Commentary for Yadayim 1:11

מי רביעית - water that has in it the measurement of one-quarter of a LOG, which is an egg-and-a-half [in volume].

Introduction The first mishnah of Yadayim is about how much water is necessary for the ritual washing of one's hands. A log is about 1/2 a liter of water. So the basic amount of 1/4 log works out to about 100 grams of water, a third of a can of Coke for those who drink that stuff. We should note that the Mishnah expresses washing one's hands by referring to a servant doing the work. The servant literally gives water to the diner's hands. This is expressive of the setting of a formal banquet. In other words the Hebrew phrase "netilat yadayim" or "notnim leyadim" used in this Mishnah are translations of common Greek words. It shows how much influence eating customs had on the Jews of the period.

נותנים לידים לאחד אף לשנים – for one [person] we require ab initio one-quarter of a LOG. Even for two [people] if there was in it from the outset a quarter of a LOG and the first [person] poured [water over his hands] and afterwards the second [person], even though there wasn’t a quarter [of a LOG] for the second [person], it is all right, since they come from the remnants of purity (see Talmud Hullin 107a). But Maimonides [brings] an explanation, that specifically it is water for the second pouring [i.e., pouring water on the hands prior to consuming Terumah/heave offering (for a Kohen)] that we don’t we require a quarter of a LOG for each person, since his hands had already been purified from the first rinsing, but the first pouring, there cannot be less than one-quarter of a LOG for each person. But my Masters/Teachers did not explain it thusly.

[A minimum of] a quarter [of a log] of water must be poured over the hands for one [person] and even for two. For two people it is sufficient to have one quarter log of water. Although there won't be this amount left for the second person who has water put over his hands, since the second pouring comes from an amount that was originally sufficient, and the original amount was used to purify, the lesser amount of water still remaining is effective. We should note that 1/4 of a log is really a very little amount of water. It would not be effective to truly clean one's hands. It seems to have ritual function only.

מחצית לוג לשלשה או לארבעה – according to the measurement of one-quarter of a LOG for two [people], it would be enough to have one-quarter of LOG plus a half [of that amount] for three [people], but since that are a greater number of people, we are concerned lest they are not exacting well to pour [water only] up to the joint , for each person defines exactly regarding [how much he uses] because of his fellow. However, if there is one-quarter of a LOG and a half an the first [person] from them poured one-half of one-quarter of a LOG, the remaining one-quarter of a LOG will be sufficient for the two others, for even at the outset, it is enough for two [people] with one-quarter [of a LOG], all the more so now that they come from to leave over/preserve ritual purity. But if it was not done/take effect from this, these words [apply] were there didn’t remain one-quarter [of a LOG of water] for the last two [people].

A minimum of half a log must be poured over the hands for three or four persons. For three or four persons they must double the amount to half a log.

ובלבד שלא יפחות לאחרון שבהן מרביעית – that there will be in the vessel one-quarter of a LOG at the time when the last person pours water on his hands/ritually washes them. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yossi.

A minimum of one log [is sufficient] for five, ten, or one hundred persons. According to this opinion, once we get to a higher number, even 100, one log is sufficient. There need not be 1/4 of a log per person.

מוסיפין על השניים ואין מוסיפין על הראשונים – the law of pouring water on/washing the hands that requires washing the hands until the joint, and after he washed his hands with one pouring even though his hands are pure if he wiped them with a napkin, nevertheless, if he goes back and touches the water that is on the napkin, his hands are impure, and if a loaf of Terumah/heave-offering came in contact with them, it is impure, and therefore, it is the practice that he does another pouring of water to purify the first waters that are upon his hands, but now it is stated that if he placed water a second time but they didn’t reach the joint, he is able to add upon them and to pour water from a place that he didn’t pour there initially, and the first waters that are upon his hands are purified. But on the first waters, if they didn’t reach the joint, he is not able to add, but rather he must dry his hands and return and pour water at once that they should reach the joint.

Rabbi Yose says: as long as there is not less than a quarter of a log left for the last person among them. Rabbi Yose disagrees with the previous three sections. There must always be 1/4 of a log left over for each person. Many people could wash from the same washing cup (or whatever they used) but there has to be 1/4 of a log for each and every one.

More [water] may be added to the second water, but more may not be added to the first water. When one pours water over one's hands their need to be 2 pourings. For the first pouring the water must go up to the joint, which is interpreted either as the second joint of the fingers or the joint attaching the fingers to the hand (we will see this in 2:3). The problem is that his fingers now defile the water that is on them. To fix this problem he then washes off the water with more water. We will learn more about this process in chapter two. If the first washing didn't reach all the way to the joint, he is not allowed to pour the second pouring in a place where the first one didn't reach. Rather, he would have to redo the whole thing. But if the second pouring didn't reach the joint, he can just add water to the spots he missed.

בכלי גללים – vessels/utensils that are made from the dung of cattle, but they are not considered vessels regarding the matter of defilement.

Introduction Today's mishnah deals with what kind of vessel can be used to pour water over one's hands.

