Siman 162

We say in Sotah (4b): "Regarding mayim rishonim, one must raise his hands upward, and the mnemonic for the matter is: 'And he took them up and carried them.'" And the reason is so that the water that goes beyond the perek will not come and defile the hands, as we learned in tractate Yadayim (chapter 2): "Hands are defiled and purified until the perek. How so? If he poured the rishonim until the perek and the sheniyim beyond the perek and they returned to the hand—it is tahorah. If he poured the rishonim and the sheniyim beyond the perek and they returned to the hand—it is temeiah." And the Tur wrote that this is the explanation: that the law of netilah is that a person pours from the vessel twice upon his hand—the rishonim are temeim and the sheniyim purify the rishonim, and their tumah and taharah are specifically until the perek. Therefore, when he poured rishonim and sheniyim beyond the perek—the sheniyim did not purify the rishonim regarding what went out from them beyond the perek, and if he lowered his hands and the rishonim that were beyond the perek returned and descended upon his hands—they are temeim; therefore he must raise his fingers upward. Thus far his words.

The general rule of these matters is that the hands do not make liquids tamei except up to the joint, but liquids that touched outside the joint are tahor. Similarly, the second waters do not purify the first waters except while they are within the joint, but if they fell upon them outside the joint, they do not purify them. And that which we learned: if one poured both of them outside the joint and they returned to the hand, they are tamei—the meaning is that he poured them within the joint and they went outside the joint. Therefore, the second waters did not purify the tamei first waters, for they do not purify outside the joint, and the waters remained there in their tumah; and if afterward he lowers them and the waters go from outside the joint into the joint, behold, these have made those tamei; therefore, he should raise them and not lower them.

And one should not ask that if so, why must he raise his hands, let him lower them from beginning to end, for then the water will not go beyond the perek, as is understood. For it can be said that certainly this is so, and this is what our teacher, the Rema, wrote in section 1, and this is his wording: "And the same law applies if he lowers them from the beginning of the netilah until its end, that it is fine, provided he is careful not to first raise the tips of his fingers and afterward lower them, for then the water will go beyond the perek and return and make the hands tamei." Thus far his words. And he was precise to say "the tips of his fingers," and likewise previously regarding what the Mechaber wrote: "He who washes must raise his hands," he wrote that this means the tips of his fingers; see there. And his reason: since we hold according to most opinions that the netilat yadayim is only until the end of the joint of the fingers, as was written in the previous siman, if so, "until the perek" is called until the end of the fingers, and if the first waters descended to the palm of the hand and returned to the fingers, it is called that they went from beyond the perek to within the perek and the water became tamei. And according to this, that which we learned in the Mishnah: "until the perek," the intention is until the joint of the fingers, and "beyond the perek" is from there and further, and that is on the palm of the hand.

But I found that our teachers, the Rishonim, did not say so, and they hold that up to the connection of the hand and the arm is called "until the joint," for even though they only instituted netilah until the joint of the fingers, nevertheless, regarding the impurity and purity of the water, it is until the connection of the hand and the arm. This is the wording of the Ra'avad in the book Tamim De'im (siman 66): "And it seems to me that that which they decreed regarding the impurity of hands, they only decreed until the upper joint, the place where the arm and the hand connect, and until here was the sanctification of hands in the Temple… mayim rishonim which require netilah until the joint, the explanation: until the palm of the hand, the place where the fingers end." Thus far his words. And the explanation of the matter: even though the palm of the hand is not included in the netilah of hands for chullin, nevertheless, since in the sanctification of hands in the Temple it is included in the netilah, therefore regarding the impurity and purity of the water, they are included within the joint. And so wrote the Ra'ah in Bedek HaBayit regarding the laws of netilat yadayim of the Rashba in Torat HaBayit (Gate 2), and this is his wording: "And the entire hand is included in this decree of impurity until the connection of the bone of the arm, and nevertheless, they only instituted netilah until the joint etc." Thus far his words, and this is like the words of the Ra'avad, and it seems to me that the Rosh and the Tur also followed this approach.

