Ritual washing in Judaism
943833
221945472
2008-06-26T20:26:14Z
Shirahadasha
1042163
/* Temple Mount controversy */ There's no controversy that ritual washing is required or what the ritual washing is.
Ritual washing, or ablution, takes two main forms in Judaism: '''''tevilah''''', full body immersion in a ''[[mikvah]]'', and '''''netilat yadayim''''', washing the hands with a cup. The first written records for these practices are found in the [[Hebrew Bible]], and are elaborated in the [[Mishnah]] and [[Talmud]]. They have been codified in various codes of Jewish law and tradition, such as [[Maimonides]]'s [[Mishneh Torah]] (12th century) and [[Joseph Karo]]'s [[Shulchan Aruch]] (16th century.) These customs are most commonly observed within [[Orthodox Judaism]]. In [[Conservative Judaism]], the practices are normative with certain leniencies and exceptions. Ritual washing is not generally performed in [[Reform Judaism]].
== Basis ==
Both traditional religious and secular scholars agree that ritual washing in Judaism was derived by the Rabbis of the Talmud from a more extensive set of ritual washing and purity practices in use in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, based on various verses in the [[Hebrew Bible]] and received traditions. There is disagreement, however, about the origins and meanings of these practices. This article first describes these practices as they exist in contemporary traditional Judaism, then discusses various alternative perspectives on their nature, origins, and meaning.
==Principles ==
Traditional Judaism requires certain types of ritual washing. Some of these types do not require a special ritual body of water (and can be done with tap water):
#''Negel vasser'' ("Nail water"), when getting up in the morning after a full night's sleep, or even after a lengthy nap, there is the custom to wash one's hands ritually by pouring a large cup of water over one's fingers, alternating three times. In the custom of some communities, it is also done without a blessing after engaging in [[sexual intercourse]] or other seminal emission.
#''Netilat yadayim'' ("Raising [after ritually washing] the hands") which is done with a blessing, prior to eating any [[bread]] with a meal, and done without a blessing, after touching a ''[[tamei]]'' (ritually impure) object (such as one's private parts, leather shoes, or an [[insect]] or [[animal]], or after paying a visit to a [[cemetery]]).
#''Mayim acharonim'' ("After-waters") a law or custom of ritually washing off one's fingers after a meal, to protect oneself from touching the eyes with hazardous residue.<ref>Shulchan Aruch, OC 181</ref>
#During a [[Passover]] [[Seder]], a third washing of ''netilat yadayim''<ref>[[Shulchan Aruch]], [[Orach Chaim]] 473:6</ref> is performed without any blessing being recited, before the eating of a vegetable, called ''[[karpas]]'', prior to the main meal.
#Before blessing of ''Asher yatzar'' ("Who created [the man]"). After having gone to the bathroom (and having either [[urinate]]d or [[defecation|defecated]]), the ritual washing of one's hands as a symbol of both bodily cleanliness and of removing human impurity - see ''Netilat yadayim'' above.
#Every [[Kohen]] present has his hands ritually washed in [[synagogue]] by the [[Levite|Levi'im]] (Levites) before uttering the [[Priestly Blessing]] in front of the congregation.
#To remove ''tuma'' ("impurity") after cutting one's hair or nails
#To remove ''tumat meit'' ("impurity from death") after participating in a funeral procession, or entering a cemetery, or coming within four cubits of a corpse
#Some communities observe a requirement for washing one's body (which may be done with tap water) after experiencing a seminal emission, including ejaculation or receiving seminal fluid during sexual intercourse since these activities make the man ''baal keri'' (one who is impure dues to ejaculation.)
Others require full immersion in special a body of water, such as a spring, stream, or [[mikva]]:
#By a married Jewish woman after her [[Niddah]] period concludes following [[menstruation]] or other uterine bleeding and she wishes to resume conjugal relations with her husband. This requires special preparation.
#The day before ("eve of") [[Yom Kippur]] and other Festivals
#By many Orthodox Jews on Friday afternoons (in preparation for Shabbos)
#When converting to Judaism.
