Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour - Podcasts

If One Washed Netilat Yadayim in a Place Where People...

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/09/14

As discussed in a previous installment, the water with one washed Netilat Yadayim in the morning is considered impure, and could cause harm to those who step on in. Therefore, one must ensure not to wash his hands in a place where people walk, and to wash instead directly into a sink, or into a utensil and then pour the water down a drain. If one mistakenly washed Netilat Yadayim on the ground in a place where it could be stepped on, he must pour more water over it to wash it away, out of concern

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The Impurity of the Water Used for Netilat Yadayim...

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/09/11

The Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 4:8) writes that one should perform Netilat Yadayim in the morning by washing his hands over a utensil, as opposed to washing them over the ground. The reason is that once the water comes in contact with the hands, it becomes impure, and if it then falls to the ground and people step on it, they can suffer harm as a result. Therefore, one should wash into a vessel, and then discard the water in a place where people will not come in contact with it. Of course, one

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Washing the Hands of Young Children in the Morning

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/09/10

The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) writes that mothers should wash the hands of their young children in the morning – even children who have yet to reach the age of Hinuch (training in Misva observance). Firstly, he explains, young children touch food, and if their hands are not washed in the morning, the foods they touch will become contaminated by the Tum'a (impurity) that descends upon the hands overnight. Secondly, washing the hands of young children in the morning has a

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Having Somebody Else Pour the Water for the Morning...

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/09/09

The Gemara (Berachot 51a) lists three rules that were taught by none other than the Angel of Death, one of which is that one cannot fulfill the Misva of the morning Netilat Yadayim by having somebody else pour water over his hands, unless that person had already washed his hands. As long as somebody's hands are still impure, he cannot bring purity to somebody else's hands. Only once a person has washed Netilat Yadayim in the morning can he then pour water on his fellow's hands for his fellow to

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The Morning Netilat Yadayim – Using Water That Was...

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/09/08

The Shulhan Aruch (Yoreh De'a 116:1) writes that the Sages enacted a prohibition against drinking water that had been left exposed, due to the concern that a snake may have drunk some water and deposited venom in it. However, the Shulhan Aruch adds, in his time, snakes were not as common as they were in ancient times, and so this prohibition does not apply. The Tur (Rabbenu Yaakob Ben Asher, d. 1340) writes that when exposed water was forbidden for drinking, it was likewise unsuitable for Netilat

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Using for the Morning Netilat Yadayim Water That Had...

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/09/07

The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in his Od Yosef Hai (Parashat Toledot), writes that one should not wash the morning Netilat Yadayim with water that had been in a restroom, as it is considered contaminated. Hacham Ovadia Yosef, in Yabia Omer (vol. 3), disagreed, and maintained that such water may be used. Preferably though, one should not use this water. The Kaf Ha'haim (Rav Yaakov Haim Sofer, Baghdad-Jerusalem, 1870-1939) ruled that water that had been in a restroom may be

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May One Use Scalding Hot Water for the Morning...

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/09/06

The Poskim debate the question of whether one may use very hot water for Netilat Yadayim before eating bread, and the Shulhan Aruch ruled that such water may be used. There is a general principle that in situations of uncertainty in regard to Netilat Yadayim, the lenient possibility may be followed, and one may even recite a Beracha. Therefore, one who uses very hot water for Netilat Yadayim before eating bread recites the Beracha of "Al Netilat Yadayim" as usual. Surprisingly, however, the Yalkut

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Performing the Morning Hand-Washing by Dipping One’s...

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/09/04

If one does not have a utensil with which to wash Netilat Yadayim in the morning, but he has access to a river or sea, or a Mikveh, he should dip his hands three times in that body of water, and he may then recite Berachot and pray. However, he should not recite a Beracha over this washing, since it is uncertain whether one can fulfill the obligation by washing in this fashion. According to some opinions, the impure forces that descend upon one's hands during the night can be removed only with a

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If One Can Wash Only One Hand

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/09/03

If one of a person's hands is, Heaven forbid, bandaged or in a cast, and cannot be washed, he washes the other hand upon waking in the morning, pouring water on it three times. Although he washes only one hand, he recites the usual text of the Beracha – "Al Netilat Yadayim," which speaks of washing "Yadayim" – "hands," in the plural form. He does not change the text of the Beracha to "Yad," despite the fact that he washes just one hand. The Beracha over Netilat Yadayim differs in this respect from

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Can One Fulfill the Morning Hand-Washing Obligation...

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/09/02

One cannot fulfill the obligation of Netilat Yadayim in the morning by dipping his hands in a bowl of water, even if he dips both hands three times. The reason, quite simply, is that the moment his hands enter the water, they contaminate it, as the impurity on the hands is imparted into the water. Hence, this water can no longer be used for the second and third washings. According to the teachings of Kabbalah, dipping one's hands three times in a bowl of water is entirely effective, though according

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If One Does Not Have a Cup for the Morning Netilat...

