Tahara/Tum'a
Introduction to Tahara/Tum'a
Introduction to Tahara/Tum'a
The Torah commands us to be kedoshim (holy, or set apart), requiring purity in what we eat, how we speak, what we wear, and how we behave. Tum'a is spiritual impurity generally resulting from transitions from life to death (even in a small measure; for instance—sleep or cutting nails). Tum'a inhibits or blocks us from achieving holiness.
Since we do not have a “red heifer” with which to make purifying water solutions, all people are considered to have some level of tum'a today.
Although there are three reasons to ritually wash hands--to add kedusha; to remove tum'a; and to remove dirt--tum'a normally has nothing to do with physical dirt. There are many types and levels of tum'a, with no exact progression. The following guideline is approximately in descending order from most impure to least:

Sources of the Different Levels of Tum'a
  • Dead body (touching or being in same building with a dead body);
  • Cemetery;
  • Carcass of any dead animal not slaughtered by shechita;
  • Women during and after menstruation or after childbirth (but before they immerse in a mikva);
  • Sleep;
  • Possibly a bathroom;
  • Your hands' transferring tum'a to wet food;
  • Your hands' transferring tum'a to bread;
  • Food from under a bed on which someone slept;
  • Intercourse or seminal emission;
  • Having your beard, hair, or nails cut;
  • Leather shoes;
  • Touching body parts.
Depending on the level of tum'a, purifying may require:
  • Washing your hands by the Three-Times Method.
  • Washing your hands by the One-Time Method.
  • Immersion in a mikva. OR
  • Sprinkling with water that had been treated with ashes from a red heifer (which we do not have now).
Note Wearing a glove does not block your hand from receiving tum'a from urination or defecation. However, wearing a glove does block tum'a from touching your shoes or petting a dog.
Note Even though some tum'a can only be transmitted by contact (and sometimes by contact when the tamei item is wet), tum'at meit (the ritual impurity of a dead person) does get transmitted simply by being in the same covered area.  Therefore, food stored under a bed will get ruach ra'a during sleep, since sleep is considered to be a small version of death.
Tum'a: Causes
Tum'a: Animals
Tum'a: Animals
Wash your hands with a cup, using the One-Time Method, after touching any animal.
Reason Due to the dirt (which may carry tum'a due to feces and other impure substances) assumed to be on the animal. 
Tum'a: Bathroom
Music in the Bathroom
You should not listen to Jewish music containing lines from the Torah (psukim) while you are in the bathroom.
Reading Material in the Bathroom
You may not take a Jewish publication into the bathroom if it contains words of Torah. You may read a newspaper or magazine that is printed in Hebrew as long as there is no Torah content.
 
Tum'a: Books
Tum'a: Washing Hands and Books
You do not need to wash your hands before reading a book of hashkafa/halacha/Jewish philosophy or even Torah or Talmud from a book, unless you have touched something impure/tamei before reading.
Tum'a: Cemetery
Tum'a above Cemetery
Ritual impurity from a cemetery goes up to the sky, so a cohen should not fly over a cemetery.
 
Tum'a within Cemetery
Ritual impurity (tum'a) in a cemetery comes from being within 4 amot (7 feet) of a grave. This is horizontal distance, regardless of how deep the body is buried.
Note A cohen may be in a cemetery as long as he does not get closer than 4 amot (7 feet) to any grave and he does not stand under any tree which extends over a grave.
Cemetery Blessings

Once inside a cemetery, after not having been in one for at least 30 days, say:

 

Baruch ata adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam

asher yatzar etchem ba'din, v'zan v'chilkeil etchem ba'din,

v'heimit etchem ba'din, v'yodei'a mispar kulchem ba'din,

v'hu atid l'hachazir u'lhachayot etchem ba'din.

Baruch ata adonai mechayeh ha'meitim.

 

Then say Ata gibor l'olam adonai (the 2nd paragraph of the amida) to the end of the paragraph. Omit the blessing at the end as well as mashiv ha'ruach and morid ha'tal.

Tum'a: Contact with Dead Non-Jew
Tum'a: Contact with Dead Non-Jew
Contact with the body of a dead non-Jew confers tum'a, just as does contact with the body of a dead Jew.
Tum'a: Cohen Touching Dead Non-Jew
A cohen is forbidden from touching or picking up a dead body of a non-Jew as well as the dead body of a Jew.
 