However, the Rashba, of blessed memory, has another approach to this, as he explained in a responsa (Part 3, Siman 260), that this matter in Sotah is not the halacha, and therefore he did not write it at all in his book Torat HaBayit regarding the laws of netilat yadayim. For that which is said in Sotah, that one must raise his hands upward, this is because he maintains that netilat yadayim is only until the end of the fingers, and therefore the water that would return from the palm of the hand to the fingers would defile the water. But if netilat yadayim is required until the connection of the hand with the arm—this law does not exist at all, because the water that descended onto the arm does not have the status of tumah at all, and even if it returns to the hand it will not defile. But most of the poskim do not maintain this, for since the water comes from the hand to the arm, when it returns, the water will become defiled; and see what I wrote in section 10 regarding the approach of the Rambam.

And behold, the Rashba holds regarding netilat yadayim like the Rif, that one must wash until the connection of the hand and the arm, as he wrote in Torat HaBayit there. I am astonished at our teacher, the Beit Yosef, who also wrote like the Rashba. This is his wording in section 1: "One who washes must raise his hands upward, so that the water does not go beyond the joint and return and make the hands tamei; this is when he does not wash the entire hand until the place of the connection of the hand with the arm. But if he washes until there—he does not need to raise his hands." Thus far his words. And this is a wonder, for since he holds that this matter in Sotah is according to the halacha, if so, from where do we have it that there is a distinction in this? And in truth, our teacher, the Rema, wrote that there are those who disagree on this, see there. And in truth, we have not seen the Rishonim who disagreed on this, but our teacher, the Beit Yosef, holds that one should be lenient regarding netilat yadayim. (And the Magen Avraham at the beginning of the siman at the end of his words wondered at the Rema, who was lenient regarding the lowering of the hands from beginning to end, for this is not according to the opinion of the Rashba, see there. And I am astonished at his wonder, for certainly it is so, as the Rema does not hold like the Rashba, and the Rashba is a solitary opinion in this approach of his that we wrote. And behold, the Yam Shel Shlomo in siman 36 also holds that even with lowering one should be stringent, see there; but we ought not to make stringencies regarding netilat yadayim, and the primary view is like the Rema.)

And if he poured a revi'it at one time upon his hands or upon one of his hands—he does not need second waters at all, for the revi'it purifies completely, and so we have learned in the Tosefta of Yadayim (Chapter 1). And consequently, since there are no impure waters there at all, he does not need to raise his hands. And similarly, one who immerses his hands in a mikveh does not need to raise his hands, because there are no impure waters here at all. And even though there are those who disagree on this (see Beit Yosef), nevertheless, our teacher, the Beit Yosef, decided thus for the halacha since it is explicitly stated so in the Tosefta, and this is according to the law. But despite all this, it is proper to raise the hands in every case, since in the Gemara they supported it with a verse as I have written. And there are those who say the verse "Raise your hands in holiness" at the time of raising the hands, but we do not practice so in order not to interrupt between the washing and the berakha. But nevertheless, one who lifts his hands, a blessing shall come upon him, and so the sages of Kabbalah cautioned, and why should we not do so in a matter that involves neither exertion nor loss, and so we practice (and according to the Rambam it is also so, as I wrote in section 10).

Our teacher, the Rema, wrote that there are those who say that if one pours upon his hands three times, he does not need to be careful in all this, and so they have accustomed to be lenient. Thus far his words. And the reason is that with three times, certainly the first waters have already departed entirely (Magen Avraham, subsection 2). And one should not ask that the first waters will defile the second, and the second the third (ibid.), for indeed there is a great question here, for how do we say that the second waters purify the first? For whichever way you look at it: if the first waters are impure, why would they not defile the second? However, the Ra'avad in the book Tamim De'im there explained the matter, and this is his wording: "For the primary impurity of the hands is not a certain impurity, but rather an impurity of filth due to contact with sweat and excrement or because he killed a louse, and they decreed upon that filth as if they touched an impurity, and they made them second-degree derivatives to disqualify terumah by their touch, and that one should not eat with them except by means of rinsing, etc., and this is: 'the second waters purify the first,' meaning they rinse away the waters muddied by the filth that is upon the hand, etc." Thus far his words. And according to this, all these matters are an enactment of the sages, and with a revi'it at one time the hands are entirely cleaned, and so too with three times the first waters have departed, as has been written.

