In Judaism, ritual washing, or ablution, takes two main forms. A tevilah (טְבִילָה) is a full body immersion in a mikveh, and a netilat yadayim which is the washing of the hands with a cup (see Handwashing in Judaism).
References to ritual washing are found in the Hebrew Bible, and are elaborated in the Mishnah and Talmud. They have been codified in various codes of Jewish law and tradition, such as Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah (12th century) and Joseph Karo’s Shulchan Aruch (16th century.) These customs are most commonly observed within Orthodox Judaism. In Conservative Judaism, the practices are normative with certain leniencies and exceptions. Ritual washing is not generally performed in Reform Judaism.
The Hebrew Bible includes various regulations about bathing:
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Author: Wikipedia
Keywords: Ablution, Ritual washing, Washing, Washing with water, Baptism, Water baptism, Wash, Washed, Water ablution, Ceremonial washing, Bathe, Bathing, Hand washing, Washing hands, unwashed hands, Hygiene, Hygienic, purify, purification, ritual purification, unclean
Bible reference(s): 1 Samuel 16:5, 2 Chronicles 29:5, Exodus 19:10, Exodus 29:4, Exodus 30:19, Exodus 40:31, Hebrews 9:10, Leviticus 15:11, Leviticus 16:24, Leviticus 22:4, Mark 7:3, Matthew 15:2, Numbers 19:7, Psalms 26:6, Psalms 73:13
Source: This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Ritual washing in Judaism,” which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
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