Tum'a: Cohen and Non-Jewish Cemetery
A cohen should not walk through a non-Jewish cemetery unless he has an urgent need to do so.
Tum'a: Cohen Flying on Plane Carrying a Body
A cohen should not fly on a flight that has a dead body on it, even if the body is in the hold or baggage compartment (where it normally will be). 
Tum'a: Food
Tum'a: Food Overnight
Tum'a: Leaving Cut Produce Uncovered Overnight

Some foods (such as onions, garlic, and scallions/green onions) will pick up ru'ach ra'a if:

  • Peeled, AND
  • Cut at both ends, AND
  • Left overnight in a home, AND
  • Raw (OR cooked) and not mixed with other foods, spices, or salt.

Note Under the above conditions, the food will pick up ru'ach ra'a even if stored in a sealed container after being cooked. However, if such an onion (raw or cooked) that is peeled and cut at both ends is mixed with something else--whether other foods, oil, spices, or salt--the onion will not pick up ru'ach ra'a.

Problematic foods:

  • Onions,

  • Garlic,

  • Eggs (hard boiled or raw once they are out of their shell).

Not a problem:

  • Unpeeled onions

  • Cut and open lemons or other produce(excluding onions, garlic, and eggs).

  • Raw onion, garlic, or eggs that were cut or peeled in a commercial facility and remain uncovered overnight.

Note You may not use an onion that has been left overnight under any circumstances (even if wrapped in clear plastic wrap, put into the refrigerator, etc.):

  • That has been cut at the top and bottom, and

  • Whose brown layer has been removed.

Note Spring/ green onions also attract ru'ach ra'ah, but only if you cut off all of the green and also the roots.

Note If the onion or garlic had been peeled and cut at both ends but you sprinkled some salt on it, then you may use it even if it has been left out overnight.

Tum'a: Wet/Dry Fruit/Food
Tum'a: Wet Food Normally Eaten by Hand
Wash your hands (without saying the handwashing blessing) before eating wet food, such as a piece of fruit with water on it or simply dry off the food, if possible.
Exception Food that is normally eaten with a spoon or fork (such as cereal or canned fruit) but only if you are eating it with a spoon or fork.
 
Tum'a: Handwashing for Bread
See HaMotzi: Washing Hands .
 
Tum'a: Hair
Tum'a: Hair Cutting: Washing Afterward
Wash your hands using the One-Time Method after cutting (or having someone cut) your hair (or nails).
 
Tum'a: Holy Items
Tum'a: Bringing Holy Items into Area of Impurity
To carry a holy item into an area that has impurity, put the item in two nested containers (kis b'toch kis).
Examples
  • A bag inside a bag.
  • A bag and a folder.

Tum’a: Hospitals
Tum'a: Hospitals: Cohen Visiting Wife
A cohen may visit his wife in the hospital even though there are often dead people in hospitals but consult a rabbi.
Tum'a: Nails
Tum'a: Nail Clipping
Tum'a: Nail Clipping: Timing
Fingernails and Toenails on Same Day
Don't cut fingernails and toenails on the same day.
Reason That is done for dead people.
ExceptionThe only major exception is women before they go to the mikva.
Tum'a: Nail Clipping: Order
Cutting Fingernails and Toenails in Special Order
You do not need to cut toenails or fingernails in a special order or out of order unless you have a custom to do so.
 
Tum'a: Nail Clipping: Disposal
Tum'a: Putting Nail Clippings Down Toilet or Drain
Nail clippings, even from children and non-Jews, have ru'ach ra'a and need to be disposed of. The simplest way is to flush them down a toilet or wash them down a drain (but don't put them into the garbage).
Note Hair may be disposed of by throwing it into a garbage can.
Tum'a: Burning Nail Clippings
Burning nail clippings is OK (but it has kabbalistic complications and is bad for the person from whom the nails were clipped).
 
Tum'a: Burying Nail Clippings
Burying nail clippings is OK but only if they will not become uncovered later. Clippings are particularly bad for pregnant women to step on or over.
Tum'a: Nail Clipping: Washing Afterward
Wash your hands using the One-Time Method after cutting (or having someone cut) your nails (or hair).
 
