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Why do we wash our hands before eating bread?
by Rabbi Naftali Silberberg
There is a
Terumah must be kept pure, and the Kohen who eats it must be pure. Since a person's hands are active and might have come in contact with something unclean or impure, a Kohen must wash his/her1 hands before consuming terumah.
This applies only to bread, for olive oil and wine are not generally eaten directly with the hands.
In order to keep us ready for the time when we will once again be eating terumah - with the coming of our righteous Messiah, our rabbis instituted the washing of hands before eating any bread.
In order to insure that the
[Ed. note: you may also want to read "Why the difference between the morning hand washing, and before eating bread?" ]
Footnotes
- 1. The family of a Kohen shares many of his privleges. So although they do not participate in the Temple Service, the wife and (unwed) daughter of a Kohen do eat terumah.
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