Halacha requires washing one’s hands upon awakening in the morning. One of the reasons given for this requirement is the need to eliminate the Ru’ah Tum’a (spirit of impurity) that descends upon one’s hands as he sleeps. The Zohar emphasizes the importance of washing one’s hands immediately upon awakening, so as not to allow the Ru’ah Tum’a to remain on his hands. Specifically, the Zohar writes that one should not walk four Amot – approximately 6-8 feet – in the morning before washing, and warns that one could be liable to death, on one level or another, if he waits longer than this duration to wash in the morning.
There is one view among the authorities (the Elya Rabba, cited approvingly by the Shebut Yaakob) that the Zohar refers to walking four Amot outside one’s home. According to this view, the entire home is considered a single entity, and it is only outside the home that the Zohar forbids walking without washing.
Others, however, disagree. The Hid"a (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806), in his work Birkeh Yosef, writes that even within the home, one should not walk more than four Amot all at once in the morning before washing. In his view, if the water is more than four Amot away from one’s bed, then he should walk in small installments of less than four Amot. Meaning, one should walk several feet, stop for a moment, and then continue for another several feet, and so on, until he reaches the water. The Sha’areh Teshuba (commentary to the Orah Haim section of the Shulhan Aruch by Rav Haim Mordechai Margoliyot, Poland, 18th century), in Siman 1, disagrees with this ruling, claiming that one should not prolong the presence of the Ru’ah Tum’a on his hands. However, several other authorities agreed with the Hid"a’s ruling, including Rav Haim Palachi (Izmir, Turkey, 1788-1869) and the Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in Parashat Toledot (7). Therefore, one may walk in stall installments, in the manner described, until he reaches the sink to wash his hands in the morning.
Summary: One should wash his hands immediately upon awakening in the morning, and should not walk more than four Amot (6-8) feet without stopping before washing. One should therefore walk several feet, stop for a moment, walk several feet, and so on, until he reaches the sink to wash his hands.