#''Tahara'', ("Purification"), the ritual washing and cleansing, and immersion in a [[mikva]] according to some customs, of a Jew's body prior to burial.
===Temple Mount ===
*Prior to ascending the [[Temple Mount]] by those Orthodox authorities who permit ascending the Temple mount (and also by the [[Masorti Judaism|Masorti]] movement in Israel). For this purpose an ordinary mikva is not sufficient—it requires a pool of "living water," i.e. a spring, river, or a pool attached to one of these.
===According to Conservative Judaism===
*Some rabbis within [[Conservative Judaism]] advise non-married women who are unwilling to abstain from sexual activity to also observe [[niddah]] and immersion in a [[mikva]].)
===According to Reform Judaism===
*Reform practice varies by the individual, but as a movement, Reform does not generally practice ritual washing. There has been in recent years a resurgence in the use of the [[Mikvah]] by some Reform women as a spiritual activity, but not necessarily in connection to [[Niddah]].
== Washing the hands ==
=== General basis in Jewish law ===
The rabbis of the Talmud derived the requirement of washing the hands as a consequence of the statement in [[Leviticus]] 15:11
:And whoever he that hath issue (a ''[[Zav]]'', ejaculant with an unusual discharge) touches without having rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|15:11|}}</ref>,
and from [[Psalms]] 26:6
:I will wash my hands in innocency; so will I compass Thine altar, O LORD.<ref>{{bibleverse||Psalms|26:6|}}</ref>.
The [[Talmud]] inferred the specific requirements of hand-washing from these passages.
The general Hebrew term for ritual hand washing is ''netilat yadayim'', meaning ''lifting up of the hands''. The term "the washing of hands" after evacuation is sometimes referred to as "to wash ''asher yatzar''" referring to the [[bracha]] (blessing) said which starts with these words.
[[Halakha]] (Jewish law} requires that the water used for ritual washing be naturally pure, unused, not contain other substances, and not be discoloured. The water also must be poured from a vessel as a human act, on the basis of references in the Bible to this practice, e.g. [[Elisha]] pouring water upon the hands of [[Elijah]]. Water should be poured on each hand at least twice. A clean dry substance should be used instead if water is unavailable {{Fact|date=June 2007}}
=== How performed ===
Contemporary practice is to pour water on each hand three times for most purposes using a cup, and alternating the hands between each occurrence; this ritual is now known by the [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] term ''negel vasser'', meaning ''nail water''. This Yiddish term is also used for a special cup used for such washing.
===At meals===
The [[Babylonian Talmud]]<ref>[[Berachot]] 53b</ref> discusses two types of washing at meals: washing before a meal is described as ''first waters'' (the Hebrew term is ''mayim rishonim''), and after a meal is known as ''last waters'' (the Hebrew term is ''mayim aharonim''). The first term has generally fallen from contemporary usage; the second term has stuck.
The [[Gemarrah]] of the [[Babylonian talmud]] contains homilectic descriptions of the importance of the practice, including an argument that washing before meals is so important that neglecting it is tantamount to un[[chastity]], and risks divine punishment in the form of sudden destruction or poverty<ref>Shabbat 62b</ref><ref>Sotah 4b</ref>. The discussion of ''mayim acharonim'', washing after meals, contains a suggestion that washing after meals, as a health measure, is the more important of the two washings, on grounds that the salt used as a preservative in food could cause blindness if the eyes were rubbed without washing.<ref>Yoma 83b</ref>,
Washing after meals is normative in [[Orthodox Judaism]]. Although it was once not widely practiced (for example, until recently it did not appear in many Orthodox Passover [[Haggadah]]s) it has undergone something of a revival and has become more widely observed in recent years, particularly for special meals such as the [[Shabbat]] and [[Jewish holidays]]. [[Conservative Judaism]] has supported discontinuing the practice of ''mayim acharonim'' on the grounds that the rabbis of the Talmud instituted it as a health measure, and since modern foods no longer contain preservatives so dangerous as to cause blindness upon contact with the eyes, washing the hands after meals is no longer required and can be discontinued by contemporary rabbinic decision. {{Fact|date=June 2007}}
The standard [[Passover]] [[seder]] has an additional, third washing, prior to eating the green vegetable, which is considered an act of eating separate from the meal. In Orthodox Judaism, it also has the same types of washings as any other meal, one before the meal and one after. Only the one before the meal is generally done outside Orthodox Judaism
===Before worship===
According to the [[Shulchan Aruch]], a person should wash both hands before prayer, based on a tradition requiring ritual purification upon entering the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], in whose absence prayer, in [[Orthodox Judaism]], serves in its place.
