Washing Hands for a Meal

(1) When one comes to eat bread that we bless on it "HaMotzi", one should wash their hands, even if one does not know that [your hands] have any impurity, one should bless: "al n'tilat yadayim"/"regarding washing of hands". But bread that we do not bless "HaMotzi" on it, for example, little rolls, (explanation: satorti in another language), or bread that comes as dumplings (explanation: bread that is made with sugar, almonds, and nuts), and one does not establish a meal with them, one does not need to wash their hands.

When it comes- The rabbis required us to wash netilat yadayim for two reasons. 1. To be in a good habit for terumah. Since hands touch everything, when the laws of ritual purity were relevant, kohanim had to wash their hands before they ate terumah, so they not contaminate the food with their touch. They decreed this to get the cohanim into a good habit. Also, all Jews who eat bread can't eat it until they wash their hands. Even though nowadays they're all impure and therefore they don't eat terumah, the decree is still in effect. That way we will be used to the ideas of tumah and tahara when the Beit haMikdash is rebuilt speedily in our days. 2. For cleanliness and holiness. The rabbis found a hint to this in the verse "make yourselves holy and be holy."

To eat bread etc.- as opposed to fruit. Because most truma was bread, as it says "the first of your grains," and the way to eat grain is by making it into bread, so the decree is only when it is made into bread.

Wash hands- two hands with a vessel, and even if you only want to eat with one hand, we are concerned you'll touch it with the other hand. When you wash your hands, it's best to wash your right first so the left serves the right.

Bless "al netilas yedaim"- that is, "asher kidishanu b'mitzvosav vitzivanu al netilas yedaim" and it is relevent to say "and you commanded us" even though this is rabbinic because Hashem commanded us to listen to the Rabbis, as it says "by the word of Torah that they teach you, do not deviate"

Not fixed- but, if you fix a meal on them, you would need to wash and bless like on bread "hamotzi" and bircas hamazon. The size of fixing a meal will be explained later. If you start to eat them as a snack, and afterwards you keep eating them like a fixed meal, you need to then wash and bless "hamotzi" as will be explained later.

Less than an eggs volume etc- because regarding tumah, less than an egg doesn't acquire tumah according to the Torah and is not contaminated by hands, therefore we could say that they didn't make a decree for washing in that situation. Alternatively, since we bench after even eating just an olive's volume, it would also be relevant for washing. Therefore, you should wash your hands and not make a blessing since the lack of blessing doesn't prevent the washing from being effective. You should know that if the food is an eggs worth (even without the shell), all would agree you need to wash with a blessing.

Less than an olive- Even less than an olive's volume we consider like less than an eggs volume and you should wash without a blessing. Letchatchila, you should be stringent for this...

That were dipped- fruits and vegetables that were dunked in water to clean them are considered dipped in [one of the 7] liquid[s]. Things that aren't usually dipped or contacted by liquids don't require hand washing since the Sages didn't decree on unusual cases. One who dips his hand in his beverage and sucks it off does not need to wash his hands first because the Sages didn't decree on beverages.

Without a Blessing- Because there are some rishonim who hold that the sages only decreed washing your hands for foods that touch the 7 liquids in the times when we kept the laws of spiritual purity. Now-a-days, since we are all contaminated from the dead, we don't make a blessing because we don't make questionable blessings. The Magein Avrahahm brings in the name of the Lechem Hamudos that people are accustomed to not wash. They have what to rely on (e.g. the rishonim we just mentioned), but many achronim are very strict and say that the law is like the majority of rishonim who require washing even now-a-days. See the Bior HaGra who is very strict to even require a blessing on this. Therefore, even though we don't say a blessing, you shouldn't be so lenient as to eat without washing. This washing requires all the laws of washing like bread. However, less than an olive's volume, it is clear that you needn't wash at all on since even with bread many achronim are lenient on this.

is a fool- Since he makes it seem to himself as if he is very careful in mitzvos regarding something that is unnecessary since it was never decreed that one wash for fruit [that weren't dipped in the 7 liquids]. You shouldn't even wash without a blessing if you have in mind that it is a mitzvah.

Law like fruit- The achronim agree that cooked dishes that you don't usually touch, rather you eat them with a spoon, don't require washing, even if you sometimes happen to touch them in the spoon. And that is the custom. However, things that you eat with your hands out of a vessel, you still have to wash for. Fruit that are cooked in water: there is a debate if they require hand washing, so you should eat them with a spoon if there is moisture still on them. Cooked vegetables [like cucumbers], you should certainly be strict to wash if they are not dried first. The Derech HaChaim writes that sweet cherries that you put in cocktails doesn't require hand washing because the liquor is "sweat of the grain" which is like fruit juice. Even if the liquor is mixed with water, the water is just a minority so you still don't need to wash. According to his words, if water is the majority, [like with grenadine] you would need to wash. If the cherry is less than an olive's volume though, you can be lenient as we mentioned above.

drinking- Because you won't transgress touching it with your hand since beverages are in vessels. Therefore, there was no decree to wash on beverages. Therefore, even if you happen to touch a beverage, for example it spills from your kid onto your hand and you drink it, you don't need to wash your hands for this because there is no decree on beverages.

that he not eat- for instance, his hands were dirty so he washed his hands [for cleanliness] and didn't plan to eat then, but then later he decided to eat and he hadn't lost track of his hands in the interim: all the more so the first washing doesn't help because it wasn't for spiritual cleansing at all.

