Starting today, about once a week you will find a practical spiritual practice here on As the Spirit Moves Me. The tip may come from the Jewish tradition or from other major religious tradition, such as from Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism. These practical spiritual practices are meant to be adaptable by anyone, and they also are meant to be quick and easy spiritual practices–things you can do in under 10 minutes per day. I hope you enjoy them and find them useful.
Jews have a practice of saying 100 blessings a day. Included in those blessings is a blessing said when washing hands. This may seem like a strange blessing to say, but I find it practical and meaningful. Plus, it’s a blessing anyone from any tradition can use. Here’s why.
When Jews wash their hands and say the blessing, we literally raise our hands up while doing so. When I was taught this blessing, I was told that we do this to remind ourselves to use our hands in service of the Source of creation. If you reminded yourself of this every time you washed your hands, you’d spend a lot of time considering how you use your hands…to complete work, to cook, to help a child button a shirt or tie shoes, to drive a car, to make love to your wife, to plant a flower, to write a check, etc.
In Hebrew, the words of the prayer are: Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melech ha-olam asher kidishanu b’mitz’votav v’tzivanu al n’tilat yadayim.Literally, however, the words in the prayer–netilat yadayim–mean “lifting up of the hands.”
More often than not, the prayer is translated in this way: Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the Universe Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning washing of hands. I prefer this translation: Blessed are You, God, Source of Creation, Who has sanctified us with His/Her commandments and commanded us to raise our hands in service.
Jews wash their hands upon rising from sleep, before studying sacred texts, and before prayer, as well as at many other times during the day. You can take on this practice as well and incorporate it into your day by adapting it into your own religious or spiritual tradition. Each time you wash your hands, raise them up before drying them, and simply say something as simple as, “I bless you, Source of Creation, and lift my hands in service to you.” Wiggle your wet fingers in the air, and then dry them off.
If you have rituals or prayers from your religious tradition that you think work well as practical spiritual practices, feel free to email them to me at namir (at) purespiritcreations.com.
