משנה ברורה או”ח א:ד
אין הרוח הולך אלא בג’ פעמים דהיינו פ”א על יד ימין ואח”כ על יד שמאל עד ג”פ בסירוגין
Outer Action
Just ‘washing your hands’ in the morning does not remove the tumah that is on them. The only way to remove the impurities of the night is by washing our right hand first, and then our left, and then continue alternating until we’ve washed each hand 3 times.
Inner Intention
The pnimiyus of this is that because the klippah is so strong it tries to come back after we wash it off. We wash it off the right hand and it jumps onto our left hand. We wash it off the left hand, and it jumps right back onto the right hand. Only when we’ve made a chazakah after chasing the impurities three times on each hand, does the tumah finally let go.
But there is a deeper message here as well. In pnimiyus, there are two components of an avodah. The right side represents the ohr, Hashem’s light, and the left side represents the kli, the physical vessel that we use to receive the ohr and spread it to the world.
We need to hold on to both sides at once; to know that everything is Hashem, Ein Od Milvado, and that at the same time we need to make ourselves into vessels to spread Hashem’s light throughout the world.
The klippah tries to fight from both sides. It attacks the right side by telling us that there are rules of nature and other factors besides Hashem that orchestrate events, cha”v. But then, when we wash our right hand of this klippah, it switches gears and attacks the left side and tries to poison our actions either by telling us to act because it is all in our hands alone, or by telling us that since it’s all in Hashem’s hands there is no point in us acting at all.
By Netilas Yadayim we infuse our day with the proper mindset. We wash our hands of the klippos and prepare for a day of acting for Hashem.
Moment of Mindfulness
Each time you wash your right hand, remind yourself that everything is Hashem. Each time you wash your left hand, remind yourself that Hashem still needs your actions.
Deep Dive
Why three times? The Arizal teaches that each washing represents a new spiritual awareness: Binah, Chochma, and Kesser. Each time we wash a hand we can have the proper right or left intention of each level. (The right is the correct perspective on Hashem’s role, the left is the correct perspective on our actions, as explained above.) Binah: An understanding that there is a physical world, but that Hashem is in charge and runs it. Chochma: An understanding that everything is Hashem, and so I don’t even see a world, it’s all Hashem. Kesser: Is when I understand that although Hashem is everything, my job is not to shun away the world. Hashem created the physical world, including the creations that seem to be so distant from Godliness, for a purpose, and I can fulfill my mission while simultaneously recognizing Ein Od Milvado. Obviously this is just a small understanding of these deep concepts, and for many the primary intentions mentioned in the main section above are simpler and more practical to use each morning.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 85.