And with this it is understood why the sages enacted to wash the hands twice with the revi'it, why one should not wash in one instance; rather, it is because with two instances the dirt will be removed from the hands more than with a revi'it in one instance. Nevertheless, if one washed with the revi'it in one instance, we do not require him to use second waters, but initially they enacted with two instances.

And behold, we have already written in siman 160, section 23, that the system of the Rambam is that one must pour a revi'it in one instance, and there is no need at all for second waters for chullin, only for terumah, see there; and according to this, there is no need for the raising of the hands. But the Rambam does not hold so, for he wrote in chapter 6 of Berakhot, law 16: "Regarding first waters, one must raise his hands upward so that the water does not go beyond the joint and return and defile the hands." And it must be said that he did not concern himself with the Tosefta that we wrote since in the Gemara they disagree with it, and he does not hold like the Rashba that the Gemara is not according to the halacha as I wrote in section 5, and he holds that the water of netilah, when it goes beyond the place of netilah, becomes defiled. And most of the poskim do not hold so, and his opinion was not brought at all in the Tur and Shulchan Aruch.

And behold, all the poskim mentioned regarding netilat yadayim for a meal first and second waters and no more. But in the Mordechai, chapter Elu Devarim, he wrote that the morning washing requires three times, and netilat yadayim for a meal two times, and mayim acharonim one time, and your mnemonic is "and to scoop water from a cistern." However, the Tur wrote in the name of the Semag a new matter, that one requires three times, and this is his wording: "That which mentions first and second waters refers specifically to the waters that come to purify, but aside from these, one must pour upon them another time in order to remove from them the dirt and anything that constitutes a chatzitzah, and those were not mentioned in the Mishnah. Therefore, one must pour upon them three times: one to remove the dirt and two times to purify them." Thus far his words. And consequently, when his hands are clean without dirt or a chatzitzah, two times are sufficient (Beit Yosef), and so our teacher, the Beit Yosef, stated without qualification in the Shulchan Aruch, section 2, and this is his wording: "One who washes his hands pours upon them a bit of the revit to remove from them the dirt and anything that constitutes a chatzitzah, and afterward pours upon them a second time, and these waters are also tamei, and afterward pours upon them a third time to purify the waters that are upon the hands. And if there is no dirt or anything that constitutes a chatzitzah on the hands, he pours a revit upon both his hands at one time, and does not need second waters." Thus far his words. And our teacher, the Rema, wrote regarding this: "And the same law applies if he had much water (much more than a revit), he washes a little first to remove the dirt and afterward pours a revit at once, and does not need second waters." Thus far his words. (And in the Shulchan Aruch it is written 'thirds,' and it is all one, and examine it closely).

I am astonished at our teachers, the authors of the Shulchan Aruch, who were concerned regarding netilat yadayim for a minority opinion, for all the poskim wrote explicitly that one pours a first time and pours a second time, and regarding the poskim of halachot it is not applicable to say that they were not concerned to mention the prior water in order to remove the dirt, and furthermore there are those who wrote explicitly that the first ones are to remove the dirt. And even the Tur, who brought the words of the Semag, it seems to me that he did not bring them as halacha, for the Rosh says explicitly two times, rather he brought it according to his way to bring all the opinions, but to establish this as halacha is a matter of wonder. And furthermore, it is a stringency that leads to a leniency, for according to the words of the Semag, when one washes from a revit, there will not be a half-revit for each washing, only a third of a revit, and perhaps it will not wash every part of the hand that requires washing, and also the custom is not so, and it requires further study. Nevertheless, since they ruled so, one should be careful in this, but when one pours a revit at one time, one does not need more at all.

The Rashba wrote in Torat HaBayit (ibid.): "If one poured one large rinsing upon his hand and it contains enough for two rinsings—it counts as two and he does not require two rinsings. But if he poured one large rinsing upon both his hands—they are not pure unless it contains a revit, and without this it is not effective even if they came from the remnants of purity." Thus far his words. And there are those who require a second rinsing even with a revit (Magen Avraham subsection 3 in the name of the Ra'avad), and the opinion of the Rambam we have already explained, as he holds that for chullin one does not require a second rinsing at all, only for terumah.

