Q&A: He Relieved Himself and Did Not Wash His Hands — What Is the Status of What He Touched?
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
He Relieved Himself and Did Not Wash His Hands — What Is the Status of What He Touched?
Question
He relieved himself and did not wash his hands.
What is the status of the foods he touched? And the utensils? And is there any prohibition in such a situation against touching sacred books?
Answer
There are no prohibitions here. This is a matter of cleanliness, and one should clean one’s hands.
Discussion on Answer
I didn’t understand any of it, so I can’t express an opinion.
I once heard Rabbi 1 giving a lesson on the laws of impurity, and he went through the calculations regarding the ordinance of handwashing and their fitness to contract impurity, and he also proved from the Mishnah Berurah—and from all the calculations—that there really is no halakhic reason, standing within the rules of the laws of impurity, for the requirement of washing hands before bread. And he reached the conclusion that Maimonides is right and that it is all a cover for cleanliness and hygiene… [maybe a kind of proper conduct]. What does the Rabbi think about that?