Netilas Yadayim - Left-Handed Individuals

QUESTION: How should a lefty wash netilas yadayim (in the morning or for bread)?

ANSWER: The Magen Avrohom (158:1) writes that when washing netilas yadayim, one begins by pouring water from the left hand on the right hand, and then the order is reversed. The Mishnah Beurah (4:22) explains that this is based on Kabbalistic considerations. The right side represents chessed (kindness) and the left side din (strict justice). By beginning netilas yadayim by pouring from the left hand on the right hand, we are representing that Hashem’s kindness should prevail over His strict justice.

The Beis Yosef cites a Zohar that implies that when waking in the morning, one should wash the left hand first. This appears to contradict another Zohar that states that the right hand is washed first for netilas yadayim on bread. The Beis Yosef offers two resolutions. One is that netilas yadayim in the morning and netilas yadayim for bread are not performed in the same way. In the second response, the Bais Yosef writes that the Zohar is not referring to washing the hands but rather to holding the cup to pour the water. The Kav Hayashar accepts the first response of the Beis Yosef, while the Magen Avrohom, Vilna Gaon, Rav Yakov Emden accept the second position of the Beis Yosef.

Igros Moshe (OC 3:32) writes that the Kav Hayashar was not known as a posek, and we therefore follow the Magen Avrohom, Vilna Gaon, Rav Yakov Emden who were major poskim and accepted the second explanation of the Beis Yosef. Thus, netilas yadayim, both in the morning and for bread, begins with the left hand washing the right. Additionally, according to this view, one should always lift the cup of water with the right hand, pass it to the left hand, and then pour the water onto the right hand. 

What order does a lefty follow? One might think that the lefty should reverse the order because his left hand has the status of a right hand for a righty. However, the Mishnah Berurah (OC 4:22) writes that a lefty follows the same sequence as a righty. Presumably, this is because the significance of the right hand for netilas yadayim is based on the symbolic meaning of right and left in Kabbalah. As noted, the right represents chessed which takes precedence over din. This is universally so and does not vary for a right-handed and left-handed individual.

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