===Before the Priestly Blessing ===
In [[Orthodox Judaism]] (and, in some cases, in [[Conservative Judaism]]), [[Kohanim]], members of the priestly class, offer the [[Priestly Blessing]] before the congregation on certain occasions. Before performing their offices, they are required to wash their hands. Judaism traditionally traces this requirement to the [[Torah]]:
:And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat; when they go into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to cause an offering made by fire to smoke unto the LORD; <ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|30:19|}}</ref>.
It is customary for [[Levites]] to pour the water over the hands of the Kohanim and to assist them in other ways. In many communities, washing the feet before the Priestly Blessing is not practiced in the absence of a [[Temple in Jerusalem]].
===After sleeping===
The [[Talmud]] states God commanded Jews ''to wash the hands'' and provides the text of the ''netilat yadaim'' blessing still in use. <ref>[[Berakot]] 60b</ref>.
According to the [[Shulchan Aruch]] a person who sleeps for at least 20 minutes is required to wash upon arising, and says the ''natilat yadayim'' blessing.
===Other occasions===
The hands are also washed:
*Before blessing of ''asher yatzar'' ("Who created [the man]"). After having gone to the bathroom (and having either [[urinate]]d or [[defecation|defecated]]), the ritual washing of one's hands as a symbol of both bodily cleanliness and of removing human impurity.
*after cutting one's hair or nails
*after participating in a funeral procession, or entering a cemetery, or coming wihtin four cubits of a corpse
== Full-body immersion ==
There are several occasions on which biblical or rabbinical regulations require immersion of the whole body, referred to as ''tevilah''. Depending on the circumstances, such ritual bathing might require immersion in "living water" - either by using a natural stream or by using a [[mikvah]] (a specially constructed ritual bath, connected directly to a natural source of water, such as a spring).
This article discusses the requirements of immersion in Rabbinic Judaism and its descendents. Some other branches of Judaism, such as [[Falasha]] Judaism, have substantially different practices including the requiriment of an actual spring or stream.
===Conversion===
Traditional Judaism requires converts into Judaism to immerse themselves fully in water in a [[Mikvah]] or body of "living water."
=== Bodily fluids and skin conditions ===
The Torah prescribes rituals addressing the skin condition known as [[Tzaraath]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|14:8-9|}}</ref> and unusual genital discharges in a man or women ([[Zav/Zavah]])<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|15:5-10|}}</ref>, which required special sacrifices and rituals in the days of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] which included immersion in a [[Mikvah]]. In addition, a period of ritual impurity following a seminal discharge ([[Keri]]) and a during and following a women's [[Niddah]] period around menstruation ended with ritual immersion.
The practice of checking for Tazriah fell out of use with the destruction of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] and the end of sacrificial rites. However, each of the other requirements remains in effect to some extent in Orthodox Judaism and (to a lesser degree) in [[Conservative Judaism]].
==== Niddah ====
{{Main|Niddah}}
[[Niddah]] remains fully observed in Orthodox Judaism and normative in Conservative Judaism. Women's ritual immersion prior to resuming sexual relations following their niddah period remains the principal use of contemporary [[Mikvah]]s.
