Must One Wash His Hands After Touching an Infant’s Skin?

In an earlier installment, we saw that one who touches his exposed legs must wash his hands, even if he normally wears shorts and leaves his legs exposed. Although touching parts of the body which are generally exposed does not, as a rule, require washing, Hacham Ovadia Yosef maintained that legs mark an exception, and one who touches legs must wash his hands. Hacham Ovadia conceded, however, that this stringency does not apply when one touches the legs of an infant. Since it is common to leave an infant's legs bare, one is not required to wash his hands after touching them. But if one touched parts of an infant's body which are normally covered – such as the back – then he must wash his hands. Rav Yisrael Bitan raises the question of whether one must wash his hands after touching an infant's feet. As we have seen, touching feet requires washing due to the impurity on the feet, and thus even one who normally goes about barefoot must wash his hands after touching his feet. However, it is possible that this impurity results from the feet stepping on the ground, in which case there is no impurity on the feet of infants who cannot walk. Rav Bitan leaves this as an open question, and it is thus uncertain whether one must wash his hands after touching the feet of an infant. Summary: One is not required to wash his hands after touching an infant's legs if they are normally exposed, but he must wash his hands after touching parts of an infant's body which are normally covered. It is uncertain whether one must wash his hands after touching the feet of an infant.