Hands-Free Shoe Removal

Q. Must you wash your hands if you remove your shoe without touching them?

A. Shulchan Aruch (OC 4:18) writes that one who removes his shoe must wash his hands. The Olas Tamid (4:12) infers from the wording of Shulchan Aruch that you must wash your hands even if the shoe was not touched. Just removing your shoes leads to ru’ach ra’ah, and this requires washing one’s hands. However, the Mishnah Berurah (4:41)and most poskim disagree with the Olas Tamid. The accepted opinion is that you need only wash if the shoe was touched directly. If gloves were worn, or the shoe was removed in any other manner without touching it, there is no need to wash.

The Chazon Ish (Orchos Rabbeinu Vol. 3, p. 186) and many other poskim write that one need not wash if only the shoelaces were touched. Similarly, the Aruch Hashulchan (OC 4:21) writes that touching or removing socks does not require washing hands, so long as you do not touch your foot or the sweaty part of the sock. The Mor U'Kitziya (Siman 4) and many other Poskim as well write that handling a brand-new shoe (such as in a shoe store) will not necessitate washing your hands, even if the shoe is made of leather, as none of the concerns of cleanliness or ru’ach ra’ah apply to a brand-new shoe.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.