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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman קע״ג · The law of the middle waters (mayim emtza'iyim)

דין מים אמצעים — washing the hands in the middle of the meal, between one food and another: optional (רשות) as a rule, but obligatory (חובה) between meat and cheese, and between meat and fish because of danger ; and the middle waters follow the rules of the last waters, except on two points
סימן קע״ג · ג׳ סעיפים
דין מים אמצעים
🌱 Introductory Level · מתחילים
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This siman teaches the washing of the hands during the meal — between one food and another. As a rule it is optional (מַיִם אֶמְצָעִים רְשׁוּת) ; but it becomes obligatory (חוֹבָה) between a meat dish and cheese, and between meat and fish because of the danger (סַכָּנָה). Finally, the middle waters follow all the rules of the last waters, except היסח הדעת and ניגוב. Hebrew text, translation and explanation of the ג׳ seifim, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: The middle washing — optional, obligatory, danger, and the laws of the middle waters
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן קע״ג · ג׳ סעיפים

Compilation: רב יוסף חיים סממה
DAAT · daattorah.com

After the laws of the blessing and the course of the meal (simanim 167-172), the Choulhan Aroukh devotes this short siman to the middle waters — washing the hands during the meal, between one food and another. Torah knows three washings: the first waters (before the bread, obligatory), the last waters (before birkat hamazon, obligatory) and the middle ones (in between, optional). This siman spells out when this middle washing stays optional, when it becomes obligatory (meat/cheese, meat/fish — a matter of halakha and of health), and how it compares to the last waters. We study here at the level of principle ; for personal conduct, one relies on custom and on the Rav's ruling.

📑 Study plan

A. מים אמצעים רשות (seif 1) — the middle washing is optional, between one dish and another
B. בין תבשיל לגבינה חובה (seif 1) — between meat and cheese it becomes obligatory
C. בין בשר לדגים — סכנה (seif 2) — between meat and fish, obligatory because of danger
D. דיני האמצעיים כאחרונים (seif 3) — as the last waters, except היסח הדעת and ניגוב
1-3. Practical cases and comprehension questions

A. מים אמצעים רשות — the middle washing, optional

מַיִם אֶמְצָעִים — the "middle waters": the washing of the hands one does during the meal, between one food and another. It is distinct from the first waters (מים ראשונים, before eating the bread) and the last waters (מים אחרונים, before birkat hamazon). The Talmudic basis is a beraita: מים ראשונים ואחרונים חובה אמצעיים רשות (Chullin 105a) — the first and last are obligatory, the middle ones optional.

Seif 1 — מים אמצעים רשות : between one dish and another

מים אמצעים רשות והני מילי בין תבשיל לתבשיל, אבל בין תבשיל לגבינה חובה.
Seif 1 (part 1): the middle washing is optional (רשות), and this applies between one dish and another (בין תבשיל לתבשיל) ; but between a [meat] dish and cheese, it is obligatory (חובה).
Optional in principle. Washing the hands between two ordinary dishes is not an obligation (רשות): it is a practice of cleanliness, left to choice. The Mechaber here restates the beraita of Chullin — the middle waters, unlike the first and last, are optional. But this latitude ends as soon as another factor enters, as we see at once with cheese.

B. בין תבשיל לגבינה חובה — meat then cheese: obligatory

Seif 1 (continued) — moving from meat to cheese

אבל בין תבשיל לגבינה חובה.
Seif 1 (part 2): but between a [meat] dish and cheese, [the washing] is obligatory.
When cleanliness becomes a din. As soon as one moves from a meat dish to cheese, the washing is no longer optional but obligatory (חובה): it removes any meat residue from the hands, under the laws of meat and milk (basar b'halav). The Beit Yossef refers here to the laws of Yoreh De'ah. In other words, the very same act changes its status according to what one is about to eat.

