Ablution

Ablution is a term referring to washing, and can mean ordinary washing, hand washing, or washing of the body. By extension, ablutions can refer to a collection of regular activities taken to produce physical cleanliness, including washing but also tasks like oral hygiene, and shaving. It is most often a term used to refer to ritual washing for the purpose of ritual purification, particularly in ceremonies of baptism in conjunction with prayer within various religious traditions.

Ablution in Judaism

Ritual washing, or ablution, takes two main forms in Judaism: tevilah, full body immersion in a mikvah, and netilat yadayim, washing the hands with a cup. The first written records for these practices are found in the Hebrew Bible, and are elaborated in the Mishnah and Talmud. They have been codified in various codes of Jewish law and tradition, such as Maimonides's Mishneh Torah (12th century) and Joseph Karo's Shulchan Arukh (16th century.) These customs are most commonly observed within Orthodox Judaism. In Conservative Judaism, the practices are normative with certain leniencies and exceptions.

Ablution in Christianity

The specific practices of ablution in Christianity include ritual purification or a symbolism of humility. Christian ablution refers to the practice of removing sins, diseases or earthly defilements through the use of ritual washing, or the practice of using ritual washing as one part of a ceremony to remove sin or disease (i.e., baptism or exorcism). Foot washing is a Christian practice going back to the act of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples, thus, signifying deepest humility and service to others. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Pontius Pilate declared himself innocent of the blood of Jesus by washing his hands (Matthew 27:24). This act of Pilate may not, however, have been borrowed from the custom of the Jews. The same practice was common among the Greeks and Romans. According to Christian tradition, the Pharisees carried the practice of ablution to great excess (Matthew 23:25). The Gospel of Mark refers to their ceremonial ablutions (Mark 7:1-5): For the Pharisees...wash their hands "oft"; or, more accurately, "with the fist" (R.V., "diligently"); or, as Theophylact of Bulgaria explains it, "up to the elbow," referring to the actual word used in the Greek New Testament, pygmē, which refers to the arm from the elbow to the tips of the fingers. (Also Mark 7:4; Leviticus 6:28; Leviticus 11:32-36; Leviticus 15:22). In the Book of Acts, Paul and other men performed ablution before entering the Temple in Jerusalem: "Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them."(Acts 21:26)

Ablution in Islam

The Islamic act of washing parts of the body using water is called wudu(Arabic: الوضوء al-wuḍū', Persian:آبدست ābdast, Turkish: abdest)or (less often) ghusl. Muslims are required to perform wudu in preparation for ritual prayers and for handling and reading the Qur'an. Wudu is often translated as "partial ablution", as opposed to ghusl, or "full ablution".

At the Well

When Jesus met the woman from Samaria at Jacob's Well, it is recorded that he saw a great thirst in her soul for meaning and purpose.

As he spoke with her, she began to open her heart and her eyes. As he offered her "Living Water," he revealed himself to her as the Messiah. (John 4:4-26)

Although not recorded in the Bible, the tradition of Mary receiving the Annunciation while fetching water is ancient. It is written down in the 2nd-century Christian text known as the Protevangelium of James (or Proto-Gospel of James).

External Links

• Liturgical Use of Water from The Catholic Encyclopedia
• Baptism from The Catholic Encyclopedia
• The Hadith Book of Sahih Muslim; 'The Book of Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah)'
• Mary's Well, Nazareth
• At The Well

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Arvigo, Rosita and Epstein, Nadine. Spiritual Bathing: Healing Rituals and Traditions from Around the World. Celestial Arts (October 2003). ISBN 978-1587611704.
• Haeri, Shaykh Fadhlalla. The Thoughtful Guide to Islam. O Books (July 25, 2004). ISBN 978-1903816622.
• Insoll, Timothy . Archaeology and World Religion. Routledge; 1 edition (March 19, 2001). ISBN 978-0415221559.
• Jacolliot, Louis. The Brahmin's First Degree of Initiation: Ablutions, Prayer, Ceremonies, and Evocation. Kessinger Publishing (December 30, 2005). ISBN 978-1425307202.
• Lawrence, Jonathan David. Washing in Water: Trajectories of Ritual Bathing in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Literature (Sbl - Academia Biblica) (Hardcover). Brill Academic Publishers (May 31, 2007). ISBN 978-9004146709.

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