Washing One’s Hands After Leaving the Restroom

The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in Parashat Toledot, writes that after one uses the restroom, he must wash his hands three times, just as he must upon waking in the morning. The reason is that forces of impurity descend upon the hands in the restroom, and they must be removed by washing the hands three times, just as one must wash in the morning three times to remove the impurity that descends upon the hands during the night. Indeed, the Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806) writes that all the elder sages of his time followed this practice of washing their hands three times upon exiting the restroom. This is the view also of Rav Haim Palachi (Turkey, 1788-1868) and the Kaf Ha'haim (Rav Yaakob Haim Sofer, Baghdad-Israel, 1870-1939). However, none of these sources make any mention of a requirement to use a utensil for washing the hands after leaving the restroom. We might deduce from this omission that whereas in the morning, one must wash his hands three times from a utensil, after leaving the restroom it suffices to pass one's hands under the faucet three times in alternating fashion. It should be noted that according to the opinion of the Shulhan Aruch, a utensil is not needed even for the morning washing; we use a utensil only to satisfy the view of the Kabbalists that the uniquely strong forces of impurity that descend upon the hands during the night cannot be removed without a utensil. It thus seems reasonable to assume that when it comes to the hand-washing after exiting the restroom, which is treated less stringently than the morning hand-washing, a utensil is not necessary. Accordingly, Hacham Bension Abba Shaul (Jerusalem, 1924-1998) ruled that a utensil is not strictly required for washing after leaving the restroom, though it is preferable to wash with a utensil. By contrast, Rav Shlomo Amar (contemporary) ruled that one must use a utensil for this washing. Rav Meir Mazuz (1945-2025) disagreed, noting the absence of any mention of such a requirement in the aforementioned sources. Rav Mazuz acknowledged that many yeshivot followed the practice of washing with a utensil after leaving the restroom, but he asserted that this was done as a measure of stringency, and not as a strict halachic requirement. This is the view also of Hacham David Yosef, who testified that his father, Hacham Ovadia Yosef, would often wash his hands after leaving the restroom by placing them under the running the water, without a utensil. Hacham Ovadia explicitly taught his sons that washing in this fashion suffices. This was the view also of Hacham Shalom Cohen (1930-2022). Strictly speaking, it suffices to wash the hands only once after exiting the restroom, especially considering the possibility that modern-day restrooms, where the bodily waste is immediately expelled from the room, do not have any impurity at all. Nevertheless, given the ease of washing the hands three times, it is preferable to abide by the stringency of washing the hands three times. This requirement applies to all restrooms, even public restrooms with only urinals, that are used solely for urination. Some apartments in Israel feature a storage room or porch that is accessible only by passing through the restroom. The Yalkut Yosef suggests that since the restroom was constructed with the intent that it would be used also as a passageway, one who walks through such a restroom to or from the porch does not need to wash his hands. Rav Yisrael Bitan, however, questions this leniency, and concludes that one should preferably be stringent in this regard. The Ben Ish Hai writes that one must wash his hands three times after leaving the restroom even if he did not perform his bodily functions. Even if, for example, a person went into the restroom to get a tissue or something from the medicine cabinet, or to brush his teeth, he must still wash his hands. Hacham David Yosef writes that in such a case there is greater room to allow washing the hands just once, which, as we saw, suffices on the level of strict Halacha even if one had performed his