רחצה Rachtza: Wash the Hands

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Before eating, we wash our hands, thanking God for the commandment which impels us to mindfulness. What does washing our hands tell us? That we can become clean; that our bodies are sacred and deserving of care. Why wash hands, and not feet, as our Middle Eastern ancestors did? Not just because it’s impractical for seder guests to doff shoes, but because hands are the instruments with which we work in the world. It is our hands which plant and write, which caress and create—and also our hands which strike and poison and smash. We wash our hands not to absolve ourselves of responsibility, but to affirm the need to make our hands holy. At this season of freedom and rebirth, we consecrate our hands to the task of building freedom for all who suffer.

בָּרוּך אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת יָדָיִם:

Baruch atah, Adonai, eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu al n'tilat yadayim.

Blessed are You, Source of all Being, who sanctifies us with Your commandments, and commands us to wash our hands.


haggadah Section: Rachtzah
Source: Velveteen Rabbi