Shalom Rav.
The Berayta is conflicting itself, at the beginning it says that one must wash his hands then enter inside, and then it says that one must wash his hand(s) inside before everyone. Then it must be that begin and end of Berayta are not speaking about the same occasion (Ukimta). The native Ukimta is that of the Gemara that differentiates between eating and drinking.
I don't understand Magen Avraham's view (OC 170) of the Gemara. He says that in Haflaga one must always wash his hands inside. Then in which occasion (in Haflaga) one can wash his hands outside and enter inside?
Thanks in advance.
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Yedidya Israel,
System Administrator.
I do not believe the Gemara understood the Beraysa to be contradicting itself, and that therefore the Beraysa must be speaking about different cases. I understood that the end of the Beraysa which says that you must wash your hands after entering the room, to be explaining what the beginning of the Beraysa meant. Then R' Chisda qualifies the Beraysa's statement to be referring only to a person who wishes to drink but not to eat.
The Shulchan Aruch (A.C. 170:1) when bringing our Gemara seems to deviate slightly from what the Gemara says.
The Gemara says, that one who leaves in middle of a meal "Lihashtin Mayim", to relieve himself of liquid waste, must wash the hand he used to clean his feet. If he leaves to speak with a friend and does not return for a period of time, he must wash both hands. And when he washes, he should wash his hands in front of the other people by the meal so they should not suspect him of eating with unclean hands. Says R' Chisda, this last Halacha only applies where he wishes to drink further, but if he wants to continue eating there is no need for him to obviate his hands washing and he can even wash his outside the room. This is because the others would never suspect him of continuing to eat without washing since he himself would find this disgusting.
The implication of our Gemara is that R' Chisda is referring back to both cases in the Beraysa. However, the Shulchan Aruch only brings this difference between eating and drinking in the case where he left "Lihastin Mayim". He does not bring it in the case where the person left to converse with a friend.
This is the question that bothered the Magen Avraham. He answers, that perhaps the Shulchan Aruch held that one who leaves to speak with a friend must always wash inside upon returning. The reason being, that since he did not consciously defile his hands we do not assume that he would find it disgusting to continue eating without washing and he is therefore subject to suspicion.
The "Machtzis Hashekel" brings that the "Chemed Moshe" asks that this certainly doesn't fit with the simple understanding of our Gemara? Nevertheless this still seems to be the Shulchan Aruch's understanding of the Gemara.
Dovid Schloss