Tum'a: Non-Jews
Tum'a: Non-Jews
Non-Jews do not have ritual impurity (tum'a) the way Jews do. However:
  • If a Jew touches or carries a dead non-Jew, tum'a is passed on to the Jew.
  • If a Jew walks through a non-Jewish cemetery, the Jew should wash his hands the Three-Times Method.
Tum'a: Patient Revival
Retroactive Tum'a
If a patient has no pulse, is chilled, and has no brain function but can be revived, there is no tum'a. If the person is not revived, the tum'a may be retroactive.
 
Tum'a: Prayer
Prayer: Blessing near Tum'a
For purposes of prayer while tum'a is around:
  1. Feces are OK once they no longer smell.
  2. Urine and impure wash water are OK once absorbed in ground.
  3. Spit/saliva is no problem.
 
Tum'a: Shoes
Tum'a: Leather Shoes and Washing
After touching leather shoes, you must wash your hands using the One-Time Method before saying blessings or prayers or before learning Torah.
Note If you do not have any water with which to wash your hands, say the blessing or prayer anyway but wipe your hands off on something before saying the blessing.
Tum'a: Leather or Synthetic Shoes
Only leather shoes are considered to carry tum'a.
Reason Leather shoes absorb sweat.
Note There is no problem with cloth or synthetic material shoes (as long as they are not sweaty--even though they also absorb sweat).
Note Soaking and scrubbing leather shoes to remove the absorbed sweat does not remove the requirement to wash hands after touching those shoes.
Tum'a: Sleeping
Tum'a: Sleeping more than 30 Minutes
After waking from sleeping more than 30 minutes, don't touch your eyes, nose, mouth, ears, or other bodily orifices until you have washed your hands using the Three-Times Method.
 
Tum'a: Missing Opportunity To Say Blessing

Situation

You wake up after sleeping for more than 30 minutes and need to say a blessing immediately or else you might lose the opportunity to do so.

What To Do

Even though you have not washed your hands after sleep, you should say the blessing.

Example

Situation

You are in bed and hear thunder.

What To Do

You should immediately say kocho u'gvurato even though you did not wash your hands (but you should quickly rub your hands on cloth or clothing first). If you then see lightning, you say oseh ma'aseh vreishit.

Tum'a: Walking before Handwashing
You should not walk 4 amot (6'10”, or 2.1 m) before washing hands after sleeping more than 30 minutes etc., but the entire house may be considered 4 amot (in the sense of being your “domain” or personal space).
Tum'a: Food Under Bed When Sleeping
Do not keep food under your bed when you sleep; but if you did, you may eat or use the food
Note Wash the food three times, if possible, pouring with a cup as you would wash your own hands.
Tum'a: Toilet
Tum'a: Toilet
After using the toilet, you only need to wash hands if you touched the normally covered parts of your body or if your hands touched feces or urine. However, the custom is to wash hands anyway.
Tum'a: Touching Body Parts
Tum'a: Touching with Finger
If you touch something that has transferable spiritual impurity (tum'a) even with just one finger, that entire hand becomes impure.  In some cases, such as if you touch a dead body, your entire body will become impure (tamei).
 
Tum'a: Scratching your Head
You must wash your hands (the One-Time Method) if you scratch your head on a place where you have hair. You do not need to wash your hands if you:
  • Touch your hair
  • Scratch a bald spot.
  • Rub your head instead of scratching it.
Reason Scratching your head (where there is hair) causes tum'a because of any impurities that may be there.
Note Even if you have just shampooed your hair, you must still wash your hands.
Tum'a: Touching Body Parts after Saying HaMotzi
You must wash your hands again (but without a blessing) using the One-Time Method if you touch a normally covered area of your body or scratch your head where you have hair after you have said ha'motzi; but don't say ha'motzi again.
 
Tum'a: Transferring to Another Person
Tum'a: Transferring Tum'a to Another Person
After sleeping, a person cannot transfer tum'a from his or her hands to someone who has already washed—whether hands are wet or dry.
Tum'a: Uncovered Water
Tum'a: Water Uncovered Overnight
There is no problem with leaving water uncovered overnight.
 
