Question: Our ten-year-old daughter poured herself some cereal for breakfast and realised that she had forgotten to wash her hands first. Does she have to throw it out?
Answer: The
Shulchan Aruch (OC 4:2; 3; 18) writes that one must wash one’s hands upon
waking up to remove the ruach ra’ah, bad spirit. One should
avoid touching one’s mouth and eyes, etc. before washing. The Mishna Berura
(4:10) writes that we should urge children to wash their hands, too, before
touching food (see Moreh Baetzba 2:60).
The Chayei Adam (1:2:2) quotes his grandson who demonstrates that things
prohibited due to ruach ra’ah are not prohibited bedieved. R’
Moshe Sternbuch (Teshuvos Vehanhagos 1:1) challenges this, writing that not all
forms of ruach ra’ah are equal. He quotes a story in which the Vilna
Gaon refused to eat such food, asking for it to be destroyed. Nonetheless, he
justifies buying food from places where the workers likely did not wash their
hands three times (see Shraga Hameir 7:171:1).
Likewise, the Mishna Berura (4:14) writes that food touched by one who
has not washed their hands is not prohibited to eat. Nonetheless, one should
wash the food itself three times, if possible.
R’ Ovadia Yosef (Yabia Omer OC 4:1) quotes many poskim who allow
one to eat the food, adding that one can wash the food if feasible. R’ Eliezer
Waldenberg (Tzitz Eliezer 13:2) adds that neither the Gemara, Rambam or
Shulchan Aruch make any mention of food being touched by one who has not washed
their hands becoming contaminated. He quotes the Malbim (Ortzos Hachaim, Eretz
Yehuda 4:4) who writes that we are not as concerned for ruach ra’ah
nowadays (see Kaf Hachaim OC 4:20).
R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Halichos
Shlomo 20:n25) quotes the Shulchan Aruch Harav who writes that we are lenient
with regards to children under bar-mitzva or bas-mitzva.
In conclusion, while one should be meticulous
about washing one’s hands properly in the morning, if one touched food
beforehand, the food does not need to be discarded.
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