Al Netilas Yadayim
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After Modeh Ani, the hands are washed, and the first bracha of the day is said over it. This lesson reads that bracha slowly, in the same way as Lesson 1.
Where the bracha comes from: the Gemara
The Gemara in Berachos (60b) goes through the first moments of the day, action by action, and gives the bracha for each one: on hearing the rooster, on opening the eyes, on getting dressed, and so on. Among them it says: when a person washes his hands, he says Al Netilas Yadayim. Our bracha is one link in that chain of morning brachos, which Lesson 3 reads in full.
כִּי מָשֵׁי יְדֵיהּ, לֵימָא: ״בָּרוּךְ … אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת יָדַיִם״
Every morning, a new creation
In the first law of his chapter on washing the hands, the Alter Rebbe gives the reason for the morning washing. Notice two words from our texts in his Hebrew: מַחֲזִיר (the root ח־ז־ר of shehechezarto) and מְקַדֵּשׁ (the root ק־ד־ש of kid’shonu, in the same Pi’el).
כְּשֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מַחֲזִיר לוֹ נִשְׁמָתוֹ – נַעֲשֶׂה כִּבְרִיָּה חֲדָשָׁה … כְּמוֹ כֹּהֵן שֶׁהָיָה מְקַדֵּשׁ יָדָיו מִן הַכִּיּוֹר בְּכָל יוֹם קֹדֶם עֲבוֹדָתוֹ“…when the Holy One, blessed be He, restores one’s soul, he becomes like a newly-created being, as in the verse, ‘They are new every morning...’ … We should therefore sanctify ourselves in His holiness by washing our hands from a container [to prepare] to carry out His service and minister to Him, like a kohen who would sanctify his hands from the Basin [in the Beis HaMikdash] every day before [beginning] his service.”
Purity, or holiness?
The translators’ note on this law draws out the difference. The Rambam counts “the purity of one’s hands” among the conditions for prayer; the Alter Rebbe here speaks not of purity (taharah) but of sanctification (kedushah). Purification removes what would disqualify a person from serving Hashem; sanctification raises his level of holiness, and not only for prayer: the morning washing prepares him for his Divine service throughout the whole day. The note refers the reader to Likkutei Sichos, vol. 31, p. 185ff.
Hands and water: what the washing does inside us
The commentary of the Chabad.org online siddur brings two teachings on the words of this bracha. On קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ: the word shares its root with kiddushin, the consecration of a bride, because the mitzvos bind a Jew to Hashem in a complete union (Tanya, ch. 46). On the washing itself: the hands, which reach out to what is outside us, stand for the emotions, and clear, calm water stands for the intellect. Pouring water on the hands means letting the mind, and above all its G‑dly side, guide the heart; and it is called netilah, “removal”, because it removes what is undesirable in the emotions (Igros Kodesh of the Rebbe Rayatz, vol. 3, p. 305).
“You”: in prayer we speak to Hashem directly
Every bracha opens בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, “Blessed are You”. Here, in the first bracha of the day, we meet that word for the first time: in prayer we do not speak about Hashem, we speak to Him, in the second person. Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh wrote:
When we learn Torah, we relate to G‑d, the Giver of the Torah, as He, in the third person.
He is the pronoun of Yaacov, the third father, the pillar of Torah-study.
When we pray to G‑d, we relate to Him as You, in the second person.
You is the pronoun of Yitzchak, the second father, the pillar of prayer.
When we devote ourselves to acts of lovingkindness, we emulate G‑d Himself, to the extent that His I enters and merges with our I - I am working as an agent of G‑d, and we are taught that a devoted agent is actually an extended self of the one he is acting for.
I is the pronoun of Abraham, the first father, the pillar of lovingkindness.
— Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh
Two connections of my own
These are my own connections, not Rabbi Ginsburgh’s words.
The three pillars. I hear in his words the Mishnah of Shimon the Righteous, who “would say: The world stands on three things: Torah, the service of G‑d, and deeds of kindness” (Avos 1:2). The Sages call prayer “the service that is in the heart” (Taanis 2a). So the three pronouns sit on the three pillars: He in Torah study, You in prayer, I in kindness.