לא בדפנות הכלים ולא בשולי המחץ (not with the sides of [broken] utensils nor with the sides of a broken ladle) – because they are broken vessels.

Water may be poured over the hands out of any kind of vessel, even out of vessels made of animal dung, out of vessels made of stone or out of vessels made of clay. Any kind of vessel can be used for the ritual washing of hands, even vessels that are not susceptible to impurity such as vessels made of dung or stone (see Kelim 10:1). In other words, one might have thought that since these vessels are not susceptible to impurity they do not count as vessels, therefore the mishnah teaches that they do count as vessels and can be used for handwashing.

ולא במגופת החבית (nor with the bung/stopper for utensils) – for it is not used within it other than as a cover for the barrel.

Water may not be poured from the sides of [broken] vessels or from the bottom of a ladle or from the stopper of a jar. All of these objects do not count as "vessels" and therefore cannot be used for handwashing.

בחפניו (with his cupped hands) – that he should not fill his cupped hands with water and pour on the hands of his fellow.

Nor may one pour [water] over the hands of his fellow out of his cupped hands. Cupped hands are also no good (I'll fess up I've tried this a few times when I couldn't find a cup).

שאין ממלאים -drawing potable running spring water to sanctify with them the waters of purification of the ashes of the Red Heifer, for a vessel is required, as it is written (Numbers 19:17): “[Some of the ashes from the fire of cleansing shall be taken from the unclean person,] and fresh water shall be added to them in a vessel” (see Tractate Parah, Chapter 5, Mishnah 5).

Because one may not draw, nor sanctify, nor sprinkle the water of purification, nor pour water over the hands except in a vessel. The mishnah now lists water rituals that require a vessel. Most of these involve the purification ritual of the red heifer ashes. The first is drawing water from a live spring to be used in the red heifer ritual. The second is putting the ashes into the water this must be done in a vessel. The third is sprinkling the waters of purification (the water which has the ashes of the red heifer) on the impure person. The fourth is handwashing.

ואין מקדשין – placing the ashes on top of the water.

And only vessels closely covered with a lid protect [their contents from uncleanness]. If an earthenware vessel with a tight-fitting lid is found in a tent with a corpse in it, the vessels contents are not defiled (neither is the vessel). However, only a real vessel acts in this manner.

ואין מזין – that the hyssop is immersed in a vessel in order to sprinkle it.

And only vessels protect [their contents from uncleanness] inside earthenware vessels. Furthermore, if there is a vessel with food in it and it is in an earthenware vessel in which there is also a sheretz (a creepy crawly defiling thing) the vessel protects the food inside it from becoming impure (see Kelim 8:3). But this protection is only if the inside vessel is really a vessel.

צמיד פתיל – the shards of an earthenware vessel that he surrounded with a closely covered lid and placed in the tent of a corpse, they don’t save what is inside them.

שאין מצילין – like, “and they do’ save,” and its example is in the first chapter of [Tractate] Betzah [8a], that the ashes of a portable stove on feet [with caves for two pots] is ready. And they explained in the Gemara {Tractate Betzah 8a), this is what he said: that the ashes of the portable stove on feet are ready.

מיד כלי חרס- if an unclean reptile fill within an earthenware vessel, everything that is in its airspace is defiled except for the utensils and a human being which are not defiled from the airspace of an earthenware vessel, as it is written (Leviticus 11:33-34): “[And if any of those falls into an earthen vessel,] everything inside it shall be unclean [and -the vessel – itself you shall break]. As to any food that may be eaten, [it shall become unclean if It came in contact with water],” food and liquids become are defiled from the airspace of an earthenware vessel, but human beings and vessels are not defiled from the airspace of earthenware vessels. But if shards of vessels are placed in an earthenware oven and an unclean reptile is in the oven, the shards do not save the foods that are within it (see also Tractate Kelim, Chapter 8, Mishnah 3).

שנפסלו משתיית בהמה - as for example, on account of offensive smell/stench. But if it became unfit on account of plaster/mud/clay, even in the ground, it is unfit.

Introduction The next three mishnayot deal with the water used for netilat yadayim.

בכלים פסולים – for the Rabbis did not establish pouring [water on the hands] other than with what appropriate for animals to drink.

Water which had become so unfit that it could not be drunk by a beast: If it was in a vessel it is invalid, But if it was in the ground it is valid. If the water that he wants to use for netilat yadayim was so dirty that even a cow or other beast wouldn't drink it, it can't be used if the water has been put in a vessel. Note that this water would have to be pretty dirty, or at least it seems so to me. But if the water is still pooled on the ground, he can use it to immerse his hands for this pool has the status of a mikveh. If he could immerse his whole body in such a pool, all the more so he can immerse his hands.

בקרקע כשרים – to ritually immerse the hands for purification, for they are a Mikveh and one immerses in them all of his body, his hands is it not all the more so?

If there fell into [the water], dye, or gum or sulphate of copper and its color changed, it is invalid. If any inks or dyes fall into the water and thereby change its color, the water can no longer be used.

קומוס (gum, resin) – GUMA in the foreign language.

