DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 5.53 MB)
Netilat Yadayim in the Morning if One Went to Sleep After Hasot

The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) writes (in Parashat Vayeseh) that if a person went to sleep early in the evening and woke up before Hasot (Halachic midnight), he must wash his hands with a Beracha. Even though he did not sleep past Hasot, he nevertheless bears the obligation of Netilat Yadayim, and recites a Beracha over the hand washing. (We must emphasize that "Hasot" is not 12am, but rather the midway point between dusk and dawn. Depending on the time of year, this can be as early as around 11:30pm or as late as around 1am.)

The Ben Ish Hai also discusses the opposite case, where somebody did not go to sleep until after Hasot – which is, of course, quite common – and he rules that in this situation, too, the individual washes his hands in the morning with a Beracha. The exception to this rule is where a person after Hasot recited Birkot Ha’shahar (the morning blessings, which may be recited already after Hasot) and the Tikun Hasot prayer, and also learned Torah, before going to sleep. The Rashash (Rav Shalom Sharabi, Jerusalem-Yemen, 1720-1777), as reported by his grandson, the Maharash Sharabi (d. 1826), taught that if one does all this after Hasot, before going to sleep, then his hands are protected from the impurity that normally befalls the hands during sleep. As such, he does not then need to wash Netilat Yadayim in the morning. Otherwise, however, if a person remains awake past Hasot because, for example, he attended a wedding, needed to work, or was involved in something else, he must perform Netilat Yadayim in the morning as usual, with a Beracha. The Ben Ish Hai adds that even if a person remained awake past Hasot because he was learning Torah, even so, he must wash his hands as usual in the morning, unless he had also recited Birkot Ha’shahar and Tikun Hasot.

Summary: If one went to sleep early in the evening, and woke up before Hasot (Halachic midnight), he nevertheless must wash Netilat Yadayim, with a Beracha, just as he would do if he slept normally, through the night. Likewise, one who went to sleep after Hasot is required to wash Netilat Yadayim with a Beracha when he wakes up in the morning. The only exception is if a person after Hasot recited Birkot Ha’shahar as well as Tikun Hasot, and also learned Torah. If he did all this after Hasot before going to sleep, then according to Kabbalistic teaching, he does not need to wash his hands in the morning.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Delaying a Berit Mila if the Child is Jaundiced
If a Berit Mila Was Performed at Night, or Before the Eighth Day
If a Mohel Performing a Berit on Shabbat Cannot Perform the Mesisa
May a Mohel Perform a Circumcision For the First Time on Shabbat?
On Which Days of the Week May a Delayed Berit Mila be Performed?
Performing a Berit Mila on Friday After Accepting Shabbat; Performing a Brit Mila After Sundown
Scheduling a Berit for a Child Born After Sundown on Friday Afternoon
Walking Beyond the “Tehum Shabbat” to Perform a Berit on Shabbat or Yom Tob
May Two Different Mohalim Participate in the Same Berit on Shabbat?
Scheduling a Berit Mila for a Baby Born on Shabbat or Yom Tov, or Right After Sundown on Ereb Shabbat or Ereb Yom Tob
Performing a Berit Mila on Shabbat on a Child Whose Father is Not Jewish
Some Laws Relevant to the Sandak at a Brit Milah
The Presence of Eliyahu Ha'navi at a Berit Mila
Designating a Chair for Eliyahu Hanabi at a Berit Mila
A Brit Milah Should Be Performed As Early As Possible In The Morning
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found