==== Zav/Zavah ====
{{main|Zav/Zavah}}
Women experiencing uterine blood not part of normal menstruation was classified as a Zavah in the days of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] and remained in a state of ritual impurity for 7 days prior to immersion. Today, the law of Zavah remains in effect in Orthodox Judaism, in two respects. Due to extreme conditions in Roman Palestine in the time of the Amoraim, women's periods became irregular, and women became unable to determine whether or not their discharges were regular (Niddah) or irregular (Zavah). As a result, women adapted a stringency combining the Niddah and Zavah periods, refraining from intercourse and physical contact with their husbands for seven days of the Zavah period following menstruation, for a total of approximately 12 days per month, which Orthodox women continue to observe today. The laws of Zavah are also applied, as in Biblical times, to uterine blood discharges outside regular menstruation. Such circumstances are often interpreted leniently, however, and rabbinic stratagems have been devised to lessen their severity. Women experiencing irregularities (droplets) are sometimes advised to wear coloured underwear to mitigate the detectability of evidence of Zavah status and hence a need to determine that a woman is a Zavah.
<!-- This para reads like gobbledegook:
The Rabbis of the [[Talmud]] adapted a view of [[Rabbi Akiba]] greatly narrowing the conditions under which Zav status exists, and the development cures for [[venereal disease]] reduced circumstances further, so that zav status is rarely encountered in contemporary life.
-->
==== Keri ====
Men experiencing a seminal discharge, including through regular marital intercourse, were prohibited from entering the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] were required to immerse in a [[mikva]] and remained ritually impure until the evening. The [[Talmud]] ascribes to the [[Great Assembly]] of [[Ezra]] a Rabbinic decree imposing further restrictions on men ritually impure from a seminal discharge, including a prohibition on studying Torah and from participating in services.
[[Maimonides]] wrote a responsum lifting the decree of [[Ezra]], based on an opinion in the Talmud stating that it had failed to be observed by a majority of the community and the Jewish people found themselves unable to sustain it. However, Maimonides continued to follow the ''keri'' restrictions as a matter of personal observance. Since the decree of [[Maimonides]], observance of the rules of ''keri'' and hence regular Mikvah use by men fell into disuse in many communities.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} [[Hasidic Judaism]], however, revived the practice of regular mikva use, advocating regular daily mikva use as a way of achieving spiritual purity. The growth of Hasidic Judaism resulted in a revival of mikva use by men. In addition, some [[Sephardic Judaism|Sephardic]] and [[Mizrahi Judaism|Mizrahi]] communities continued to observe the rules of ''keri'' throughout.
===Death===
{{Totally-disputed|section|date=March 2008}}
====Contact with a carcass====
According to [[Leviticus]], anyone who comes into contact with or carries any creature that hadn't been deliberately killed by [[shechita]] was regarded by the biblical regulations as having made themselves unclean by doing so, and therefore was compelled to immerse their entire body<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|17:15|}}</ref>. This regulation is immediately preceded by the rule against eating anything still containing blood, and according to biblical scholars this is also the context of the regulation about not eating non-sacrifices - that the regulation only treats such consumption as unclean if there is a risk of blood still remaining within the carcass<ref>''Peake's commentary on the Bible''</ref>. In the version of this regulation in [[Deuteronomy]], eating the bodies of such creatures isn't described as making an individual ritually impure, nor requires the eater to wash their body, but instead such consumption is expressely forbidden, although the creature is allowed to be passed on to a [[stranger]], who is permitted to eat it<ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|14:21|}}</ref>.
====Contact with a corpse====
Anyone who came into contact with a human [[corpse]], or [[grave]], was so ritually impure that they had to be sprinkled with the water produced from the [[red heifer]] ritual, in order to become ritually pure again<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|19:19|}}</ref>; however, the person who carried out the red heifer ritual and who sprinkled the water, was to be treated as having become ritually impure by doing so<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|19:7-8|}}</ref>. According to biblical scholars, this ritual derives from the same origin as the ritual described in [[Deuteronomy]] for a group of people to [[atonement|atone]] for murder by an unknown perpetrator<ref>Cheyne and Black, ''Encyclopedia Biblica''</ref>, according to which a heifer is killed at a stream, and hands are washed over it<ref>{{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:26|}}</ref>; biblical scholars believe that these are both ultimately cases of [[sympathetic magic]]<ref>''Peake's commentary on the Bible''</ref>, and similar rituals existed in Greek<ref>[[Sophocles]], ''Ajax'', 664</ref> and Roman<ref>[[Virgil]], ''[[Aeneid]]'', 2:217</ref> mythology<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>. The [[masoretic text]] describes the water produced from the red heifer ritual as a [[sin offering]]<ref>masoretic text of Numbers 19:9</ref>; some English translations discount this detail, because it differs from other sin offerings by not being killed at the altar, although biblical scholars believe that this demonstrates a failure by these translations to understand the meaning of sin offerings<ref>''Peake's commentary on the Bible''</ref>.
