d not directly touch any food. There is no problem of a non-Jew handling food without washing netilat yadayim, since he is not required to do so.14
One must be careful not to touch any of the openings of his body before washing netilat yadayim.15
The washing process is as follows:
Watch a short animation of how to wash netilat yadayim in the morning.
Ideally, wash your entire hand up to the wrist. However, if this is impossible, it is sufficient to wash the fingers up until the knuckles.17 If your hand is bandaged, you need to only wash your healthy hand.18
One's hands should be washed in a place that is clean and odorless. Today, most private bathrooms meet this standard. The problem arises when using a public bathroom -- e.g. in an airplane.
If you have difficulty procuring a utensil with which to wash, you may wash with tap water by turning on the tap three times over each hand.19
After performing netilat yadayim in the morning, it is proper to wash one's face20 and rinse one's mouth.21
One should dry his hands and face on a towel.22 To dry them on a garment is considered undignified and is forbidden.23
Immediately after washing your hands, recite the blessing.24 Alternatively, you may recite the blessing in the synagogue along with the other morning blessings.25 The blessing should be recited outside the bathroom.
The blessing is:
Holding back from relieving himself when needed is harmful to one's health, and is thus forbidden.26 It is certainly forbidden to pray, recite blessings or study Torah in such a state. However, if the need is not pressing and you are in the middle of studying Torah, you need not interrupt your studies immediately.27
Even in the bathroom, dignity and privacy must be maintained.28 (See essay on Kosher Clothes for a discussion of the Jewish concept of dignity.)
From a Jewish perspective, every place has appropriate and inappropriate behavior. A bathroom is for taking care of bodily needs. Since a bathroom is intrinsically an unclean place, many things are considered out-of-place or even profane to do there:
After relieving oneself, the blessing Asher Yatzar is recited immediately upon exiting the restroom (after washing).38 If you forgot to do so, you may still recite it for up to 72 minutes, providing you do not yet feel the urge to relieve yourself again.39
The blessing is as follows:
Since this blessing thanks God for the wonders of the human body, reciting it with proper intent is considered a merit for good health.40
Click here to print out a beautiful full-color version of Asher Yatzar that you can post on the wall outside your bathroom.
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