Color Code: Case: Black; Ruling: Green or Red; Name of Tanna: Gold; Reason: Blue; Condition: Purple; Proof: Grey ; Rule: Fuscia
Chapter 2
Chapter Two further develops the rules of Netilas Yadayim. The first Mishna clarifies the rules of how many time a person must rinse their hands. The second Mishna identifies limitations on the ability to purify מים ראשונים. The third Mishna elaborates on the previous Mishna and also identifies the area of the hand to which the decrees of Tumas Yadayim and Nettilas Yadayim apply. The last Mishna discusses cases where a doubt (Safek) has arisen regarding the purification status of the hands or the water.
Mishnah 2:1
We learned in the first Mishna of Chapter One that a person typically has to rinse his hands twice. The first is called מים ראשונים and its purpose is to purify the hands. The water itself, however, remains טמא. Therefore, you need a second rinse, called מים שניים, whose purpose is to be מטהר the impure water.
We also learned that the water used for Netilas Yadayim must initially originate as a full Revi'is. Only then can you use the שיירי טהרה for subsequent rinses. Importantly, everyone agrees that at the minimum the water must be sufficient to cover the whole hand.
Our Mishna describes how a person can purify his hand(s) with only a single rinse. It will depend on whether he is being מטהר one hand or two.
The last part of the Mishna discusses the status of the used water and whether the water itself is טהור or טמא. It does so--like in all the following Mishnayos--by referencing a case where a loaf of Terumah bread falls into the water. Because the rule is liquids that become Tamei have the power to be מטמא Chulin and Terumah, if the water is טמא then the Loaf is טמא, if the water is טהור then the Loaf is טהור as well.
נָטַל לְיָדוֹ אַחַת מִשְּׁטִיפָה אַחַת, יָדוֹ טְהוֹרָה.
לִשְׁתֵּי יָדָיו מִשְּׁטִיפָה אַחַת,
רַבִּי מֵאִיר מְטַמֵּא, עַד שֶׁיִּטֹּל מֵרְבִיעִית.
נָפַל כִּכָּר שֶׁל תְּרוּמָה, טָהוֹר. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי מְטַמֵּא:
(1) If he poured water over one of his hands with a single rinsing his hand becomes clean. If over both his hands with a single rinsing: Rabbi Meir declares them to be unclean until he pours a minimum of a quarter of a log of water over them. If a loaf of terumah fell on the water the loaf is clean. Rabbi Yose declares it to be unclean.
Mishnah 2:2
Mishna Two clarifies the purity status of the used rinse water in a case where one is obligated to rinse his hands twice, i.e., when both מים ראשונים and מים שניים are needed. As noted in Mishna One, the מים ראשונים itself remains טמא and it is only the מים שניים that are מטהר the מים ראשונים.
The Mishna teaches us that the מים שניים can only purify water that remains on a persons hands. Once the water falls to the ground or moves onto another surface, however, it can no longer be purified by the מים שניים, and, in fact, they will make the מים שניים themselves Tamei.
As part of the decree of Tumas Yadayim and Netillas Yadayim, the rule is so long as the מים ראשונים remain on the hand, it does not have the power to make either the hand or the subsequent מים שניים טמא.
נָטַל אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים לְמָקוֹם אֶחָד,
וְאֶת הַשְּׁנִיִּים לְמָקוֹם אַחֵר,
וְנָפַל כִּכָּר שֶׁל תְּרוּמָה עַל הָרִאשׁוֹנִים, טָמֵא,
וְעַל הַשְּׁנִיִּים, טָהוֹר.
נָטַל אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים וְאֶת הַשְּׁנִיִּים לְמָקוֹם אֶחָד,
וְנָפַל כִּכָּר שֶׁל תְּרוּמָה, טָמֵא.
נָטַל אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים וְנִמְצָא עַל יָדָיו קֵיסָם אוֹ צְרוֹר, יָדָיו טְמֵאוֹת,
שֶׁאֵין הַמַּיִם הָאַחֲרוֹנִים מְטַהֲרִים אֶלָּא הַמַּיִם שֶׁעַל גַּבֵּי הַיָּד.
רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, כֹּל שֶׁהוּא מִבְּרִיַּת הַמַּיִם, טָהוֹר:
(2) If he poured the first water over his hands [while standing] in one place, and the second water over his hands [while standing] in another place, and a loaf of terumah fell on the first water, the loaf becomes unclean. But if it fell on the second water it remains clean. If he poured the first and the second water [while standing] in one place, and a loaf of terumah fell onto the water, the loaf becomes unclean. If he poured the first water over his hands and a splinter or a piece of gravel is found on his hands, [his hands] remain unclean, because the latter water only makes the first water on the hands clean. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: if any creature from the water [was on the hands while they are being cleaned] they are clean.