Our teacher, the Rema, wrote in section 2: "One who washes his hands must rub them against each other." Thus far his words. And the Tur wrote: "Even if he poured a revi'it on each hand," see there. Therefore, even one who immerses in a river requires rubbing, for a revi'it is like immersion (Taz subsection 4). And in the Tosefta it is explicitly stated: "One who washes his hands must rub," see there, and the reason for the rubbing was not explained to us. Indeed, I saw one who wondered about this, why this rubbing? If it is for the sake of taharah, the hands have already become pure; furthermore, if they have not yet become pure, how will they become pure from this rubbing and what will the rubbing avail? And if it is to clean from dirt and filth, it has already been removed from there (Derishah). In truth, there are some of our teachers who explained that this rubbing is the drying (the Rash in chapter 2 of Yadayim, mishnah 2). And there is one who wrote that it is permitted to rub (Bach), meaning that since when one washes one hand it is forbidden to rub it with the other as will be explained, it says here regarding one who washes both his hands that it is permitted to rub. However, the Rambam wrote explicitly in the Commentary on the Mishnah that one must rub, and so it is evident from the wording of the Rosh, the Tur, and from the Ra'avad. Yet the Rambam wrote the law of rubbing in his work in chapter 11 of Mikvaot regarding terumah, and in chapter 6 of Berakhot he mentioned only drying. It appears that the reason for the rubbing is that they were concerned that perhaps, nevertheless, some hard filth remained that the water did not remove; he should rub one against the other and it will automatically pass. And the Rambam holds that this concern applies only to terumah, while the Ra'avad, the Rosh, and the Tur hold that even for chullin they were concerned for this, and such is the custom to rub; however, certainly if he did not rub, it does not invalidate. And some say that the rubbing is after the first pouring (Magen Avraham subsection 8), but we do not practice accordingly.

If one washed part of his hand and then went back and added and washed the remainder of his hand—behold, his hand is tamei as it was, for there is no washing in halves. However, if there is still on the part of the hand that he washed initially a moisture sufficient to moisten—behold, this is tahor, for moisture sufficient to moisten constitutes a connection regarding netilat yadayim, and it is as if he washed the hand at one time. And this too is only post facto, but ab initio it is forbidden to do so (Magen Avraham, subsection 5). And there are those who were concerned even post facto (Bach and Taz, subsection 5), but the Rambam in chapter 11 of Mikvaot ruled accordingly, see there, and it is simple that one may rely on him post facto. And even according to those who are stringent, nevertheless, with a vessel whose mouth is narrow—it is permitted to wash even though he does not pour over the entire hand at once; nevertheless, since there is no interruption in it, it is not called washing half a hand and afterwards the second half, for that is when he interrupted between them and not when it flows without interruption (Taz, ibid.). And there is one who is stringent even in this (see Magen Avraham, subsection 5), but this is only of the wonders (Taz), and there is no aspect of stringency in this.

And this, that it is forbidden to wash the hands in halves, this refers to the first waters, but with the second waters one may wash part of his hands and dry them and afterwards wash the second half. And the reason for the distinction is simple, for the first waters are impure waters that became impure from the hand, and they enacted that the second waters should purify them, and they only enacted this if the first waters were poured at once, but when he washed them in halves, then the second waters do not purify, but on the contrary, they become impure from the first. And even if he washed with a revi'it at once, and even if he washed on half the hand a revi'it and on the second half a revi'it, nevertheless they did not enact washing in halves (so it is explicit in Gittin 15b), but with the second waters which come to purify, there is no difference, for the second waters are not an obligation at all when he washed with a revi'it at once, as has been explained. And the Ra'avad in the glosses to chapter 11 of Mikvaot disagrees on this, and he holds that the second waters also do not purify in halves, see there. And his opinion seems to be that just as with the purification of the body there is no immersion in halves, so too with netilat yadayim. And know that "in halves" refers to half of the fingers, but if he poured on all the fingers and afterwards on the palm of the hand—it is not called "in halves," since the palm does not require washing at all according to most poskim, as I wrote at the end of siman 161 (and the Rambam, who fixed this law in Mikvaot and not in Berakhot, perhaps his opinion is that this is only for terumah and it requires further study, but all the poskim wrote this regarding our netilat yadayim).