עַל שְׁלֹשָׁה דְבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד: עַל הַתּוֹרָה, וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה, וְעַל גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים.The devoted agent. Behind “a devoted agent is actually an extended self” I hear the rule of the Sages שְׁלוּחוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם כְּמוֹתוֹ, “a person’s agent is like himself”. The Mishnah in Berachos (34b) applies it to prayer itself: if the chazzan errs, it is a bad sign for those who sent him, because a person’s agent is like himself. The Gemara in Kiddushin (41b) learns the rule from the Pesach offering: the verse says the whole congregation of Israel slaughters it, yet only one person slaughters.
In our bracha. Right after אַתָּה, “You”, the bracha goes on: אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, “Who sanctified us with His commandments”. The You of prayer and the He of the Torah’s commandments meet in one sentence.
Talmud, Taanis 2a · paraphrased · sefaria.org/Taanit.2a
Mishnah, Berachos 34b (5:5) · paraphrased · sefaria.org/Berakhot.34b
Talmud, Kiddushin 41b · paraphrased; the verse is Shemos 12:6 · sefaria.org/Kiddushin.41b
The practice, in brief (Chabad custom)
- A cup of water and a basin are prepared by the bed the night before.
- On waking, one says Modeh Ani, then takes the cup in the right hand, passes it to the left, and pours first on the right hand, then on the left, alternating, three times on each hand (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 4:4, 4:10).
- The Chabad custom is not to say the bracha at the bedside: after dressing and using the restroom, one washes again in the same way, and only then says Al Netilas Yadayim (Chabad.org).
- Lubavitch practice is to dry the hands before the bracha and to say it with the hands raised to the height of the temples (Sefer HaMinhagim, p. 5).
This is a description of the custom, not a ruling. For any practical question, ask your rav.
Chabad.org Staff, “Morning Hand-Washing — Get Your Hands Wet!” · chabad.org/…/aid/1016342
Sefer HaMinhagim — The Book of Chabad-Lubavitch Customs (Kehot), p. 5 · as cited in the notes to Shulchan Aruch HaRav 4:7 (n. 40) · chabad.org/…/aid/3268366
Siddur Tehillat Hashem (Nusach Ari Zal), morning, upon awakening · text as on Chabad.org, “To Be Said Upon Awakening” · chabad.org/…/aid/283764
Al Netilas Yadayim
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, | Boruch Ato Ado-noi, | Blessed are You, Hashem, |
| אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, | Elo-keinu Melech ho’olom, | our G‑d, King of the universe, |
| אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, | asher kid’shonu b’mitzvosov | Who has sanctified us with His commandments |
| וְצִוָּֽנוּ עַל נְטִילַת יָדָֽיִם: | v’tzivonu al n’tilas yodoyim. | and commanded us concerning the washing of the hands. |
From “You” to “He”. The bracha opens in the second person (Boruch Ato, “Blessed are You”) and continues in the third (b’mitzvosov, “with His commandments”; v’tzivonu, “and He commanded us”). Every bracha in the Siddur has this shape, so it is worth noticing from the first one.