====Treatment of a corpse====
No explicit regulations are expressed in the bible concerning the treatment of a corpse itself, although historic rabbinical sources saw an implication that the dead should be thoroughly washed, in the from [[Ecclesiastes]],<ref>{{bibleverse||Ecclesiastes|5:15|}}</ref> as children are washed when born;<ref>''Sefer Hasidim'' 560</ref> according to [[Eliezer ben Joel HaLevi]], a prominent [[Rishonim|rishon]], argued that the corpse should be cleansed carefully, including the ears and fingers, with nails pared and hair combed, so that the corpse could be laid to rest in the manner that the person had visited the [[synagogue]] during life.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> Washing of corpses was not observed among the Jews living in [[Persian Empire|Persian]] [[Babylon]], for which they were criticised as dying ''in filth, without a candle and without a bath'';<ref>[[Genesis Rabbah]] 38:5</ref> at the time, the non-Jewish Persians were predominantly [[Zoroastrian]], and consequently believed that dead bodies were inherently ritually unclean, and should be exposed to the elements in [[Towers of Silence]] to avoid defiling the earth with them.
In the early periods the body was washed in a standard mikvah,<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> and this is frequently the form of the ritual in the present day, but the traditional washing ceremony, known as ''tahara'', became quite detailed over time. A special building for the corpse-washing existed in the cemetery in 15th century [[Prague]],<ref>''Sefer haMaharil''</ref> a practice which obtains in many Jewish communities today; a mikvah is provided at a number of ancient tombs. Female corpses are traditionally cleaned only by other females, and males only by other males.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>
Between death and the traditional ceremony, the body is placed on the ground, and covered with a sheet, and at the start of the traditional ceremony, the body is lifted from the ground onto a special board or slab (a ''tahara board''), so that it lies facing the door, with a white sheet underneath.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> The clothes are then removed from the corpse (if they were not been removed when the corpse was placed on the ground), and at this point {{bibleverse||Zechariah|5:15|}} is recited by the enactors of the ritual, as it refers to the removal of filthy clothes.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> Following this, the body is thoroughly rubbed with [[lukewarm]] water, with the mouth of the corpse covered so that water does not enter it;<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> the next part of the ritual is the pouring of water over the head, while {{bibleverse||Zechariah|36:25|}} is quoted, since it refers to the sprinkling of water to produce cleanliness;<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> and then each limb is washed downwards, while {{bibleverse||Canticles|5:11|}} and the following verses, which describe the beauty of elements of the body, are spoken.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> Finally, nine measures of cold water are poured over the body while it is upright, which is the core element of the ceremony, and it is then dried (according to some customs), and en[[shroud]]ed;<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> in ancient times the hair and nails were also cut, but by the 19th century the hair was merely combed, and the nails were just cleansed with a special pin, unless their length is excessive.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> After the ceremony, the ''tahara board'' is washed and dried, but is kept facing the same way, as there is a [[superstition]] with the belief that turning it the other way will cause another person to die within 3 days.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> Many communities have replaced the pouring of nine measures by immersion in a specially constructed mikva.
A more elaborate ceremony, known as the ''grand washing'' (''rehizah gedolah''), is available for the corpses of the more significant individuals; [[Hillel the Elder]] is traditionally credited with its invention. According to this latter form of ceremony, the water used for washing was perfumed by [[rose]], [[myrtle]], or [[aromatic spices]]; the use of spices was an ancient practice,<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|16:14|}}</ref> and the [[Mishnah]] especially mentions the washing ceremonies using myrtle.<ref>Beitzah 6a; Berakot 8:1</ref>
== Yom Kippur ==
The biblical regulations of [[Yom Kippur]] require the officiating [[Kohen Gadol|Jewish High Priest]] to bathe himself in water after sending off the [[scapegoat]] to [[Azazel]], and a similar requirement was imposed on the person who lead the scapegoat away, and the person who burned the sacrifices during the rituals of the day<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:24|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:26|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:28|}}</ref>. The [[Mishnah]] states that the High Priest had to immerse himself five times, and his hands and feet had to be washed ten times<ref>Yoma 3:3</ref>.