Tum'a: Removal
Tum'a: Removal: General Concepts
What Removes Tum'a
Minimum Amount of Water To Remove Tum'a
The minimum amount of water to remove tum'a (ritual impurity) is 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml, or 1 revi'it) total, for both hands.
Note By starting with at least one revi'it per hand when washing, we avoid problems of transferring tum'a to other people or utensils. If you start with only one revi'it and pour enough to cover each hand from that single revi'it, you will remove the tum'a from your hands, but the water that remains on your hands will still be tamei. If you then touch a washing cup, the tamei water will remain on the cup and be transferred to the person who touches it next. It is recommended to use at least one revi'it per hand to avoid such problems.
Tum'a and Snow
Snow removes tum'a but requires 480 se'ah of snow. This is easily achieved by plunging your hands into a field or yard full of snow!
What Does Not Remove Tum'a
Tum'a and Moist Towelette
A moist towelette (baby wipe, alcohol wipes, etc.) does not remove tum'a.
 
Tum'a and Dirt, Ashes, Sand
“Washing” hands with dirt, ashes, or sand does not remove tum'a.
 
Tum'a: Removal: How To Wash Hands
Handwashing for Tum'a: General Concepts
Tum'a and Drying Hands before Handwashing
To wash hands from tum'a or all other purposes, you do not need to dry your hands first--except before washing for bread, and then ONLY if the person who washed hands before you:
  • Did not use a revi'it of water (per hand) to wash his/her hands, AND
  • Only poured once on each hand.
In sum, you almost never need to dry your hands before washing them!

However, if the person before you had tum'a on his or her hands and poured only once, the tum'a will be transferred from his/her hands to the cup. 
Tum'a and From What To Pour
When washing your hands using the One-Time Method, in all cases except when washing for bread, here is what to use:
  • Best: Cup that holds at least a revi'it of water.
  • Next Best: Wash hands from a spigot within 12” of the ground, turning the spigot off and on between hands.
  • Third Choice: If the spigot is more than 12” above the ground, simply hold your hands under a regular faucet in the flow of water so that your hands get wet all over.  No need to turn the water on and off.
    Note This is a b'di'avad case. 
  • Fourth Choice: If there is no water, say whatever blessings you need to say anyway (for example, asher yatzar) rather than not saying the blessing at all. You will still have the tum'a on your hands (but you should rub your hands on cloth of clothing first).
Note This does NOT apply to washing before eating bread or to any cases where you must wash using the Three-Times Method. Removing tum'a in these cases requires a cup.
Note If you need to wash your hands after using the toilet, there is no need to go 18 minutes to find the water, (unlike the requirement for washing for bread).
Minimum Amount of Hand Coverage

When washing to remove tum'a, the ideal is to pour water over your hand up to your wrist; the minimum is to pour up to the knuckles adjacent to the palms of your hands.

Exceptions On Yom Kippur and Tish'a B'Av, wash only up to your knuckles (but if you accidentally pour water further up on your hand, it is not a problem).

Tum'a and Which Hand To Wash First
To remove tum'a from hands, it is preferable to wash the right hand first.
Note If you washed the left first, it is OK and you do not need to rewash the left hand.
Tum'a and Pouring Backhanded
To wash hands from tum'a, there is no problem with pouring water backhanded.
 
Tum'a and Hot Water
You may wash your hands with hot water for any ritual purpose except for mayim achronim.
Tum'a and Where To Wash
You may wash your hands inside a bathroom for any purpose, even before eating bread.
Note You may not say any blessings while inside the bathroom.
Handwashing: One-Time Method
One-Time Method: When To Wash
When To Use the One-Time Handwashing Method
Use the One-Time Method to wash hands from tum'a:
Before…
  • Eating bread.
  • Prayer services.
After…
  • Cutting fingernails or toenails.
  • Getting a haircut or shaving.
  • Giving blood.
  • Urinating or defecating.
  • Scratching the hair on your head.
  • Touching leather shoes (not after touching synthetic or cloth shoes).
  • Touching normally covered parts of your body.
  • Touching a pet.
 