Mishnah 2:3
Having established that מים ראשונים can only be purified while it remains on the hand itself, our Mishna clarifies two further points. First, that both Tumas Yadayim and Netillas Yadayim apply only up to the joint of the hand itself, and to no other parts of the body.* By limiting these decrees to the hand, the Mishna is providing both a leniency and a stringency. The leniency is that only a person's hand-- and not his arm or foot-- can become Tamei or make Terumah Tamei [assuming the person himself is not Tamei]. The stringency is that once any water used for Netillas Yadayim flows beyond the boundary of the hand itself, it will remain Tamei and the מים שניים will not have the power to be מטהר them. Our Mishna provides various scenarios where water flowed beyond the hand and the rule that applies in each case.
Second, the Mishna teaches us that after the first rinse a person's hand is Tahor even though the מים ראשונים remaining on the hand itself is Tamei--i.e., the מים ראשונים do not make the hand Tamei. This is only true so long as the מים ראשונים do not become Tamei from any other source, such as by touching another hand that is Tamei or other מים ראשונים. However, if the original מים ראשונים do become Tamei from another source, they then have the power to make the hand on which they rest, Tamei.
הַיָּדַיִם מִטַּמְּאוֹת וּמִטַּהֲרוֹת עַד הַפֶּרֶק.
כֵּיצַד.
נָטַל אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים עַד הַפֶּרֶק, וְאֶת הַשְּׁנִיִּים חוּץ לַפֶּרֶק, וְחָזְרוּ לַיָּד, טְהוֹרָה.
נָטַל אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים וְאֶת הַשְּׁנִיִּים חוּץ לַפֶּרֶק וְחָזְרוּ לַיָּד, טְמֵאָה
נָטַל אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים לְיָדוֹ אַחַת וְנִמְלַךְ וְנָטַל אֶת הַשְּׁנִיִּים לִשְׁתֵּי יָדָיו, טְמֵאוֹת.
נָטַל אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים לִשְׁתֵּי יָדָיו וְנִמְלַךְ וְנָטַל אֶת הַשְּׁנִיִּים לְיָדוֹ אַחַת, יָדוֹ טְהוֹרָה.
נָטַל לְיָדוֹ אַחַת וְשִׁפְשְׁפָהּ בַּחֲבֶרְתָּהּ, טְמֵאָה.
בְּרֹאשׁוֹ אוֹ בַכֹּתֶל, טְהוֹרָה.
נוֹטְלִין אַרְבָּעָה וַחֲמִשָּׁה זֶה בְצַד זֶה אוֹ זֶה עַל גַּבֵּי זֶה, וּבִלְבַד שֶׁיְּרַפּוּ שֶׁיָּבֹאוּ בָהֶם הַמָּיִם:
(3) Hands become unclean and are made clean as far as the joint. How so? If he poured the first water over the hands as far as the joint and poured the second water over the hands beyond the joint and the latter flowed back to the hands, the hands are clean. If he poured the first and the second water over the hands beyond the joint and they flowed back to the hands, the hands remain unclean. If he poured the first water over one of his hands and then changed his mind and poured the second water over both his hands, they are unclean. If he poured the first water over both his hands and then changed his mind and poured the second water over one of his hands, his one hand becomes clean. If he poured water over one of his hands and rubbed it on the other hand it remains unclean. If he rubbed it on his head or on the wall it is clean. Water may be poured over the hands of four or five persons, each hand being by the side of the other, or being one above the other, provided that the hands are held loosely so that the water flows between them.
Mishnah 2:4
Our Mishna discuses situations where a doubt (a ספק) has arisen over the status of a person's hands. This could be because we are uncertain whether (i) he correctly purified his hand (ליטהר), (ii) his Tamei hands transmitted Tumah to another object (i.e., a Terumah Loaf) (ולטמא), (iii) his hands actually became Tamei (ליטמא).
Generally speaking, in determining cases of doubt we are guided by the principle of חזקה, a working presumption that an object will remain in its previous, known state unless proven otherwise . So in this instance, if you know your hands are Tamei, they should remain so until we are certain that they have been properly purified. This is true in general, however, when it comes to doubtful cases of Tumah we are guided by two additional principles. First, a doubt that arises in the public domain (רשות הרבים) will generally be ruled on leniently. Second, a doubt arising in a private domain (רשות היחיד) will generally be ruled on stringently.
