267. Human Effort

40:13 Water for hand-washing must be poured over one’s hands by way of human effort, not by sticking them under flowing water. In the case of a faucet, the water that comes out from an initial burst of pressure is considered the result of human effort; subsequent water that flows out is not. In order to wash from a tap, one must ensure that the water from the initial burst covers his hand. He then shuts the tap and repeats. If one isn’t sure if he’s doing it right, he should not do this. One may not wash in this method from a vessel with a small tap that only permits a thin stream of water to flow. 40:14 One may not eat bread without washing beforehand, even if he wants to wrap his hands to avoid touching the bread. When traveling, one must travel as far as four mil ahead or one mil back in order to get water for washing. (The word “mil” looks like “mile,” but it’s more the size of a kilometer. Four mil is about 2.5 miles and one mil is about .6 miles.) If there isn’t water to be found in this radius, or if one is afraid to become separated from his traveling companions, or if some other extenuating circumstance prevents one from washing his hands, then he may wrap his hands or wear gloves to eat bread.