== Ritual immersion by men ==
In modern Orthodox Judaism, the laity including men immerse themselves on the day prior to the day of Yom Kippur and often do so before the [[three pilgrimage festivals]], and before [[Rosh Hashanah]]; [[Haredi Jews]] additionally immerse themselves at least before a [[Shabbat]], and [[Hassidic Judaism|Hasidic Jews]] do so daily before morning prayers.
== Reason for contemporary observance ==
Both Orthodox and Conservative Judaism currently have multiple views on the reason for contemporary observance of ritual washing and immersion obligation.
In Orthodox Judaims, opinion is generally split between a view that maintains that those Biblical rules related to [[Tumah|ritual purity]] that are possible to observe in the absence of a [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] and a [[Red heifer]] remain in force and Jews remain Biblically obligated to observe such of them as they can, and a view that Biblical ritual impurity requirements apply only in the presence of a [[Temple in Jerusalem]] and the current rules represent only [[Mitzvah#Rabbinic mitzvah|rabbinic ordinances]], practices decreed by the Rabbis in memory of the Temple.
In December 2006, Conservative Judaism's [[Committee on Jewish Law and Standards]] issued three responsa on the subject of [[Niddah]]. All three ruled the traditional requirements of ritual washing remained in effect for Conservative Jews (with some leniencies and liberalization of interpretation), but disagreed on the reasoning for continuing this practices as well as on the validity of specific leniencies. Two of the opinions reflect reasoning similar to the respective Orthodox views (Biblical requirements or rabbinic ordinances enacted in remembrance of the Temple.) A third opinion expressed the view that Conversative Judaism should disconnect ritual purity practices from the Temple in Jerusalem or its memory, and offered a new apprach based on what it called the concept of holiness rather than the concept of purity. Thus, Conservative ideology, under its philosophy of pluralism, supports a range of views on this subject, from views similar to the Orthodox view to views expressing a need for a contemporary reorientation.
== Secular historical and scholarly commentary ==
According to the editors of the 1906 [[Jewish Encyclopedia]], the phrase ''netilat yadaim'' referring to washing of the hands, literally "lifting of the hands", is derived either from [[Book of Psalms|Psalm]] 134:2, or from the Greek word ''natla'' (αντλίον), in reference to the jar of water used<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>. The Jewish Encyclopedia states that many historic Jewish writers, and particularly the Pharisees, took it to mean that water had to be poured out onto uplifted hands, and that they could not be considered clean until water had reached the wrist<ref>ibid</ref>. This is commented on by the [[Synoptic Gospels]], which state that these groups didn't eat until they had washed their hands to the wrist<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|7:3|}}</ref>, but the Gospels castigates them for this, arguing that it was only followed as an ostentatious tradition, ignoring religious obligations<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|7:5-9|}}</ref>, and that washing the hands was worthless without inward religious obligations also being adhered to, and insignificant if the inward obligations, such as giving all of one's possessions to the poor, were followed<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|7:37-41|}}</ref>.
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, the historic requirement for priests to first wash their hands, together with the classical rabbinical belief that non-priest were also required to wash their hands before taking part in a holy act, such as prayer, was adhered to very strongly, to the extent that Christianity adopted the practice, and provided worshippers with fountains and basins of water in Churches, in a similar manner to the ''molten sea'' in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Jerusalem Temple]] functioning as a laver<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|30:18|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|4:2-6|}}</ref>. Although Christianity did not adopt the requirement for priests to wash feet before worship, in [[Islam]] the practice was extended to the congregation and expanded into [[wudu]]<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>.