C. בין בשר לדגים — meat and fish: the danger

Seif 2 — בין בשר לדגים חובה ליטול

בין בשר לדגים חובה ליטול, משום דקשה לדבר אחר, וחמירא סכנתא מאיסורא.
Seif 2: between meat and fish, it is obligatory to wash the hands, because [this mixture] is harmful "for another matter" (דבר אחר — a euphemism for an illness), and because danger is stricter than a prohibition (וחמירא סכנתא מאיסורא).
Health comes first. Eating fish right after meat without rinsing the hands is regarded as harmful to health (דקשה לדבר אחר). And the rule is that danger is treated more strictly than a ritual prohibition (חמירא סכנתא מאיסורא): where a mere prohibition might allow leniencies, a risk to the body demands stringency. Washing here is therefore an obligation of preserving life.

D. דיני האמצעיים כאחרונים — the middle as the last waters

Seif 3 — like the last waters, except two points

כל הדברים הנוהגים באחרונים נוהגים באמצעיים, בין להקל בין להחמיר, חוץ מהיסח הדעת שפוסל באמצעיים מפני שעדיין רוצה לאכול וידיו צריכים שימור, וחוץ מניגוב הידים שאמצעיים צריכים נגוב כראשונים. הגה ויש שאמרו שאמצעיים צריכים דוקא מים מה שאין כן באחרונים כדלקמן סימן קפ״א.
Seif 3: all the rules that apply to the last waters (אחרונים) apply to the middle ones as well, both to be lenient and to be strict — except two differences. (1) The היסח הדעת (distraction, diverting one's attention) invalidates (פוסל) for the middle waters — because one still wants to eat and the hands must stay guarded (שימור). (2) Drying (ניגוב): the middle waters require drying like the first waters. Gloss of the Rama: and some say that the middle waters require specifically water (מים), unlike the last waters, as will be explained further on, siman 181.
One rule and two exceptions. In principle, the middle waters mirror the last waters (כאחרונים), both for leniencies and stringencies. Two points differ: (1) distraction (היסח הדעת) invalidates them — for here one will continue to eat and the hands must stay clean and guarded ; (2) they must be dried (ניגוב) like the first waters. The Rama adds that, according to some, they require specifically water (cf. siman 181).
The siman in one sentence: the middle washing (מים אמצעים) is optional between two dishes (רשות), but obligatory between meat and cheese (halakha) and between meat and fish (סכנה — חמירא סכנתא מאיסורא) ; and it follows the last waters, except that it is invalidated by היסח הדעת and requires ניגוב like the first waters.

Practical cases

Case 1 — Between two ordinary dishes

Situation: in the middle of the meal I move from one dish to another. Must I wash my hands again?
Conduct: this washing is optional (מים אמצעים רשות והני מילי בין תבשיל לתבשיל, seif 1): one may do it for cleanliness, but there is no obligation. For the precise customs, one follows one's Rav.

Case 2 — Meat then cheese, meat and fish

Situation: after a meat dish I want to eat cheese ; or I move from meat to fish. Is it the same?
Conduct: no — here the washing becomes obligatory. Between meat and cheese (בין תבשיל לגבינה חובה, seif 1) under the laws of meat and milk ; between meat and fish (בין בשר לדגים חובה ליטול, seif 2) because of the danger (חמירא סכנתא מאיסורא). For the details (kinuach, hadacha, drinking), one follows one's Rav.

Case 3 — Distraction and drying

Situation: I washed my hands during the meal, then got distracted ; or I did not dry my hands. Is it valid?
Conduct: the היסח הדעת (distraction) invalidates the middle washing, since one will continue eating and the hands must stay guarded (seif 3) ; and one must dry the hands (ניגוב) as for the first waters. For a specific case, one follows one's Rav.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. What are the three kinds of waters, and which is optional (seif 1)?
  2. Why does the washing become obligatory between meat and cheese (seif 1)?
  3. Why does one wash obligatorily between meat and fish, and what does חמירא סכנתא מאיסורא mean (seif 2)?
  4. What do the middle waters resemble, and what are the two exceptions (seif 3)?
  5. What does the Rama say about the need to use specifically water (seif 3)?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 174 →
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DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה

סימן קע״ג · ג׳ סעיפים · Level 1 — Introduction
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