| בָּרוּךְ | = | בָּרוּךְ |
| boruch blessed | root ב־ר־ך, passive pattern katul |
| אַתָּה | = | אַתָּה |
| Ato You | pronoun “You” (m.) |
| ה׳ | = | ה׳ |
| Ado-noi Hashem | the Divine Name: not analysed |
| אֱלֹקֵינוּ | = | אֱלֹקֵינוּ |
| Elo-keinu our G‑d | the Name with the ending “our”: not split |
| מֶֽלֶךְ | = | מֶלֶךְ |
| Melech King | root מ־ל־ך |
| הָעוֹלָם | = | עוֹלָם | + | הָ |
| ho’olom the world, the universe | olom, world (root ע־ל־ם) | “the” |
| אֲשֶׁר | = | אֲשֶׁר |
| asher Who | relative pronoun |
| קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ | = | ◌נוּ | + | קִדְּשָֽׁ |
| kid’shonu has sanctified us | “us” | root ק־ד־ש, pi’el past |
| בְּמִצְוֹתָיו | = | ◌ָיו | + | מִצְוֹת | + | בְּ |
| b’mitzvosov with His commandments | his, on a plural noun | mitzvos, plural of מִצְוָה (root צ־ו־ה) | with, by |
| וְצִוָּֽנוּ | = | ◌נוּ | + | צִוָּֽ | + | וְ |
| v’tzivonu and commanded us | “us” | root צ־ו־ה, pi’el past | and |
| עַל | = | עַל |
| al concerning, upon | preposition |
| נְטִילַת | = | ◌ת | + | נְטִילַ |
| n’tilas the taking up, washing of | construct form “the … of” | netilah, root נ־ט־ל |
| יָדָֽיִם | = | ◌ָֽיִם | + | יָד |
| yodoyim hands | dual ending: a pair (here in pause) | yad, hand |
- Lesson 1 §G1 · The root and the three-part word: most words are built on a three-letter root; a word = prefix + stem + ending
- Lesson 1 §G2 · Hidden root letters: yud, vav and hei can change shape or drop; a dagesh can mark a merged letter
- Lesson 1 §G3 · One-letter prefixes: ve- and, be- in/with, le- to, mi- from, she- that: written joined to the next word
- Lesson 1 §G4 · Pronouns: standalone and attached: ani I, Ato You; endings -i my/me, -cho/-echo your, -einu our, -o/-ov his
- Lesson 1 §G5 · Nouns: masculine, feminine, plural: feminine -oh, which becomes -as/-os before an ending; plurals -im and -os; vowels shorten as the word grows
- Lesson 1 §G6 · Adjectives, and sentences without “is”: the adjective follows its noun and agrees with it; put first, it makes a sentence with no word for “is”
- Lesson 1 §G8 · Present and past: who is speaking: the present (participle) changes for gender and number; the past adds person endings such as -ti I, -to you, -nu we
Hebrew has no separate word for “the”. It joins הַ to the front of the noun and doubles the next letter with a dagesh: יוֹם, “a day”, becomes הַיּוֹם, “the day, today”. There is no word for “a”: מֶלֶךְ alone means “a king”.
Before the guttural letters (alef, hei, ches, ayin, reish), which cannot take a dagesh, the vowel of the hei changes instead. Before alef, ayin and reish it is usually a kamatz: עוֹלָם becomes הָעוֹלָם, “the world”.
The hei hides inside a prefix. When be-, le- or ke- (§G3) comes before the article, the hei drops out and its vowel moves to the prefix. Le- plus ha- plus בְּקָרִים gives לַבְּקָרִים, “to the mornings”, the verse at the end of Modeh Ani. In the same way בַּבֹּקֶר means “in the morning”. A patach under be- or le-, with a dagesh after it, is the sign of a hidden “the”.
| הַיּוֹם | hayom | the day, today | ha- + dagesh |
| הָעוֹלָם | ho’olom | the world | ho- before ayin |
| לַבְּקָרִים | labkorim | to the mornings | le- + ha-: the hei hides |
| בַּבֹּקֶר | baboker | in the morning | be- + ha- |
To say “the X of Y”, Hebrew puts two nouns side by side, with no word for “of”: מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, “King of the world”; נְטִילַת יָדַיִם, “the washing of the hands”. The first noun is in the construct form (smichus, “leaning”): it leans on the second.
- The article goes on the second noun only, and makes the whole chain definite: מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם is “the King of the world”. The first noun never takes the article.
- The first noun may change shape. The feminine hei becomes a tav, as before an ending (§G5): נְטִילָה, “washing”, becomes נְטִילַת. The plural -im becomes -ei: פָּנִים becomes פְּנֵי, “the face of”, which is the word inside לִפְנֵי, “before”.
- The two words are said as one unit; the stress falls on the second, and the vowels of the first often shorten.
Every bracha contains one: מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם. The Shabbos prayer נִשְׁמַת כָּל חַי opens with another.
| מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם | Melech ho’olom | King of the world | article on the second noun |
| נְטִילַת יָדַיִם | n’tilas yodayim | washing of the hands | feminine -oh becomes -as |
| פְּנֵי | p’nei | the face of | plural -im becomes -ei |
| נִשְׁמַת כָּל חַי | nishmas kol chai | the soul of every living being | Shabbos morning |
The pi’el is the binyan (§G7) whose sign is a doubled middle root letter, marked by a dagesh: קִדֵּשׁ, “he sanctified”, with a dagesh in the dalet. In the past, the first root letter has a chirik; in the present, a mem with a sheva comes in front: מְקַדֵּשׁ, “sanctifies”, as in the closing words of the Shabbos Kiddush: מְקַדֵּשׁ הַשַּׁבָּת, “Who sanctifies the Shabbos”.
