Netilas Yadayim - Entering A Bathroom

QUESTION: If I entered the bathroom just to get a tissue, do I need to wash my hands?

ANSWER: The Mishnah Berurah (4:40) writes that after entering a washroom even momentarily, one must wash his hands to remove ru’ach ra’ah (some form of evil or negative spirit). This is true even though he did not touch anything and his hands are clean. However, many poskim write that today’s bathrooms do not have the same status. This is because our bathrooms are perhaps similar to the Persian bathroom described in the Gemara (Berachos 26a) which always remained clean. Since our bathrooms are always clean, some poskim say that if it is difficult to wash outside the bathroom, one can wash his hands in the bathroom. Though, it is still meritorious to wash one’s hands after leaving the washroom in all situations (see Halichos Shlomo 20:24 and Minchas Yitzchak 1:60).

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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.