When one pours upon one of his hands, he must be careful not to touch the other before he has washed upon it, for if he touches it, the washing is not effective for him even if he ultimately poured upon both of his hands, because the water he poured upon his first hand became tamei, and when he touched his other hand, it made it tamei; and similarly, the water on his first hand became tamei from the second, and the second waters only purify the water that became tamei due to the hand itself, and not that which comes from his other hand. And if it happened that he touched the second—he should dry them and return and wash according to the law. And similarly, if another person touched his hands after the washing before the drying, and the other had not yet washed his hands—the other has made the hands of the first tamei, and he must dry them and return and wash. But if the other had washed his hands—there is no concern in his touching, for behold, both of them are pure; and see in section 22 that drying is not required.

Therefore, one who washes his hands, the better way is for another to pour upon his hands and not by himself, for by himself there is a concern that when he raises the hand and water goes beyond the perek, and afterward he must necessarily lower it in order to pour upon his second hand, they will return from beyond the perek to within the perek and render it tamei. And so too there is a concern lest he hold the handle of the vessel with a damp hand, and the handle will become tamei from his damp hand, and if he returns and touches the handle, the hand becomes tamei from the handle. And for this, washing is of no avail unless it was dried beforehand as I have written, for the second waters do not purify the tumah of water that came from another place. And if he is forced to wash by himself, he should hold the rim of the vessel and wash both his hands as one, by holding the rim of the vessel with his fingertips.

And these concerns do not apply when one washes from a revi'it, for with a revi'it there are no impure waters and there is no concern when they return from outside the joint to within the joint, and also regarding the touching of the handle of the vessel there is no concern, for the vessel will not become impure. And the same law applies if one already poured two pourings upon the first hand, also these concerns do not apply, for the first waters have already become pure. Therefore, we are not careful to wash by means of another or to hold with the tips of the fingers at the edge of the vessel because we pour a revi'it on each hand, and also it is our practice to pour twice on the first hand and afterwards on the second, and we do not have these concerns as I have written.

However, regarding touching from one hand to the other while the second has not yet been washed, there is no distinction between a revi'it and less than a revi'it, or between one washing and two washings. For even if he pours a revi'it on each hand and twice, nevertheless, if he touched with a moist hand his second hand which was dry before the washing, the water became tamei from the hand. And all the more so if another person touched him before the washing of the other, for even though the water is not tamei and when it touches something it will not make it tamei, nevertheless his second hand is in a state of tumah before the washing, for that is why we require netilat yadayim. And when he touches it, the water which is susceptible to receiving tumah becomes tamei from the second hand, and likewise with the other person when he is standing ready for washing. But if he is not standing ready for washing - we have no concern regarding it (and this is the intention of the Magen Avraham in subsection 9, see there and examine carefully).

Therefore, one should pour a revi'it or two times on each hand, and after he has washed both his hands he should rub them together and not before. It has already been explained that one who washes from a revi'it and pours the entire revi'it does not require second waters. (And in the Shulchan Aruch at the end of section 4 it is written: "Therefore one must be careful when pouring third waters, which are the second ones aside from the first ones, that one hand should not touch the other until he pours this also on the second etc." His intention is according to what was written previously, that one requires three times as written in section 11, consequently the thirds are the seconds, and before the thirds one hand should not touch the other.)

Some say that even though it has been explained that a hand that was washed, when it touched the second hand, became impure, and seemingly requires drying just as when touching any impure thing—for the subsequent water does not purify an external impurity that came upon the water—nevertheless, in this case drying is not required; rather, one pours more water on the hand and it becomes pure (Yam Shel Shlomo and Magen Avraham subsection 10). And the reason is that since they were already completely pure, even though it became impure from the other hand, the subsequent water is effective. And consequently, such is the law if another person touched his hands, that drying is not required; rather, he pours one more time on the hands and they are purified. And even though we have not found this leniency in the Rishonim, nevertheless, regarding netilat yadayim one may rely on it to be lenient (and what the Magen Avraham wrote regarding a vessel that was perforated at its base, and this is like our antp'as, has already been explained in siman 159 section 23, and it is obvious that the touching of his hands then is of no concern to us, for this is the manner of its washing, and delve into this).