One-Time Method: How To Wash
How To Wash Hands the One-Time Method
To wash hands the One-Time Method:
  • Fill the washing cup with at least 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of water.
  • Pour enough water (may be as little as 1.3 fl. oz.--39 ml, or 1/6 cup) from the washing cup to completely cover your entire first hand (either hand may be first but it is proper to wash your right hand first).
  • Pour enough water to completely cover the second hand.
Note You do not need to pour any more than that or to break up the revi'it into two pours.
Drying Hands after Washing for Bread
When washing your hands before eating bread, the ideal procedure is to wash, say the blessing al netilat yadayim, and then dry your hands (since the drying is part of the washing procedure). Many people have the custom of pouring water onto each hand twice but only before eating bread.
Note If you washed your hands, dried them, and then said the blessing al netilat yadayim, b'di'avad you are covered. But if you washed your hands and dried them but did not yet say the blessing al netilat yadayim, you should touch a normally covered part of your body, wash your hands again, say al netilat yadayim, and go on to say ha'motzi on bread.
Handwashing: Three-Times Method
Three-Times Method: When To Wash
When To Use the Three-Times Method
Use the Three-Times Method to wash hands from tum'a after…
  • Sleeping 30 minutes or more,
  • Intercourse,
  • Touching a dead person,
  • Being in a building with a dead person,
  • Being in a funeral procession,
  • Visiting a cemetery.
These are the only times we wash the three-times way.
 
Three-Times Method: How To Wash
How To Wash Hands Using the Three-Times Method
To wash hands the Three-Times Method:
  • Fill the washing cup with at least 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of water for the first pair of pours.
  • Pour enough water (may be as little as 1.3 fl. oz.--39 ml, or 1/6 cup) from the washing cup to completely cover your entire first hand (either hand may be first, but it is proper to wash your right hand first).
  • Pour enough water to completely cover the second hand.
  • Repeat the pouring twice more, alternating hands, until each hand has been completely covered a total of three times.
Note There is no minimum required volume for the subsequent pours, and you may refill the cup in order to have enough water to cover each hand for all three pairs of pours.
 
Tum'a: Removal: Washing Cup
Tum'a: Washing Cup Spout
If a washing utensil has a spout that is lower than the rim, pour only from the spout. If the spout is higher than the rim, pour off of the side or back, opposite the lowest edge level.
Reason The principle is that water may only be poured from the lowest level that can hold water.
 
Tum'a: Squeeze Bottle as Washing Cup
You may wash your hands for any halachic purpose using a squeeze bottle.
 
Tum'a: Removal: Washing Water
Tum'a: Evaporated Washing Water
Washing water does not have any residual tum'a once it has evaporated.
 
Tum'a: Reusing Washing Water
You may re-use washing water for other purposes (ex., to irrigate plants) EXCEPT for water used after waking from sleep and the other three-time handwashing categories (which have higher levels of tum'a).
Tum'a: Praying if No Water for Handwashing
If there is no water to wash hands, even after sleeping, you still say blessings and prayers. You should say asher yatzar even if you can't wash, but do not say al netilat yadayim in shacharit!
Note Even if you do not have water with which to wash your hands, you should wipe them off on a towel or some substance that can rub off any physical impurities that you may have gotten on them while sleeping.
Tum'a: Removal: Toveling (Tevila)
Tum'a: Removal: Mikva
Mikva in Nature
Mikva in Nature: General Concepts
Mikva in Nature: Rabbinic Guidance
Rabbinic guidance is recommended when using a river, lake, or spring as a mikva due to:
  • Problems of mud, dirt, or sand, and
  • Difficulty in checking if the person is fully underwater,
  • It might not be a kosher mikva.
Note This section applies to the immersion of both utensils and people, since the same principles apply.
Mikva in Nature: Source of Water
Spring water, whether moving or stationary, is a kosher mikva.
Rain water is only a kosher mikva once it is stationary (just sitting in a pool, not flowing anywhere).
In neither case may the water enter a constructed mikva through a "kli," which includes being carried in a bucket or via pipes with bends and other places for water to collect. In the case of a pipe that may not be a kli,  consult a rabbi.
Mikva in Nature: Measurements
A kosher mikva in nature:
  • Must be 40 se'ah (about 192 gallons);
  • Has no minimum depth;
  • May be murky or muddy (but must be such that a cow would drink it); and
  • May not drop in level more than 2 inches (3.1 cm) within 24 hours.
 
