After a person washes Netilat Yadayim for bread, must he dry his hands with a towel or other material, or is it acceptable to use an air drying machine for this purpose? Does Halacha require one to perform an act of drying after Netilat Yadayim – as opposed to using an air drying machine, where one simply places his hands in front of the machine – or may the hands be dried through any means?
Hacham Ovadia Yosef rules (listen to audio recording for precise citation) that one may dry his hands after Netiat Yadayim through any means. There is no requirement to actively dry one’s hands, and thus one may dry his hands with an electric drying machine, or, for that matter, he may have somebody else dry his hands for him.
