Is it permissible to wash one’s hands with soap after leaving the toilet on Yom Kippur or only with water?
It is a matter of debate whether
afflictions other than eating and drinking, such as rechitza (washing
hands with water) and sicha (classically, smearing the skin with oil)
are of Torah origin or are Rabbinic (see Beit Yosef, Orach Chayim 611).
Rechitza is permitted when it is not for enjoyment but to remove dirt
(Shulchan Aruch, OC 513:1). The hygienic need for washing hands after use of the
toilet is no less significant than of dirt.
Your question is a good one because
sicha is more stringent than washing. The Yerushalmi (Yoma 8:1) says
that sicha is forbidden even when it is not for pleasure. The
gemara (Yoma 77ab) does permit putting oil on chatatim (a type
of skin disorder) or for the needs of the sick. Our questions are: 1. Is using
soap sicha? 2. If so, does the need for soap justify its
use?
The gemara (Yoma 76b) talks
of sicha in reference to oil. Tosafot (ibid. 77a) assumes that it
applies also to smearing animal fats on the skin. Apparently, the two main
ingredients in solid soap are vegetable oils and animal fat
(although liquid soaps, which we use because of melacha, are more
diverse). Yet soaps seem to be fundamentally different, in that the point of
sicha is usually to have the skin absorb the substance. This is also
evident from the gemara’s (Yoma 76b) portrayal of sicha as
being like drinking. In contrast, soap is intended to be applied and soon
thereafter removed with only a tiny amount being absorbed. However, we do find
very mainstream Acharonim, including the Mishna Berura (554:28) and the
Aruch Hashulchan (YD 117:29), who assume that using soaps is sicha. The
context of the latter is a discussion of whether it is permitted to use
non-kosher soaps, which depends on how far we take the equation between
sicha and drinking. On that topic, Rav Ovadia Yosef (Yechaveh Da’at
IV:43) adds to other reasons for leniency, the idea that using soap is “less
than regular sicha, as it is immediately washed away with water.” I do
not know that he meant that such “less than regular” sicha is permitted
on Yom Kippur, but the statement corroborates the salience of our distinction
and adds at least slightly to the grounds for leniency.
Why is sicha stricter than
washing (i.e., it is forbidden even without intention for enjoyment)? The Magen
Avraham (614:1) says that it is because sicha generally provides
greater enjoyment. Rabbeinu Manoach (Shvitat Assor 3:9) says that since most
people wash off dirt with water, using oil looks like it is being done for
enjoyment. Similarly, Tosafot Yom Hakippurim (Yoma 77b) says that since one can
use water, the higher level of sicha was not permitted without special
need. Since soap is rarely used for enjoyment, people are unlikely to be
confused of his intentions, and it has a function that water does not provide,
logic would seem to allow its use for hygiene just like water. Nevertheless, it
is quite possible that anything that is under the category of sicha is
forbidden even when it does not share the reasons for stringency. The Mishna
Berura (554:28) might imply this, as does the common ruling/practice to
forbid roll-on deodorant on Yom Kippur.
Still,
the above makes it easier to permit the use of soap based on need. The Shulchan
Aruch (OC 614:1) says that it is permitted to do sicha for a sick
person. It is logical (albeit, arguable) that it should be similarly permitted
to take action to prevent disease, which health experts say soap does.
Certainly, circumstances impact the degree of need to use soap. It also seems
hypocritical for one whose use of soap is inconsistent to pick Yom Kippur to be
careful about it. However, we believe that halacha permits use of soap on Yom
Kippur in cases where a basic level of hygiene calls for it. One should use
simple, not luxurious, soap, and it is even better to dilute it to the point
that it has a water-like consistency (see Dirshu 614:1 in the name of Ohr
L’tzion).
Machon Eretz Chemdah