Lake as Mikva
Lakes or Ponds as Mikva
A lake or pond may be a kosher mikva if it is:
  • Fed from ground water (percolates through the soil); or
  • Primarily fed from a spring; or
  • Primarily fed from rain.
Note The rain must run into the lake or pond directly. If the water enters, or drains out, via pipes, it is not a kosher mikva. However, if the lake or pond gets rain from run-off from streets through pipes, it might be a kosher mikva. Consult a rabbi. 
Note A lake or pond that drains out through a river or stream may not be a kosher mikva. Consult a rabbi.
Note A lake or pond into which a river or stream empties, might be a kosher mikva. Consult a rabbi.
Note A lake or pond with a river running into it and then out of it is considered a river. For immersing in a river, see Rivers as Kosher Mikva.
Ocean as Mikva
Oceans as Mikva
All oceans and seas are kosher mikvas, but other salty water (defined as water that a cow would not drink) is not kosher for immersion.
Note A rabbi should be consulted before using an ocean for immersion since there are other issues involved.
Rainwater as Mikva
Rainwater as Mikva
Rainwater only purifies when it is stationary.
River as Mikva
Rivers as Kosher Mikva
Rivers are only kosher mikvas when spring-fed. A river is a kosher mikva if it exists year round (not like a wadi, which is frequently dry and only flows after rainfall).
Hot Springs as Mikva
Here are requirements for a hot spring as a mikva:
  1. The temperature may not be above 98° F.
  2. If the spring and immersing area are separate, any pipes used to bring water into the immersing area from the spring must be at least 3" in diameter. Consult a rabbi.
  3. The mikva area must contain at least 40 seah of the spring water.
  4. The mikva area must be hewn of rock or poured concrete, etc., but may not be prefabricated in one piece, like a hot tub.
  5. The water may not reach the mikva area via a pump.
Spring as Mikva
Spring as Mikva
Springs are always kosher mikvas as long as the volume in the place of immersion is at least 40 se'ah (192 gallons).
 
Tum'a: Removal: Toveling: Person
Impurity that Mikva Does Not Remove
Normally covered parts of the body always have some type of impurity, even after immersion, and a mikva does not remove that impurity.
Tum'a: Removal: Toveling: Utensils
Introduction to Toveling: Utensils
Introduction to Toveling: Utensils
Tevila is the Hebrew word for immersion.  You must tovel (immerse in a mikva or other halachically purifying water) new utensils made of metal or other materials that require tevila unless you know that they were:
  • Made by a Jew,
  • Sold by a Jew, and
  • Not owned by a non-Jew in between.
Toveling: Utensils: How To Tovel
To tovel a utensil, you may go to any kosher natural mikva (see section on natural mikvas) or to a mikvat keilim (a small mikva for utensils, often attached to the outside of a regular mikva building). To tovel several items, some of which require a blessing and some on which there is doubt whether a blessing is necessary, say the blessing over the item that requires the blessing and have in mind that the blessing will cover all the rest of your items.
Remember to remove all stickers, rust, etc., before you begin. Nail polish remover may help with stubborn stickers. Say the blessing al tevilat keilim and then let the item free fall through the water. Unlike with hagala, during which the item may be immersed in sections, when you tovel a utensil, the entire item must be in contact with the water at the same time, even if only for an instant.

Toveling: Utensils: What Gets Toveled?
Note The main halacha applies to metal utensils that will be used repeatedly.
Say the blessing al tevilat keilim on metal or glass items--including Pyrex, Duralex, and Corelle-- that come in contact with food. Items that require toveling include:
  • Bowls
  • Cups
  • Forks
  • Knives
  • Pans
  • Plates
  • Pots
  • Spoons
  • Storage containers (only if they are brought to the table).
The below chart is copied with permission from the Star-K (www.star-k.org):
 
