263. Drying the Hands

40:5 After one has washed both hands, he should rub them together and raise them to the level of his head as per Psalms 134:2, “Raise your hands…” Before drying the hands, one recites the blessing “al netilas yadayim,” that we are obligated in the mitzvah of washing the hands. Yes, one typically says a blessing before performing an act and here he has already washed his hands; the reason this is different is because the hands are often unclean before washing. The Sages therefore instituted that in this case the bracha be recited after washing. However, we say the blessing before drying, so we are still engaged in performing the mitzvah. (If he forgot to say the bracha before drying, one may do it after – Rema 158:11.) One who washes each hand twice should pour water on each hand once, rub them and recite the blessing, and then pour the water the second time. (Mishnah Brurah 158:41 disagrees and says to recite the bracha after the second pouring; such is the accepted practice.) We must dry our hands well and not dry them on our clothes; doing so is believed to spiritually impair one’s memory. 40:6 If a person washed one hand and then touched it with his unwashed hand, or if another person touched his washed hands with their unwashed hands, the water on his hand becomes impure. He must therefore dry his hands and wash again. If he already said the bracha, he does not repeat it upon re-washing.