DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 814 KB)
Is One Required To Make Netilat Yadayim Before Eating Cereal and Before Dipping Crackers Into Butter

We learned that one must make a Netilat Yadayim when eating a food that comes into contact with any of the seven ‘Yad Shachat Dam’ liquids. One would wash like he does for bread, but in this case one would not make a Beracha. We also learned that one is exempt from this washing if he uses a Keli (like a fork) AND as long as the liquid is cooked.

So let’s discuss further some examples and some questions on this topic.

Should one make a Netilat Yadayim before eating a donut that is saturated in oil? Saturating in oil means a lot of oil. It means that the person’s hands will become moistened with the oil. Now we learned that oil is one of the 7 liquids, and therefore the answer seems to be that one should make Netilat Yadayim beforehand. But, the answer is not that simple. Halacha says that it would depend on the type of oil. The oil referred to in ‘Yad Shachat Dam’ is olive oil. When dipping in olive oil one must wash first, but one is not required to wash when dipping into other types of oil. In the case of donuts, since most donuts are not fried in olive oil, we therefore say that in general donuts do not require a Netilah beforehand.

The question asked was about vegetable soup. Is it required to make a Netilat Yadayim before eating the vegetables that are dipped in the watery soup? To answer this, we refer back to the exemption. One would not have to make the Netilah because he would use a spoon to (Keli) AND because the water is cooked. And as we said one can be lenient when the liquid is cooked and a spoon or other apparatus is used.

The next question asked was about the minimum measurement of food required to qualify for a Netilat Yadayim. Chacham Ovadia Yoseph answers this and says one does not have to make a Netilat Yadayim if eating less than a Kezayit.

The question was asked about cereal. The normal way to eat cereal is in a bowl of milk, and milk is one of the 7 liquids. So does one have to wash before eating a bowl of cereal? The answer is NO. The exemption applies to this case as well, since both conditions are being met. First, one uses a spoon to eat the cereal, and second, the milk is considered cooked for it had undergone the pasteurization process which requires cooking. So, it would be permissible to eat cereal without making a Netilat Yadayim beforehand.

The Mishna Berura discusses dipping food in salt. The question was asked if it is required to make a Netilat Yadayim when dipping food into salt since salt is derived from water. The Halacha, we do not follow that opinion. We hold that salt is not considered a liquid, and as such washing beforehand would not be required.

The question was asked about liquid butter. Does a person have to wash before eating some crackers with liquid butter? The answer is that one has to make a Netilat Yadayim beforehand because even though that buttery sauce started off as a solid, it nevertheless took on the properties and subsequently the status of milk. Milk as we know is one of the seven liquids. So again one would have to make a Netilat Yadayim before dipping a food into a buttery sauce.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Is It Permissible To Ask A Goy To Perform A Task During Twilight On Friday Night and Saturday Night
Covering The Bread During Kiddush
Is A Button That falls Off A Shirt On Shabbat Considered Muktze
What Is The Proper Time For Ladies To Dip In The Mikveh On A Friday Night or Yom Tov Night
Spraying Insect Repellent on Shabbat
Asking a Non-Jew to Turn on One's Oven on Shabbat
Placing Roses in a Vase on Shabbat
Nursing or Expressing Breast Milk on Shabbat
Eating or Cutting Food With Lettering on Shabbat
Adding Personal Requests to One's Prayers on Shabbat
Laws of Sovea -Is It Permissible To Use A Napkin To Wipe Strawberries or A Similar Coloring Item From Your Face on Shabbat
The Laws of Tzoveia- Is It Permissible for Ladies To Wear Make-Up On Shabbat
Is It Permissible For A Chazan To Use A Tuning Fork On Shabbat
May A Person Make Netilat Yadayim On Shabbat if There Is Written Ink On His Hands That May Become Erased
The Various Stages of Accepting the "Neshama Yeteira" ("Additional Soul") During the Friday Night Prayer Service
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found