06 Aug MUST A SOLDIER WASH HIS HANDS?

I. Four Exemptions
Soldiers in the field
are often pressed for
time and lack access to
basic necessities like
water. Of course, they
have to eat to sustain
their strength. Must a soldier wash his hands
ritually before eating bread? Or if water is

unavailable, must he limit his food to non-
bread items to avoid the obligation to wash?

Of course, this obligation is set aside when
it might endanger someone’s life. We are
discussing here the proper behavior when
things are calm, people are watching guard
and the other soldiers have some time to
organize their thoughts and actions.
The Mishnah (Eruvin 17a) says that the
Sages exempted four things in a military
encampment: 1) you not need an eruv, 2) you
do not have to wash your hands, 3) you may
take firewood from anywhere, regardless of
who owns the land or trees, 4) you may eat
demai (rabbinically forbidden produce from
which it is not certain that tithes have been
taken). While the exemption from eruv is
limited to the joint meal set aside for people
within the still-required enclosure, the
exemption from washing hands is exactly
what you think it means: someone at a

military encampment does not have to wash
his hands before eating bread. However, we
still have to define a military encampment
(machaneh) and any other parameters of this
exemption.
II. What Is A Military Encampment?
Rav Shlomo Goren (20th cen., Israel)
explore the parameters of these exemptions
in his broad discussion of eruvin and
carrying on Shabbos in a military base or
other encampment (Meshiv Milchamah,
vol. 1, no. 4). Rav Goren points out that
while the Mishnah merely mentions a
military encampment (machaneh), the
Gemara quotes a baraisa which limits the
exemptions to an encampment going out to
war (machaneh ha-yotzeis le-milchamah).
This difference carries great practical
relevance. Many military bases reside within
the country proper and serve soldiers who
are training or otherwise occupied during
peacetime. According to the Gemara, these
military bases do not benefit from the four
exemptions. In his discussion of these
exemptions, Rambam omits this limitation,
which might indicate that he also exempts
a soldier at a training base (Mishneh Torah,
Hilchos Melachim 6:13). However, Rav
Goren quotes Maggid Mishneh (Hilchos
Eruvin 1:3) who understands Rambam

as referring specifically
to soldiers going out to
war. Rav Goren adds
that Rambam exempts
soldiers both on their way
and returning, which also
implies that he is referring
to soldiers engaged in
warfare.
Rav Goren quotes Rav
Avraham Yeshayahu
Karelitz (20th cen., Israel)
who suggests that Rambam
only exempts soldiers on
their way (or returning
from) war. He does not
exempt soldiers encamped on the border,
even during wartime (Chazon Ish, Hilchos
Eruvin, Likkutim 112:6). Additionally,
he argues that the exemption applies only
to a group of soldiers large enough to be
considered an encampment. Individuals or
small groups are not exempted (although
they are, of course, exempted from anything
that could endanger their lives). Indeed, the
Talmud Yerushalmi (Eruvin 1:10) explicitly
says that an encampment means that there
are at least ten people. However, Rav
Goren questions whether Rambam accepts
this limitation and points out that Maggid
Mishneh (ibid.) says that the Bavli rejects
the Yerushalmi’s definition of machaneh.
According to Chazon Ish, only groups of
ten or more soldiers who are in (or returning
from) the battlefield are exempt from
washing hands. According to Rav Goren,
even individuals and small groups are
exempt. Rav Goren adds that even soldiers
at bases or positions near the border are
exempt — any soldier in a constant state
of preparedness, responsible for ongoing
security. He quotes Rabbenu Yehonason’s
commentary to the Rif (Eruvin 4b in
the Rif) who says that the Sages did not
exempt soldiers from an eruv techum,
which extends the permissible travel area,
since the soldiers are not actually fighting
and the enemy is not approaching them.
According to R. Yehonason, the four
exemptions apply even when there is no
active battle. His point is that there is no
need for a fifth exemption for eruv techum
but the four exemptions still apply in that
situation.
III. Hand Covering
Significantly, Rav Yaakov Ben Asher
(14th cen., Germany-Spain) includes the
military encampment exemption in the
laws of handwashing (Tur, Orach Chaim
158). Rav Yosef Karo (16th cen., Israel)
does not mention soldiers but effectively
extends this exemption to someone in a
desert (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim
158:8). Rav Avraham Gombiner (17th

cen., Poland) quotes R. Yehonason as saying
that even though you can access water
within four Talmudic miles, if you qualify
for this exemption then you do not need to
do so. However, Rav Yehudah Ashkenazi of
Tiktin (18th cen., Poland) quotes the view
that even if you qualify for the exemption,
you must still cover your hand with a napkin
or something similar (Ba’er Heitev, ad loc.,
15). In other words, you must try to wash
your hands or otherwise protect the food
from contact as much as possible. Normally,
if you do not have water with which to wash
your hands then you may not eat bread. A
soldier in a military encampment may eat
bread but he must take every step possible to
prevent his fingers from touching the bread.
Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan (20th cen., Russia)
rules likewise (Mishnah Berurah, ad loc.,
36). Perhaps for this reason, Rav Shlomo
Min-HaHar (20th cen., Israel) writes that an
Israeli soldier going out to war may cover
his hands and eat bread without washing
(Dinei Tzava U-Milchamah, par. 111).
However, Rav Nachum Rabinovitch (21st
cen., Israel) writes that there is no need to
cover your hands (Melumedei Milchamah,
no. 29). He quotes Rav Yechiel Michel
Epstein (19th cen., Russia) who rules
against the stringency to require hand
covering (Aruch Ha-Shulchan, ad loc., 14).
Similarly, Rav Zechariah Shlomo (cont.,
Israel), without mentioning the option of
hand covering, writes that a soldier at the
front who is hungry but cannot leave his post
to wash his hands is allowed to eat without
washing his hands (Hilchos Tzava, ch. 28,
par. 9). Rav Yitzchak Shilat (cont., Israel)
likewise writes that a soldier in a wartime
encampment or position near the border
does not have to wash before eating bread
if the washing causes even a little bother

(Medinah Milchamah Ve-Kavanos Ha-
Torah, pp. 299-300). This exemption does

not apply to a soldier in a peaceful setting.
Is is important to note that Rav Rabinovitch
(ibid.) emphasizes that a soldier must
still strive to maintain hygiene for health
purposes.