From what we have written, it will be clarified for you that regarding that which was taught in the second chapter of Yadayim, that the hand becomes impure through the rubbing of its fellow, this is when one washed one hand and touched the other before its washing. However, if he wished to wash both his hands as one at the beginning – he may wash, for both are considered as one hand and they do not make each other impure. And even four or five people who placed their hands side by side or one on top of the other with a slight separation so that the water may enter beneath the hands of each and every one – they are considered as one hand and they do not make each other impure. And so too, after he washed each hand individually two times or a revi'it at one time – he is permitted to touch one to the other. And so too, these people with one another after they all washed their hands – they are permitted to touch one another even before drying. And whether it is permitted to take water in his cupped hands and cast it upon the second hand, it was explained in siman 159, section 25; see there.

And the touching of hand to hand is permitted specifically either after washing with a revi'it at one time or after the second waters, when he poured on both hands at once or one after the other. But if he poured the first waters on one hand and likewise on the second and changed his mind before the application of the second waters, and joined his hands to one another and poured the second waters on both of them as one—he has done nothing and his hands are tamei as they were, and also the waters upon the hands became tamei, for the first waters that are on each hand are tamei and each one makes its fellow tamei and also the waters on the hand of its fellow, and the second waters do not purify the first since it became tamei because of its fellow, but rather on the contrary, the second also became tamei through them and he must dry his hands and wash another time. And certainly one must be careful when he applied twice on one hand and once on the second, that they should not touch each other, and all this is when he did not apply a revi'it at one time. And that which our teacher, the Beit Yosef, wrote in section 7: "If he rubbed his hands one with the other, he should be careful not to touch outside the place where the waters fell, because they make this one and that one tamei" thus far his words, his intention is when he washed his hands only until the end of the fingers, and then he must be careful not to touch with a moist hand upon the palm of the hand so that it does not become tamei from it, for even though according to most poskim it is not included in the washing, nevertheless regarding the matter of tumah it is considered a hand. But when he washed until the connection of the hand and the arm—touching outside the place of the water is not relevant, for from there onwards is not a place of tumah as I wrote in section 4 (and so wrote the Eliyah Rabbah in subsection 16).

We learned in tractate Yadayim, chapter 2: "If one poured water on one of his hands and rubbed it against the other – it is impure; against his head or against a wall – it is pure." That is to say, even though the second hand, prior to its washing, renders the washed hand impure while it is still moist, as I wrote in section 23, nevertheless, any other part of the body does not render it impure. Therefore, if he touched his head with the moist hand – it is pure, and similarly another object does not render the moist hand impure, and therefore if he touched a wall – it is pure; and the primary intent is that impurity exists only upon the hands prior to their washing. And it was taught in the Tosefta there that, nevertheless, if after drying he touched the water that was on his head or on the wall from his hand – it is impure, for that water is impure and it returns and renders the hand that touched it impure. And this is when he did not pour the second water and also did not pour from a revit, for if he had poured the second water or from a revit and touched the head or the wall – behold, there is no impure water there; rather, it is that he poured from the first washing and not from a revit, and he afterwards poured second water, and then if he touched the water on the head or on the wall which is from the first water – it follows that his hands became impure even if he touched them after drying, and certainly before drying.