If a person did any work with it or soaked his bread in it, it is invalid. Water that has used for work (perhaps as a weight on a balance) or for soaking bread, is no longer considered water and cannot be used for netilat yadayim.

וקנקנתום (vitriol, shoe-black) - VIDRIOLI. And it shines like a kind of glass/crystal.

Shimon of Teman says: even if he intended to soak his bread in one water and it fell into another water the water is valid. Shimon of Teman (Yemen) holds that the water is disqualified for use only if he intentionally soaked his bread in it. His statement implies that it is obvious that if he didn't intend to soak his bread in the water and the bread simply fell in, the water is still valid for use. He goes one step further. Even if he did intend to use water to soak the bread, but he intended to put the bread in one vessel and it went into another vessel, the vessel with the bread in it can still be used. The water is disqualified only if the bread goes directly into the vessel into which he intended to put it.

עשה בהן מלאכה או ששרה בהן פתו פסולין - because he abolished them and they became changed from the category of water.

אפילו נתכוין לשרות בזה – with astonishment. And even if he intended to soak his bread in one place and it fell into another place, they would be unfit, for didn’t he not intend and did not abolish them? But rather, they are definitely kosher/fit. But the Halakah is not according to Rabbi Shimon the Temani.

או שמיחה בהן את המדות (or he scrubbed measures in it) – the moistness that became attached to them, and they don’t leave other than with force. For this reason, it teaches the language of מיחוי/cleansing, like "מיחוי קרביו"/the cleansing of the bowels that is taught in the Mishnah of [Tractate] Pesahim, in the chapter [six – 68a]: “these things.”

If he cleansed vessels with the water or scrubbed measures with it, [the water] is invalid. If he used the water to clean vessels or scrub measures the water is invalid. This is because the water is considered "waste water" which shouldn't be used to ritually clean hands. Furthermore, he has used the water for work, and therefore it can't be used.

פוסל בחדשים – for even though they are clean, it is not customary to use them until he rinses them first. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yossi.

If he rinsed with it vessels which had already been rinsed or new vessels, it is valid. Rabbi Yose declares [the water] invalid if they were new vessels. If the vessels didn't need to be washed or scrubbed because they were either clean or new, then the water remains valid because it didn't need to be used. Rabbi Yose says that if the water was used to wash new vessels it is still disqualified since it is customary to wash off new vessels. In other words, something that is customary to do is considered work, even if it is isn't strictly speaking necessary.

גלוסקין (a white and delicate bread) – loaves of clean and pure bread.

Water in which the baker dips his loaves is invalid; But if he moistened his hands in the water it is valid. If the baker dipped his loaves into the water, the water is invalid. This is the same as the rule in yesterday's mishnah. Today's mishnah adds that if the baker just uses the water to moisten his hands, and then from his hands he puts the water onto the loaves, the water remains valid because he didn't put the loaves directly into the water.

ואם הדיח בהן ידיו – and plasters/covers the white and delicate bread in his hand.

All are fit to pour water over the hands, even a deaf-mute, an imbecile, or a minor. After having discussed rules concerning the vessel and the water the mishnah now turns its attention to the person or power that pours the water over the hands. As we shall see, the requirement is that some power should cause the water to be poured over the hands. Water which flows on its own, for instance rainwater coming out of a drainage pipe, cannot be used for netilat yadayim. There is no requirement for intention (kavvanah) for netilat yadayim. Therefore, even people who legally are not considered to have kavanah can pour the water.

כשרים – the water that are in the vessel [are kosher] for pouring [to wash with], for no work was done with the water that is in the vessel other than with the water that he took with the hollow of his hand.

A person may place the jug between his knees and pour out the water Or he may turn the jug on its side and pour it out. A person puts a jug with water in it between his legs and then tilts it to the side. This is a valid way of performing netilat yadayim because his legs count as having caused the water to be poured onto his hands. He can even tilt the jug on its side and then put his hands under the water pouring out. Even though the water is currently (no pun intended) coming out of the jug on its own, since he tilted the jug on its side, it counts as an outside power.

מניח חבית בין ברכיו -and with his knees they assist him to pour, that is the power/strength of the person, and because of this, Rabbi Yossi does not dispute this.

A monkey may pour water over the hands. Even a monkey could pour water over someone's hands. In other words, there must be an outside power, but that power need not be human.

ומטה חבית על צדה – and even if he went and sat himself down afterwards, and the jug pours out water all day long, on account of his being inclined, and it is considered the strength/power of a person.

Rabbi Yose declares these [latter] two cases invalid. Rabbi Yose says that the final two cases are invalid because the water needs to be poured by a force initiated by a person. So if the water flows from the barrel on its own or a monkey pours the water, the hand-washing is invalid.

והקוף – a beast whose name is MONA (APE) in the foreign tongue. And it has hands like the hands of a human.

נוטל לידים – we require the power of the one who gives; the power/strength of a human is not needed.

רבי יוסי פוס בשני אלו – with the ape, and with the turning the jar on its sides. The ape, because we require the strength of a human and we lack that, and setting the jar on its side, is not the considered the power/strength of a person. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yossi.