Wiener Zeitung, February 13, 2020
German original: https://www.wienerzeitung.at/meinung/blogs/juedisch-leben/2050113-Erst-rechts-dann-links.html
Religious rituals might be ridiculed by many. But often they are not just useless hocus-pokus – for example washing your hands.
In our modern and enlightened world, religious rituals are sometimes the object of ridicule. But by looking more closely, some procedures in essence are very useful. Have you ever seen one of those jugs with two handles? They can be found by the sinks at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. They can be found in the anterooms of synagogues. But they are also in every orthodox Jewish household. I myself have such a jar at home – made of pink plastic, and, yes, it’s not used that often. It stands there in the cabinet, ready in case we have observing guests. And we get it out for Passover as well.
You wash your hands with the two-handled mug. This is done in the morning after getting up, or before a meal, after using the bathroom, during Passover Seder, after a memorial service. Sometimes water is poured over each hand three times (like in the mornings), sometimes only once (for example before a meal). But the right hand is always first to be sprinkled with water, the left hand is always second.
Ritual Handwashing
In Judaism the ritual is called "Netilat Jadajim." The word Netila goes back to the Aramaic word for a container (Natla), writes Tel Aviv’s Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, who was the Askenasi Chief Rabbi of Israel, in his standard reference “How Jews Live.” There, in the chapter entitled “Before the Meal,” he also explains that hand-washing is not demanded in the Tora, but is rather a “Rabbinical Regulation.”
Chief Rabbi Lau writes: “If asked about the source of this requirement, which is not specifically mentioned in the Tora, the answer is : “We were ordered: Do not stray from the word you are told right and left: The Tora tells us to obey the Wise of every generation.” And that is the origin of the command to pour water over the hands before a meal. In context with this command the Wise reference Verse 3 Mose 11,44 in the Tora: “Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy” – meaning the hand-washing after a meal before the benediction.”
However, I find further statements by Chief Rabbi Lau particularly interesting. He describes that it is also about cleaning the hands from any possible dirt. “From a hygienic standpoint, the value of this order by the Wise does not need particular highlighting. According to Halacha, one should check before washing hands if there is no paint, waste or dirt sticking to the hand. If dirt is found, it has to be removed before the pouring of water. Dirt that has accumulated under the fingernails also needs to be removed before the pouring, because dirt acts as a partition that keeps the water from fully cleaning the hand.”
Not redundant.
Today it is natural to regularly wash hands, specifically in the mornings, after using the bathroom, before cooking, before a meal. Nobody would reject this as a redundant ritual; the hygienic importance of hand-washing is known to everyone. While other rituals might not have such a clear function at first sight, they often do after a second look: rituals after a death, for example, ease the grieving and saying good bye. The prescribed structure provides support for the surviving dependents. It is known exactly what happens: the funeral, sitting shiva, the Jahrzeit.
Rituals provide a feeling of safety, of comfort. One is speaking prayers, another is always reading the same story to the child, simply because the child wants it and can fall asleep better this way. Both is good for these people, both rituals need to be respected – and are definitely no reason to make fun of a person.