempt from seeking it — but one does not eat the bread with bare hands: one wraps the hands in a cloth (יטול ידיו במפה) so as not to lay them on the bread, or eats with a spoon (או אוכל ע״י כף). This also applies to food dipped in liquid (דבר שטיבולו במשקה), which likewise requires clean hands.

Séif 2 — המאכיל אינו צריך והאוכל צריך נטילה

המאכיל לאחרים אינו צריך נטילת ידים והאוכל צריך נטילת ידים אף על פי שאחר נותן לתוך פיו ואינו נוגע במאכל, והוא הדין לאוכל במגרפה שצריך נטילת ידים. ואסור להאכיל למי שלא נטל ידיו משום לפני עור לא תתן מכשול.
Séif 2: one who feeds others does not need netilat yadayim, and the one eating does need netilat yadayim, even though another puts the food into his mouth and he does not touch it ; and the same applies to one eating with a fork, who needs netilat yadayim. And it is forbidden to feed one who has not washed his hands, on account of "you shall not place a stumbling block before the blind."
The one eating, not the one giving. Netila is bound to the act of eating, not to touching the bread. Thus one who feeds others (המאכיל) need not wash, but the one eating (האוכל) must wash — even if another brings the food to his mouth and he does not touch it, and even if he eats with a fork (מגרפה). Finally, one does not feed one who has not washed his hands, for that would be לפני עור לא תתן מכשול — placing a stumbling block before the blind.
The siman in one sentence: with no water at hand (beyond ד׳ מילין ahead, מיל behind), one does not give up eating cleanly — one wraps the hands in a cloth or eats with a spoon ; and the obligation of netila rests on the one eating (האוכל), not on the one feeding (המאכיל) — even fed by another or eating with a fork — while it is forbidden to feed one who has not washed (לפני עור).

Practical cases

Case 1 — Traveling, with no water at hand

Situation: one is on the road and there is no water accessible within a reasonable distance. Must one give up eating bread, or may one eat without netila?
Conduct: neither. If water is farther than four mil ahead (ד׳ מילין) or one mil behind (מיל), one is exempt from seeking it, but one wraps the hands in a cloth (יטול ידיו במפה) so as not to touch the bread, or eats with a spoon. For the exact conduct (distances today, dipped food), one follows one's Rav.

Case 2 — Feeding a child or an invalid

Situation: one feeds bread to a child, an invalid or an elderly person, without eating oneself. Must one wash one's hands?
Conduct: the one who feeds does not need netila (המאכיל לאחרים אינו צריך נטילת ידים), since he does not eat. However, the one eating must have washed his hands — and it is forbidden to feed one who has not washed (לפני עור לא תתן מכשול). In practice one therefore sees to it that the one being fed has washed; for the details, one follows one's Rav.

Case 3 — Eating with a fork or a spoon

Situation: one eats the bread (or a dipped food) with a fork or a spoon, without touching it directly. Must one still perform netila?
Conduct: yes. One who eats with a fork (מגרפה) must perform netila (והוא הדין לאוכל במגרפה שצריך נטילת ידים): the obligation is tied to the act of eating, not to the hands' contact with the bread. Conversely, when there is no water, eating with a spoon (ע״י כף) is precisely the solution offered by séif 1. For the interplay of the two, one follows one's Rav.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. How far must one go to seek water, ahead and behind (séif 1)?
  2. What does one who has no water at hand do — what are the two paths (séif 1)?
  3. Why does the one who feeds others not need netila (séif 2)?
  4. Must one who eats with a fork perform netila, and why (séif 2)?
  5. Why is it forbidden to feed one who has not washed his hands (séif 2)?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 164 →
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DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה

סימן קס״ג · ב׳ סעיפים · Level 1 — Introduction
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