 
Utensil Tevila Guideline   Utensil Tevila Guideline
Aluminum Pans, Disposable
if intended to be used more than once		 Tevila with Brocha Meat Tenderizer Hammer,
Metal		 No Tevila
Aluminum Pans, Disposable
to be used only once		 Tevila w/o Brocha Melamine No Tevila
Blech No Tevila Metal Cutlery Tevila with Brocha
Blender with metal blade on bottom Tevila with Brocha Metal Flour and Sugar
Storage Canisters		 Tevila w/o Brocha
Bone No Tevila Metal Pots Coated with
Teflon, Enamel or Plastic		 Tevila w/o Brocha
Brush, Pastry No Tevila Metal Spoon Specifically for Medicine Tevila w/o Brocha
Brush for Grill, Metal No Tevila Microwave Turntable, Glass Tevila w/o Brocha
Can Opener No Tevila Mixer Beaters Tevila w/o Brocha
Cans, Reusable Empty
if opened by a Yehudi		 No Tevila Paper No Tevila
China, Bone Tevila w/o Brocha Peeler, Vegetable Tevila with Brocha
China, Glazed Tevila w/o Brocha Plastic No Tevila
Colander, Metal Tevila with Brocha Porcelain Enamel Tevila w/o Brocha
Cookie Cutters, Metal No Tevila Racks, Cooling Tevila w/o Brocha
Cookie Sheets, Metal Tevila with Brocha Racks, Oven No Tevila
Cork Screw No Tevila Rolling Pins
Metal or Wood		 No Tevila
Corningware Tevila w/o Brocha Sandwich Maker Tevila with Brocha
Crockpot Ceramic Insert Tevila w/o Brocha Silicone No Tevila 
Crockpot Glass Lid Tevila w/o Brocha Sink Racks, Stainless Steel No Tevila
Crockpot Outside Metal Shell No Tevila Spatula, Metal Tevila with Brocha
Dish Rack, Metal No Tevila Stoneware Tevila w/o Brocha
Dishes, Ceramic Tevila w/o Brocha Stoneware, Non-Glazed No Tevila
Earthenware, Non-Glazed
Dull Finish, e.g. Flower Pot		 No Tevila Storage Utensils, Glass
not brought to the table		 No Tevila
George Foreman Grill Tevila w/o Brocha Styrofoam No Tevila
Glass
(including Pyrex, Duralex & Corelle)		 Tevila with Brocha Tea Kettle, Corelle Tevila with Brocha
Grater, Metal
used for foods that are ready to eat, eg, apples, onions		 Tevila with Brocha Toaster
which will not break		 Tevila w/o Brocha
Grater, Metal
used only for foods that need further cooking,eg potatos		 Tevila w/o Brocha Toaster Oven
rack & tray only		 Tevila with Brocha
Hamburger Maker Tevila with Brocha Trivet, Metal No Tevila
Hot Air Popcorn Maker, Metal Tevila with Brocha Waffle Iron Tevila with Brocha
Hot Water Urn, Metal Tevila with Brocha Warming Tray No Tevila
Knife, Arts & Crafts No Tevila Wood No Tevila
Knife Sharpener No Tevila Wooden Cask with
Metal Straps		 Tevila w/o Brocha
Meat Thermometer No Tevila    
Toveling: Utensils: Parts
Toveling: Utensils: Stickers
Before immersing a food utensil in a mikva, remove anything attached to its surfaces.
Situation A sticker or something similar is found on a plate or other utensil after tevila.
What to Do
  • If the sticker is less than half of the surface area and does not bother you by being there, the tevila is valid.
  • If the sticker interferes with your use of the utensil or if you just want it removed, it must be removed and the tevila must be repeated.
Toveling: Utensils: Electrical Cord or Heater
A utensil that requires immersion in a mikva should be immersed even if the utensil is connected to an electrical cord or heater, unless by immersing it you will ruin the entire appliance.
 
Toveling: Lid
You must tovel a cooking-utensil lid bought from a non-Jew before you use the lid.
 
Toveling a Disposable Aluminum Pan
If a disposable aluminum pan will be used once, tovel it without a blessing. If a disposable aluminum pan will be used more than once, tovel it with a blessing (al tevilat keilim). Even if you will line it with a double layer of foil, still tovel it.
Toveling: Utensils: Mixed Materials
Toveling: Mixed Materials
When toveling a utensil that is partly made of metal (which requires tevila) and partly made of plastic, wood, or another material that does not require tevila, you must dip all parts of the utensil into the mikva, even the parts that would not require tevila on their own.
Toveling: Utensils: Kasher or Tovel First?
Toveling: Utensils: Kasher or Tovel First?
If you have a non-kosher food utensil, kasher it before you immerse it in a mikva (tevila).
 
Toveling: Utensils: Jews and Non-Jews
Giving a Toveled Utensil to another Jew
If you toveled a utensil and gave it to another Jew, the Jew does not have to tovel it again.
 
Giving a Toveled Utensil to a Non-Jew for Repair
If you give a utensil to a non-Jew for repair or to have a new part added, consult a rabbi.
 
Toveling: Utensils: Borrowing Back Un-Toveled Utensils from Non-Jew
Do not use utensils bought from a non-Jew or made by non-Jew until you tovel them. Instead, you may give them to a non-Jew and borrow them back, but you may only do this for 24 hours.