He didn't take his mind off- if he did take his mind off of the washing, everyone agrees that he will need a second washing with a blessing and the first blessing didn't work at all.

without a blessing- many poskim hold that washing for normal food works even without intending to wash for food as long as you didn't loose focus on your hands from the time of washing. Therefore, you can wash without a blessing because perhaps he fulfilled his obligation with the first washing and he shouldn't bless even if he is going to wash just before the eating with the proper intent.

and there is no water- Even if he knows if he travels a kilometer he will reach water, we don't obligate him.

exempt from washing- In any case you should cover your hand with a napkin.

the amount of a reviis- that is one reviis [total] for two hands. But later, I mention the words of the achronim that write that you shouldn't use less than a reviis for each hand, because if you use less you have to be careful about many things that we aren't experts in now.

Full hand of good- In any case, ideally it is better to not do it for this reason because then you are doing for the sake of reward. Rather, you should do it to honor Hashem and the reward will come to you anyways. Someone who is careful with this and doesn't become rich, it is because his other deeds are hindering him.

before the action- immediately before the action.

second water- The Beis Yosef brings this in the name of Rabeinu Yerucham who writes that this was the custom of his rabbis. The Shibolei Haleket brings in the name of Rabeinu Meir that the custom is to bless after the washing and before the drying, and that is how people are accustomed.

contaminated bread- The Beis Yosef writes that this is because the first water poured is tumeh from your hands. Even though the second pouring of water is to purify that, letchatchila you still need to remove the first water entirely by drying. The Rashal writes that the main drying is for cleanliness that the water left on your hands is a bit gross. Rashi also infers that. The Magein Avraham writes in the name of the Tashbitz that you shouldn't dry your hands with your shirt because it causes forgetfulness. The Pri Megadim is unsure if this is just your shirt or all clothing.

without drying- So it is brought in the Tosefta. The Beis Yosef writes that the reason is that when you dunk your hands in a mikvah, there is no impure water at all so you don't need to dry it off. We can learn from this that if you pour a full reviis on to both hands or onto each hand (since we hold that water is pure) you would not need to wash your hands. But the Rashal disagrees because he holds the main drying is for cleanliness, so it's irrelevant how much you pour. Dunking in a mikvah is exempt from drying because it is similar to the Torah level bodily purification that doesn't require drying, so the Sages didn't decree drying for that. The Bach and other achronim agree with him. The Magein Avraham writes that someone who is bothered that their hands are still dirty after dunking them in a mikvah would need to dry them.

You should only wash your hands (for bread) with a vessel. All vessels are kosher for this, even one made of cow feces or stone or earthenware. It must hold a reviis of liquid however. Also, if it has a hole in it that would leak water into it if you put it in water and that hole is bigger than the intended spout, it is no longer a "vessel" and you can't wash with it. This is even if the vessel could hold a reviis of liquid under the crack.

With a Vessel- The Sages based the laws on sin purifying water or sanctifying the hands and feet, both of which require a vessel.

Even etc.- That is, even thought all of these are not "vessels" in regards to accepting tumah even rabbinically, never-the-less they are kosher for hand washing.

But if you pour etc- ... But many Rabbis argue on this and hold that an earthenware vessel made special for drinking, if it has a crack that lets liquid in, the whole vessel is considered broken and you shouldn't wash with it even through the hole. It's different than a spout because that was made initially for that purpose. In any case, if there is no other vessel available, you can rely on the opinion of the Shulchan Aruch to pour from the crack.

Isn't a vessel- that is, when it wasn't originally made like that. If it was originally made like that, it is considered a vessel. Rather we are dealing with a case where it moved a bit from the original way it sat so it can no longer sit like that without support or it is a cork that even if it was originally made like that it's not considered a vessel.

Don't pour with it- and even if it was made originally as one piece, in any case it isn't considered a vessel. Even though the coming up we will explain that if something was originally made like that you can use it as a vessel, here it is different because it wasn't made to hold liquid, rather it was made as a cap. It's also not like the sack or box cases coming up that aren't helped by fixing them to stand up on their own, since here, the cap does sometimes hold liquids.

A heimes or kafisha, that are types of leather baskets made to stand alone, you can pour with them. But sacks and boxes that are made to stand alone without support and you coat them in tar so they can hold liquid, you should not pour with because they weren't made to hold liquid. The same would apply to a canvas hat, even if it is so tough that it holds water and doesn't leak. Still, it wasn't made to hold water. But in a pinch, you could use [the hat] because travelers do drink from them.