Must One Dry His Hands Before Washing Netilat Yadayim?

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

If a person's hands are wet at the time he wants to wash them for bread, must he dry his hands before Netilat Yadayim? Hacham Ben Sion Abba Shaul (Israel, 1923-1998) discusses this question in his work Or Le'sion (vol. 2, 11:9; listen to audio recording for precise citation), where he rules that generally speaking, one does not have to dry and rewash his hands before Netilat Yadayim. In most cases, one may perform Netilat Yadayim even with wet hands. The exception to this rule, Hacham Ben Sion writes, is the rare situation when one's hands are wet with "Mayim Teme'im" – water that is halachically impure. This happens if less than a Rebi'it (3 oz.) of water fell on his hands. This small amount of water does not render one's hands pure, and the water thus contracts impurity through its contact with the hand. Therefore, if a person washed with less than 3 oz. of water, the water on his hands are impure, and he must dry them if he then wishes to perform Netilat Yadayim. By the same token, if the water from that person's hands comes in contact with someone else's hands, that second individual must dry his hands before performing Netilat Yadayim. So, for example, if a person washed with less than 3 oz. of water and touched the handle of the washing cup while his hands were still wet, somebody else who wishes to use that cup for Netilat Yadayim must first dry the handles. Otherwise, the "Mayim Teme'im" on the handles will come in contact with his hands before he begins Netilat Yadayim. In today's world, this situation is not all that common. We use faucets and have plenty of water for washing, so a person will rarely wash his hands with less than 3 oz. of water. In most instances, then, one may wash Netilat Yadayim with wet hands. Summary: As a rule, a person whose hands are wet from water is not required to dry them before he washes Netilat Yadayim. The exception to this rule is when a person had washed his hands with less than 3 oz. of water, in which case that water must be dried before he washes Netilat Yadayim. Similarly, if the water on that person's hands comes in contact with somebody else's hands, that second person must dry his hands before washing Netilat Yadayim. These situations, however, are quite rare, and so generally speaking, one may wash Netilat Yadayim without first drying his hands.