The pi’el often turns a state into an action: קָדוֹשׁ is “holy”, and קִדֵּשׁ is “made holy”.
In the bracha, both verbs are pi’el:
- קִדְּשָׁנוּ, “He sanctified us”: the dagesh is in the dalet.
- צִוָּנוּ, “He commanded us”: the dagesh is in the vav. Read it carefully: a vav with a dot and a kamatz under it is a doubled consonant vv, not the vowel u. The final hei of the root צ־ו־ה has dropped (§G2).
Many Siddur words come from the root ק־ד־ש, for example קָדוֹשׁ (holy), קְדֻשָּׁה (holiness) and קִדּוּשׁ (Kiddush).
| קָדוֹשׁ | kodosh | holy | adjective |
| קִדֵּשׁ | kidesh | he sanctified | pi’el, past |
| מְקַדֵּשׁ | m’kadesh | sanctifies | pi’el, present |
| צִוָּה | tzivo | he commanded | pi’el, past; dagesh in the vav |
| קִדּוּשׁ | kiddush | sanctification | noun of the pi’el |
The personal endings (§G4) attach to verbs too, and then they name the object: קִדְּשָׁנוּ, “He sanctified us”; צִוָּנוּ, “He commanded us”.
But -nu is also the past-tense ending for “we did” (§G8). The vowels tell them apart:
- קִדַּשְׁנוּ, “we sanctified”: a patach under the dalet, a sheva under the shin.
- קִדְּשָׁנוּ, “He sanctified us”: a sheva under the dalet, a kamatz under the shin.
In the bracha it is Hashem Who acts and we who receive: “Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us”.
| קִדְּשָׁנוּ | kid’shonu | He sanctified us | object “us” |
| קִדַּשְׁנוּ | kidashnu | we sanctified | subject “we” |
| וְצִוָּנוּ | v’tzivonu | and He commanded us | object “us” |
| חָזַרְנוּ | chozarnu | we returned | subject “we” (§G8) |
From a simple (kal) root, the pattern with a kamatz under the first letter and a וּ before the last makes a passive participle, an adjective meaning “-ed”: בָּרוּךְ, “blessed”; כָּתוּב, “written”; אָסוּר, “forbidden”.
Like every participle (§G8) it agrees in gender and number: בָּרוּךְ (m.), בְּרוּכָה (f.), בְּרוּכִים (pl.).
So בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה is “Blessed (are) You”: the adjective first and no word for “are”, the same shape as רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ in Modeh Ani (§G6).
| בָּרוּךְ | boruch | blessed | root ב־ר־ך |
| בְּרוּכָה | b’rucho | blessed (f.) | feminine |
| כָּתוּב | kosuv | written | root כ־ת־ב |
| אָסוּר | osur | forbidden | root א־ס־ר |
Things that come in natural pairs take a special plural, the dual, ending in -ayim: יָד, “hand”, becomes יָדַיִם, “(two) hands”; עַיִן, “eye”, becomes עֵינַיִם; and so for ears and feet. The same ending appears in a few words of number and time: שְׁנַיִם, “two”; יוֹמַיִם, “two days”.
Do not confuse it with the plural -im (§G5): -im is one syllable, while -ayim has two, a patach and then a chirik.
At a pause. At the end of a verse or a bracha, words often lengthen a vowel. So the bracha ends with יָדָֽיִם, with a kamatz, pronounced yodoyim in our pronunciation.
