Women's Obligation in Mayim Achronim

Q. Must women wash Mayim Achronim?

A. Rav Shmuel Vosner zt”l writes in Shevet Halevi (4:23) that in principle there should be no difference between men and women washing mayim achronim. The two reasons given by the Gemara why we wash mayim achronim (the danger posed by Sedomis salt, and the need to have clean hands to recite a beracha) apply equally to both men and women. However, Tosofos writes that today neither of these concerns fully apply and there is no longer an obligation to wash mayim achronim. Though many still wash mayim achronim, this is done as a chumra (extra stringency). Additionally, there are Kabalistic reasons for washing mayim achronim. Therefore, writes the Shevet Halevi, the custom has evolved in many communities to be strict and wash mayim achronim. However, men have accepted this minhag, but women have not. [Although it seems surprising that there are different customs in the same community for men and women, there are several other such instances of this in halacha. Poskim explain that women and men are treated as two distinct communities (see Gemara Shabbos 62a)]

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