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The Sages ordained that people ritually wash their hands each morning, purifying themselves at the start of a new day and in anticipation of prayer. The way we wash our hands in the morning is different from the standard handwashing for cleanliness. We pour water from a cup, first on the right hand and then on the left. This process is repeated three times.
In between washing the hands and drying them, we recite the following blessing: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who sanctified us with His mitzvot and commanded us about washing the hands.”
The Sages tell us that when people sleep, they are silent as the dead, and a spirit of impurity rests upon them. When they wake and regain consciousness, this spirit departs from most of the body but remains on their hands. Ritually washing the hands removes any remaining impurity. Some maintain the spirit of impurity existed only in early times, when mystical powers held sway; over the course of time though, the intellect overpowered the mystical. This weakened the spirit of impurity, which was replaced by false and mistaken beliefs. In any case, the obligation to wash our hands remains in force, as it purifies and prepares us for both prayer and the new day.
