Netilat Yadayim upon Waking Up: Difference between revisions

# According to Ashkenazim, if one needs to go to the bathroom upon [[waking up]] and after going to the bathroom one will be ready for [[davening]], one should wash without a bracha upon [[waking up]] and after having gone to the bathroom wash again with the bracha of Al [[Netilat Yadayim]]. <ref> Magen Avraham 4:1 quotes the Ketavim of the Arizal as saying that one should wash with the Bracha and then go to the bathroom, however he disagrees and feels that it would be preferable to wash with a Bracha after going to the bathroom. He adds that if one needs to go to the bathroom, then it is forbidden to wash with a Bracha before going to the bathroom. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 2:7 and Mishna Brurah 4:4 agree with the Magen Avraham; one should wash with a Bracha after going to the bathroom. They add that one should also wash without a Bracha before going to the bathroom. </ref>

# According to Ashkenazim, if after having gone to the bathroom one will still not be ready for [[davening]] and will have to go to the bathroom another time before [[davening]] (as is common when one wakes up a long time before [[davening]]), one should wash without a Bracha upon [[waking up]], wash a second time without a Bracha after having gone to the bathroom the first time, and then wash a third time with a Bracha of Al [[Netilat Yadayim]] when one is ready for [[davening]] after having gone to the bathroom a second time. Some say that one does not need to wash before going to the bathroom and also that after having gone to the bathroom one should wash without a cup and without the Bracha, and then when one is ready for [[davening]] one should wash again using a cup and make the Bracha. <ref>

* If one is not going to be ready for [[davening]] after having gone to the bathroom the first time, the Beiur Halacha (4:1 s.v. Afliu) presents two opinions about when it is preferable to wash one's hands with the Bracha of Al [[Netilat Yadayim]]. The Chaye Adam holds that it is preferable to wash without a Bracha upon [[waking up]] and when one is ready for [[davening]] to wash again with the Bracha, while the Shaarei [[Teshuva]] holds that one should wash with the Bracha after going to the bathroom even if one is not totally ready for [[davening]]. The Beiur Halacha rules like the Chaye Adam that upon [[waking up]] one should wash without a Bracha and when one is ready for [[davening]] to wash again with the Bracha.  

* Rav Shlomo Zalman (quoted in Halichot Shlomo [[Tefilla]] 2:23, pg 23) rules like the Chaye Adam and states when one is washing one's hands after having gone to the bathroom in the morning and one knows that one will need to go to the bathroom again before [[davening]], the first time one should wash without a Bracha and after going to the bathroom the second time when one is ready for [[davening]] one should wash with the Bracha.  

# According to Sephardim, one may get dressed, go to the bathroom, and then wash and make the Bracha of [[Al Netilat Yadayim]]. However, it is preferable upon [[waking up]] to wash without a Bracha and then after having gone to the bathroom to wash again with a Bracha unless one has an urgent need to go to the bathroom, in which case one should go to the bathroom before washing one's hands. <Ref> Yalkut Yosef (vol 1, pg 384). Rav Ovadia Yosef in Halichot Olam (v. 1, p. 32) disagrees with the Ben Ish Chai (Toldot #6) who says that one should not touch one's clothes before [[Netilat Yadayim]]. This is quoted by [https://www.dailyhalacha.com/Display.asp?PageIndex=119&ClipID=1521 Rabbi Mansour on dailyhalacha.com]. Halacha Brurah 4:4 writes that if one needs to go to the bathroom one should first go to the bathroom and then wash one's hands with a Bracha of Al [[Netilat Yadayim]]. However, some are strict to wash twice, once before going to the bathroom and once afterward and only make the Bracha the second time. If the need to go to the bathroom is urgent then certainly one should go to the bathroom and only wash afterwards. </ref>