According to [[Peake's Commentary on the Bible]], Biblical scholars regard the requirement of [[Kohanim]] washing their hands prior to the [[Priestly Blessing]] as an example of the [[taboo]] against the profane making contact with the sacred<ref>''Peake's commentary on the Bible''</ref>, and similar practices are present in other religions of the period and region<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>. The Jewish Encyclopedia relates that according to [[Herodotus]] the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] priests were required to wash themselves twice a day and twice a night in cold water<ref>Herodotus, 2:37</ref>, and according to [[Hesiod]] the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] were forbidden from pouring out the ''black wine'' to any deity in the morning, unless they had first washed their hands<ref>Hesiod, ''[[Works and Days]]'', 722</ref>.
According to the 1906 Jewish encyclopedia, The [[Letter of Aristeas]] states that creators of the [[Septuagint]] washed their hands in the sea each morning before prayer<ref>Aristeas 305</ref>; [[Josephus]] states that this custom was the reason for the traditional location of [[synagogue]]s near water<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', 14:10:23</ref>.
Biblical scholars regard this custom as an imitation by the laity of the behaviour of the priests<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>. A [[baraita]] offers, as justification for the ritual of hand-washing after waking, the belief that a spirit of impurity rests upon each person during the night, and will not leave until the person's hands are washed<ref>Baraita on Shabbat 109a</ref>, and the [[Zohar]] argues that body is open to demonic possession during sleep because the [[soul]] temporarily leaves the body during it<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>; the [[kabbalah]] argues that death awaits anyone who walks more than four [[yard]]s from their bed without ablution<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>. According to {{Specify|date=May 2007}}, the cup containing the water has to be able to carry a certain amount {{Specify|date=May 2007}} of water, and it should have two handles{{Fact|date=May 2007}}.
Peake's Commentary on the Bible states that among the Israelites there was a taboo against the sacred mixing with the profane, and consequently a requirement to regain ritual purity before committing a sacred act<ref>''Peake's commentary on the Bible''</ref>. According to Peake's commentary, the Priestly Code specifies that individuals were ''washed'' before they could become members of the Jewish priesthood<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|29:1-4|}}</ref>, and similarly requires Levites to be ''cleansed'' before they assume their work<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|8:15|}}</ref>.
Peake's Commentary on the Bible states that although Biblical rules regarding ritual purification following bodily discharges clearly have [[sanitation|sanitory]] uses, they ultimately originated from the [[taboo]]s against contact with [[blood]] and [[semen]], due to the belief that these contained life, more than any other bodily fluid, or any other aspect of the body<ref>''Peake's commentary on the Bible''</ref>
.
R' [[Aryeh Kaplan]] in ''Waters of Life'' connects the laws of impurity to the narrative in the beginning of [[Genesis]]. According to [[Genesis]], By eating of the fruit Adam and Eve had brought death into the world. Kaplan points out that most of the laws of impurity relate to some form of death (or in the case of [[Niddah]] the loss of a potential life). One who comes into contact with one of the forms of death must than immerse in water which is described in Genesis as flowing out of the Garden of Eden (the source of life) in order to cleanse oneself of this contact with death (and by extension of sin). <ref>[[Aryeh Kaplan]], ''Waters of Life'''</ref>
== See also ==
*[[Mikvah]]
*[[Niddah]]
*[[Tumah]]
*[[Ablution]]
*[[Ritual purification]]
==References==
<references />
==External links==
*[http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=1542 On the Essence of Ritual Impurity] from the Chabad.org Library
*[http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=82294 Volume II, Discourse 37, Chapter 2] of [[Chassidic Discourses]] by the Rebbe [[Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn]] on Chabad.org
*[http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=111219 Washing the Hands in the Morning] from the Chabad.org Library
*[http://www.aish.com/shabbathowto/fridaynight/Washing_for_Bread.asp Washing Hands Before Eating Bread]
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/607403/jewish/Meal-Hand-Washing.htm Meal Hand-Washing]
{{Jewish life}}
<!--Categories-->
[[Category:Jewish purity law]]
[[Category:Orthodox Judaism]]
<!--Other languages-->
[[de:Tevila]]
[[fr:Ablutions dans le judaïsme]]
[[he:נטילת ידיים]]
[[lt:Tevilah]]
[[yi:נטילת ידיים]]