Sakana - Ru'ach Ra'ah

QUESTION: Does Ru’ach Ra’ah still exist today? 

ANSWER: The Gemara (Pesachim 112a and various other places) warns us that we must be careful not to subject ourselves to ru’ach ra’ah (damaging spirits). The Gemara equates ru’ach ra’ah with Sakana (danger) and regarding some forms of ru’ach ra’ah the Gemara states “damav b’rosho” (one’s blood is on his own head), meaning that one should view this as mortal danger. However, the Magen Avrohom (173:1) writes that there are many forms of ru’ach ra’ah that no longer pose a danger.

For example, the Gemara (Yoma 77b) writes that one must wash hands before feeding bread to a young child, otherwise a ru’ach ra’ah will affect the bread. The Tur (OC 613) writes that this form of ru’ach ra’ah no longer exists. As such, there is no longer a requirement to wash one’s hands before touching bread that one will feed to a child.

Yet, in certain cases, we must still be careful regarding ru’ach ra’ah. Most notably, the Gemara (Shabbos 109a) states that when one awakes in the morning, one must wash their hands (three times) to remove ru’ach ra’ah. Until one does so, one must be careful not to touch one’s mouth, nose, eyes or ears so as not to allow the ru’ach ra’ah to enter into one’s body. Also, one may not touch food, since the ru’ach ra’ah will spread to the food. Although the Maharshal (Chulin 8:12) questions whether any form of ru’ach ra’ah still exists today, the consensus of most poskim is that this is still a concern. The halachos of removing ru’ach ra’ah from one’s hands are codified in Shulchan Aruch (OC 4:2-5). If one touched food before washing in the morning, the Mishnah Berurah (4:14) writes that bedieved (after the fact) the food may be eaten, but if possible, the food should be rinsed three times.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.