And know that as we have written, so it appeared in my humble opinion to interpret the words of the Tosefta that we brought, for according to this the laws are consistent as has been explained throughout this entire siman. However, there are those who interpreted that even if he touched the head or the wall after the second waters, nevertheless, since he did not wash with a revit in one instance—the second waters are also tamei when they fell on another place (Taz, subsection 7). And so it implies explicitly in the words of our teacher Shimshon in the commentary on the Mishnah there, who brought the Tosefta and interpreted it so; see there. And also our teacher, the Beit Yosef, in section 8 followed this path, and this is why he concludes with this wording: "Even though as long as he did not rub they are purified by rubbing, now that he went back and touched—it is worse." Thus far his words. And this is from the Rash there, and this is its interpretation: that even though as long as he did not rub on the head or the wall they are purified by rubbing after the second waters when he rubs his hands together, nevertheless, when he went back and touched those waters that fell on another place—it is much worse, and the matters are forced. And some interpreted to the contrary, that it deals with a case where he did not cast second waters at all, and therefore the waters are tamei. However, the rubbing stands in place of the second [waters], for by means of rubbing the first [waters] alone are sufficient (Levush and Magen Avraham, subsection 16). And this is certainly astonishing and it is impossible to say so at all, and this is the opposite of the principles of the laws of netilat yadayim (and the Taz there already rejected these words and was pained by the Levush who wrote so, see there; also the words of the Magen Avraham in subsection 14 who interpreted "on his head" as the hat on his head, see there, and his intention was that if not so, he requires in any case another washing because of touching the head, and his words are astonishing, for specifically when he scratched his head does he require netilat yadayim and not by a mere touch, and so wrote the Eliyah Rabbah, subsection 17, and also the Pri Megadim wondered at this and so it is explicit above in siman 4, see there).

There is one who wrote: "If he wiped with a cloth in the manner of those who wipe, even if he went back and touched it—he is tahor" (Ma'adanei Yom Tov in Divrei Chamudot, letter 85). That is to say, even in a case where the water on the head and on the wall is tamei, nevertheless, on a cloth—it is tahor, since it is the manner of wiping (so he wrote there), and there is one who disagrees with this (Magen Avraham, end of subsection 16). And there is one who wrote that the water was absorbed into the cloth and the concept of touching does not apply after wiping (Taz, end of subsection 7), and behold, this is when he wiped after the first waters, but after the second waters, and certainly when he poured a revit at one time, there is no tumah at all in the water on the cloth, even if the water was not absorbed, and therefore we do not guard ourselves against touching the cloth. (The Ma'adanei Yom Tov and the Magen Avraham are dealing with the first waters according to their previous position, see there, and the Taz, even though according to his position he is dealing with the second waters, nevertheless it is simple that with a cloth, which is the usual way, it is not similar to the head and the wall, and with a revit everyone agrees, and delve into this).

When one pours the first water upon his hands, he must be careful that there does not remain upon his hand a pebble or a splinter or another thing, because the second water only purifies the water that is upon the hand and not upon another thing, as has been explained. If so, the water upon the pebble will defile the water upon the hand, and purification will not avail them until he dries them and returns and washes them. And if he pours a revi'it at once, he does not need to be careful in all this, for there is no impure water here. And there is one who says that even snow and hail that is not crushed is like a pebble (Magen Avraham, subsection 17), and likewise a thing whose creation is from the water (ibid.). And it is an excessive stringency, and our teacher, the Beit Yosef, ruled in his great book that anything whose creation is from the water does not constitute a chatzitzah, like Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel who holds thus in Mishnah Yadayim chapter 2, mishnah 2, for it is implied explicitly in Zevachim (22a) that the halakhah follows Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, see there; and in the winter days it is common that a little frost remains upon the hands.

Even though one must wash the entire hand, and if he washed in halves the washing is not effective as has been explained, nevertheless, one who has a wound or pain on his finger or on several fingers and it is difficult for him to wash there—he shall wash the rest of the hand and he is pure, for in such a case the sages did not enact that it should be an impediment. And if he has a bandage over the place of the wound, he should be careful that the water does not touch the bandage, for if the water touches there they will never be purified, as I wrote regarding a pebble or a splinter. But if he pours a revit at once, we have no concern with it, for the water did not become impure; therefore, we are not careful to avoid pouring on the place of the bandage, because we pour a revit at once. And know that even though mayim acharonim are not washed over the ground as I wrote in siman 181, this is because an evil spirit rests upon them as I wrote there, but mayim rishonim may be washed either into a vessel or over the ground, and see in the following siman, section 2.