רחצה

Now the hands are washed with recital of the blessing for washing the hands.

Blessed are You, L-rd, our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the washing of the hands.

One should not speak until after making the next two blessings and eating the Matzah.

נוֹטְלִים אֶת הַיָדַיִם וּמְבָרְכִים

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת יָדָיִם.
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What

Rachtzah means to wash (using the same Hebrew root as Urchatz [R/CH/TZ]). Following Maggid and preceding our blessings and eating the matzah, we wash our hands by pouring water into a cup, and from the cup over each hand. This washing is not particular to the Seder, but would precede any time that bread or matzah is eaten. Following the washing, we recite the blessing:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה‘ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת יָדָיִם:

Baruch ata Adonai eloheinu melekh ha’olam, asher kideshanu be’mitzvotav ve’tzivanu al netillat yada’im.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, Who has blessed us with Your commandments, and commanded us regarding hand washing (or, elevating our hands).

Some precede the washing or the blessings with the following kavannah (articulation of intent):

שְׂאוּ־יְדֵכֶם קֹדֶשׁ וּבָרֲכוּ אֶת־ה’

“Uplift your hands to the holy and bless God” (Psalm 134:2).

Why

This washing is for ritual purity, not cleanliness. It is meant to commemorate the priests’ ritual washing prior to eating trumah during Temple times. Trumah was the food prepared from grains and vegetables that the Israelites and Levites gifted to the priests. The food had a holy status and could only be prepared and eaten by people who were ritually pure. A washing process (mikvah) preceded becoming ritually pure (also see the Urchatz section of this guide).

The washing and purification process and the blessings that accompany it help us focus on our service to God. In Judaism, it is not only “holy work” that is holy, but potentially all of one’s handiwork. Even eating can be a holy encounter if we turn our hearts and actions to God.

Reaching Beyond Ourselves

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”

—Robert Browning (nineteenth-century English poet)

Jewish philosophy speaks of two worlds: the World of Action, Olam ha’Asiyah, and the World of Being, Olam ha’Havaya. In Urchatz we discussed that our hands are our body’s agents to encountering the world. That describes our relationship to the World of Action, Olam ha’Asiyah. But aside from their actions in Olam ha’Asiyah, hands are also a conduit to the World of Being, Olam ha’Havaya. Our physical height is more than just our measurements from head to toe. It is also from our toes to the fingertips of our hands reaching up to Heaven. Netilat yadayim, the uplifting (washing) of our hands, accomplishes both sanctifying our touch in Olam ha’Asiyah and penetrating our reach into Olam ha’Havaya. Our hands extend to places that the rest of our mortal body cannot go.

The Integration of Doing and Being

“And you may say to yourselves ‘my own power and the might of my hand have won this wealth for me.’ Remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to get wealth....”

—Deuteronomy 8:17-18

We commonly think of two hand postures: thrusting forth our hands with clenched fists as we assert our own power, and extending our open hands upward, acknowledging our powerlessness. The first disregards the World of Being by virtue of our hubris. The second is a shrinking of our World of Action overwhelmed by the greater forces that be.

There is a third posture that integrates the two worlds by recognizing the flow and partnership between the two. Jewish life attempts to integrate action and being by making us conscious of the simultaneous presence of both — and emphasizing the flow of holiness from one realm to the other. Integration requires acknowledging and using one’s powers to the fullest, and having them serve a higher power. It is a letting go of “my own power and the might of my hand.”

“Remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to get wealth. . . .” It is interesting that the verse does not say “God, who gives you wealth,” but rather, “God, who gives you the power to get wealth.” Each individual must use his or her God-given powers, acknowledge God’s role in our accomplishments, and recognize the partnership between humanity and God.

Consider this meditation when washing our hands:

We elevate our hands before we tell the liberation narrative (Urchatz before Maggid) and before we eat our meal (Rachtzah before Shulchan Orech). Each of these rituals — Maggid, developing and attaining liberation, and Shulchan Orech, consuming food — can give rise to the hubris of “. . . my own power and the might of my hand have won this wealth for me.” With netilat yadayim, we bring in our partners — holiness and Godliness — and liberate ourselves from the bondage of human self-centeredness.

In Light of the Video...

  1. The video weaves a couple’s journey through fertility challenges with different images of water. What do you think the connections are between the two?
  2. A person ritually washing his hands, a doctor washing before going into the operating room, running bathwaters, washing a baby — all these present different images of purification , preparation, and cleansing. Which image resonated most for you? Why?
  3. The couple described how much they wanted to conceive a child and the considerable efforts they took towards achieving this. What do you think this means in terms of reaching beyond ourselves?
  4. Consider a difficult challenge you’ve had in life. How have you (or might you have otherwise) dealt with the challenge by using your God-given powers to overcome it?