With an ending, the dual behaves like a plural (§G4): יָדַי, “my hands”; יָדֶיךָ, “your hands”.
| יָדַיִם | yodayim | hands | dual |
| יָדָיִם | yodoyim | hands (end of the bracha) | pausal form |
| עֵינַיִם | einayim | eyes | dual |
| שְׁנַיִם | sh’nayim | two | number |
| יָדַי | yodai | my hands | dual + -ai “my” |
Al Netilas Yadayim
| Word | Transliteration | Meaning | Root | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בָּרוּךְ | boruch | blessed | ב־ר־ך | Qal passive participle, m.s. (pattern katul). Opens every bracha. |
| אַתָּה | Ato | You | — | Independent pronoun, 2nd m.s.: the bracha speaks to Hashem. |
| ה׳ | Ado-noi | Hashem (the Divine Name) | — | The Name; read Ado-noi only in actual prayer and brachos; in learning say “Hashem”. Not analysed grammatically. |
| אֱלֹקֵינוּ | Elo-keinu | our G‑d | — | The Name + 1st c.p. suffix ־ֵינוּ, “our”. Written here with ק, as is customary outside the siddur text. |
| מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם | Melech ho’olom | King of the universe | ע־ל־ם | Construct chain: מֶלֶךְ “king of” followed by הָעוֹלָם “the world” (the definite article הָ with עוֹלָם). Every bracha says it. |
| אֲשֶׁר | asher | Who | — | Relative pronoun. |
| קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ | kid’shonu | has sanctified us | ק־ד־ש | Pi’el past, 3rd m.s. קִדֵּשׁ + object suffix ־ָנוּ “us”. The dagesh in the ד marks the Pi’el. |
| בְּמִצְוֹתָיו | b’mitzvosov | with His commandments | צ־ו־ה | בְּ “with”, then מִצְוֹת (plural of מִצְוָה), then the 3rd m.s. suffix for plural nouns ־ָיו (“his”). |
| וְצִוָּֽנוּ | v’tzivonu | and commanded us | צ־ו־ה | וְ + Pi’el past, 3rd m.s. צִוָּה with the suffix ־נוּ “us”. Same root as מִצְוָה: a mitzvah is literally “that which is commanded”. |
| עַל | al | concerning | — | Preposition (lit. “on”); in brachos on mitzvos, “concerning”. |
| נְטִילַת | n’tilas | the washing (lit. taking, lifting) of | נ־ט־ל | Verbal noun f.s., pattern ketilah, in construct state (ה becomes ת). See the Alter Rebbe below on why netilah and not rechitzah. |
| יָדָֽיִם | yodoyim | hands | — | Dual of יָד (a two-letter noun), ending ־ַיִם for pairs. At the end of the bracha it takes the pausal form יָדָיִם (kamatz); in ordinary speech יָדַיִם. |
Netilah, not rechitzah. The Alter Rebbe explains that the Sages worded the bracha al netilas yadayim and not al rechitzas yadayim (“washing”) because the vessel used for washing is called a natla: the word itself teaches that the washing must be from a vessel. The translators’ note adds the reading of Rabbeinu Bachaye, that netilah means “raising”, as in “Raise your hands in holiness” (Tehillim 134:2).
| בָּרוּךְ boruch · blessed root ב־ר־ך · opens every bracha | אַתָּה Ato · You every bracha speaks directly to Hashem |
| מֶלֶךְ melech · King root מ־ל־ך · Modeh Ani, Melech ho’olom | עוֹלָם olom · world, universe root ע־ל־ם · Melech ho’olom in every bracha |
| מִצְוָה mitzvah · commandment root צ־ו־ה · b’mitzvosov v’tzivonu in every bracha on a mitzvah | נְשָׁמָה neshomo · soul root נ־ש־ם · nishmosi in Modeh Ani |
| אֱמוּנָה emuno · faith, faithfulness root א־מ־ן · emunosecho; also אָמֵן | קָדוֹשׁ kodosh · holy root ק־ד־ש · kid’shonu |
- Why is the bracha al netilas yadayim and not al rechitzas yadayim? Give the Alter Rebbe’s reason and the further reading mentioned in the translators’ note.
- The bracha moves from “You” to “His commandments”. Take another bracha you know by heart and check whether it has the same shape. Then: purity or holiness — which describes your own morning washing, and why does the Alter Rebbe choose the second? → see Lesson 1 §G4
- Explain why קִדְּשָׁנוּ means “He sanctified us” and not “we sanctified”. Then find the article “the” in the bracha, and say why the last word ends in -oyim and not in -im. → see §G12, §G9, §G14
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