As our Mishna will teach, the Chachomim treated uncertainties related to Tumas Yadayim and Netillas Yadayim even more leniently. So that in cases where we would typically be stringent, we are lenient. Further, in most cases of doubt we view the situation post facto, after the fact, i.e., if someone used the doubtful water to rinse his hands and went on to touch a Tahor loaf, how should we treat the loaf. In the cases outlined in our Mishna a person would be allowed to use the doubtful water even in the first instance.
The Mishna begins with the situation where a person's hands are certainly Tamei and there is some doubt and uncertainty whether he properly washed his hands. If washed properly, his hands are Tahor, if not, they remain Tamei. The uncertainties described include the factors described in the first Perek regarding the amount and/or the nature of the water itself.
The second half of the Mishna describes a number of situations in which a person in uncertain whether his hands contracted Tumah (ליטמא) or his Tamei hands transmitted Tumah to another object (ולטמא). A concise version of this Mishna is brought in Mesechtas Taharos 4:7 and 4:11.
סָפֵק נַעֲשָׂה בָהֶם מְלָאכָה סָפֵק לֹא נַעֲשָׂה בָהֶם מְלָאכָה,
סָפֵק יֵשׁ בָּהֶם כַּשִּׁעוּר סָפֵק שֶׁאֵין בָּהֶם כַּשִּׁעוּר,
סָפֵק טְמֵאִים סָפֵק טְהוֹרִין,
סְפֵקָן טָהוֹר,
מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאָמְרוּ, סְפֵק הַיָּדַיִם לִטָּמֵא וּלְטַמֵּא וְלִטָּהֵר, טָהוֹר.
רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, לִטָּהֵר, טָמֵא.
כֵּיצַד.
הָיוּ יָדָיו טְהוֹרוֹת וּלְפָנָיו שְׁנֵי כִכָּרִים טְמֵאִים, סָפֵק נָגַע סָפֵק לֹא נָגַע,
הָיוּ יָדָיו טְמֵאוֹת וּלְפָנָיו שְׁנֵי כִכָּרִים טְהוֹרִים, סָפֵק נָגַע סָפֵק לֹא נָגַע.
הָיוּ יָדָיו אַחַת טְמֵאָה וְאַחַת טְהוֹרָה וּלְפָנָיו שְׁנֵי כִכָּרִים טְהוֹרִים, נָגַע בְּאַחַד מֵהֶם, סָפֵק בַּטְּמֵאָה נָגַע סָפֵק בַּטְּהוֹרָה נָגַע.
הָיוּ יָדָיו טְהוֹרוֹת וּלְפָנָיו שְׁנֵי כִכָּרִים, אֶחָד טָמֵא וְאֶחָד טָהוֹר, נָגַע בְּאַחַד מֵהֶן, סָפֵק בַּטָּמֵא נָגַע סָפֵק בַּטָּהוֹר נָגַע.
הָיוּ יָדָיו אַחַת טְמֵאָה וְאַחַת טְהוֹרָה וּלְפָנָיו שְׁנֵי כִכָּרִים אֶחָד טָמֵא וְאֶחָד טָהוֹר, נָגַע בִּשְׁתֵּיהֶן, סָפֵק טְמֵאָה בַטָּמֵא וּטְהוֹרָה בַטָּהוֹר, אוֹ טְהוֹרָה בַטָּמֵא וּטְמֵאָה בַטָּהוֹר,
הַיָּדַיִם כְּמוֹ שֶׁהָיוּ וְהַכִּכָּרִים כְּמוֹת שֶׁהָיוּ:
(4) If there was a doubt whether any work has been done with the water or not, A doubt whether the water contains the requisite quantity or not, A doubt whether it is unclean or clean, In these cases the doubt is considered to be clean because they have said in a case of doubt concerning hands as to whether they have become unclean or have conveyed uncleanness or have become clean, they are considered to be clean. Rabbi Yose says: in a case [of doubt as to] whether they have become clean they are considered to be unclean. How so? If his hands were clean and there were two unclean loaves before him and there was a doubt whether he touched them or not; Or if his hands were unclean and there were two clean loaves before him and there was a doubt whether he touched them or not; Or if one of his hands was unclean and the other clean and there were two clean loaves before him and he touched one of them and there was a doubt whether he touched it with the unclean hand or with the clean hand; Or if his hands were clean and there were two loaves before him one of which was unclean and the other clean and he touched one of them and there was a doubt whether he touched the unclean one or the clean one; Or if one of his hands was unclean and the other clean and there were two loaves before him one of which was unclean and the other clean, and he touched both of them, and there is a doubt whether the unclean hand touched the unclean loaf or whether the clean hand touched the clean loaf or whether the clean hand touched the unclean loaf or whether the unclean hand touched the clean loaf The hands remain in the same state as they were before and the loaves remain in the same state as they were before.