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/09/01

When washing one's hands in the morning, one should abide by all the requirements that apply to Netilat Yadayim before eating bread. This means washing with a utensil from which one pours from his hands onto each other, and using clean water that had not previously been used for any purpose. The utensil should be complete, without any holes. It appears from the Shulhan Aruch that although one preferably should meet all these requirements when washing his hands in the morning, they are not

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The Beracha Over the Morning Hand-Washing

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/08/28

When does one recite the Beracha "Al Netilat Yadayim" over the morning hand-washing? The Tashbatz (Rav Shimshon Ben Sadok, Germany, 13 th century) relates that the Maharam Me'Rutenberg (Germany, 1215-1293) would recite the Beracha over the morning washing in the synagogue, well after he washed his hands. He would wash his hands at home, after waking, but he recited the Beracha "Al Netilat Yadayim" later, together with the other Birkot Ha'shahar (morning blessings) upon arriving in the synagogue

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The Morning Netilat Yadayim – What to Do Immediately...

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/08/27

When washing Netilat Yadayim in the morning, one pours water three times on each hand, in alternating fashion. Some, as we have seen, pour four times on each hand. Immediately after the final pouring, one should rub his hands together three times. The fingers should be held upright – without being bent downward – while they are rubbed together. Afterward, one should hold his hands upright parallel to his face – making sure not to lift them above his head – with his elbows in front of his chest, as

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If One Has Limited Water for the Morning Hand-Washing

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/08/26

When one washes Netilat Yadayim upon waking in the morning, he should use enough water that it covers both sides of each hand, until the wrist. One should move his hand somewhat as he pours the water on it, to ensure that the water covers both sides, the back and the palm. If one has a limited amount of water for Netilat Yadayim, which does not suffice to cover the entire hand, then he should wash the back of the fingers, until the knuckles where the fingers meet the wrist. When one cannot wash the

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The Proper Procedure for the Morning Hand-Washing

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/08/25

The accepted practice when washing Netilat Yadayim in the morning is to pour water on each hand three times, in alternating fashion. Meaning, one first pours water on the right hand, then the left, a second time on the right, a second time on the left, and then a third time on the right and then the left. The Seder Ha'yom (Rav Moshe Ben Machir, Sefat, 16 th century) maintained that one should pour three times consecutively on the right hand, and then three times consecutively on the left hand. Due

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The Importance of the Morning Netilat Yadayim

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/08/24

Numerous sources emphasize the importance of washing one's hands upon waking in the morning. Rav Haim Palachi (Turkey, 1788-1868), in his Kaf Ha'haim, warns that one who neglects this Misva is deserving of excommunication, and his sin is considered as grave as the sin of adultery. Moreover, students of the Arizal taught that one who fails to wash Netilat Yadayim in the morning will be reincarnated in the form of water that flows down the street constantly, without stopping – the same punishment that

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Why Don’t We Wash Our Feet Every Morning?

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/08/23

Halacha requires washing one's hands each morning, and the Rosh explains that this is because the hands move around during the night, and likely touched an unclean part of the body. According to this explanation of the Rosh, we easily understand why Halacha requires washing only the hands, and not other parts of the body. Other sources, however, give other reasons for this obligation. The Zohar teaches that when one's soul departs as he falls asleep, he is overcome by harmful spiritual forces

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The Reasons for the Morning Hand Washing

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/08/21

We find in our sources four different reasons for the obligation to wash one's hands upon waking in the morning. The Rosh (Rabbenu Asher Ben Yehiel, 1250-1327) writes that the Sages required washing one's hands in the morning because they likely touched the private parts during the night. As the hands became dirty during the night, they must be washed in the morning. The Rashba (Rav Shlomo Ben Aderet, Spain, 1235-1310) writes that in the morning, Hashem restores our souls which we entrusted to Him

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Reciting Berachot & Praying in a Mikveh

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/08/20

It is forbidden to pray or recite Berachot in a public bathhouse, such as a Mikveh. This applies not only in the interior area of the Mikveh, where people actually immerse, but even in the changing area. Although one is allowed to silently think about Torah matters in the outer chamber, reciting words of Torah, Berachot or prayers is forbidden. (In the inner chamber, it is forbidden even to silently think words of Torah, even if nobody is present.) Therefore, one who wishes to eat or drink in the

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Speaking in a Mikveh

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J.... ·

2026/08/19

A public bathhouse – such as a Mikveh – is treated by Halacha like a restroom in that one may not think about Torah matters there. Just as it is forbidden to think of Torah matters in a restroom, so must one refrain from such thoughts in the inner room of a bathhouse (as opposed to the changing room outside). Even when nobody is present, one must not think of Torah matters in a Mikveh, as it is considered a place of filth ("Zuhama"). Unlike in a restroom, however, in a Mikveh one is allowed to speak

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Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

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