Newly Polished Shoes

Q. I just polished my shoes, and they are very clean. If I touch my shoes at this point, do I still need to wash my hands?

A. As was explained in a previous Halacha Yomis, there are two opinions why one must wash their hands after touching shoes. According to the Shulchan Aruch Harav (128:27), Pri Megadim (4:15) and many others, there are two concerns: a) the shoe may be dirty and it will soil the hand that touches it, and b) aside from the issue of the actual cleanliness of the shoe there is a ru’ach ra’ah (an impure and harmful spirit) that rests on the shoe and will be transferred to a hand that touches the shoe. According to these poskim, one who touches a shoe must wash their hands even if it is spotlessly clean. However, the Mishnah Berurah (4:41) rules that the concern with touching shoes is only that of cleanliness and not ruach ra’ah. Sefer V’zos Haberacha (21:7) writes that according to the Mishnah Berurah, one need not wash their hands if they touch shoes which are known to be clean. However, if one does not know with certainty that their shoes are clean, one must assume they are dirty. There is an inference to this in the Mishnah Berurah (128:62) where he writes that an average shoe is considered dirty. This implies that if one knows for certain that the shoe is clean, one can be lenient.

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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.