Rebbi did not wash his hands

Mommyg8

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 9:07 am

Nobody has yet responded to my question as to why a man would have to wash his hands with soap after using the urinal.

In any case, I think the responses you will get here are skewed because you're missing the significant half of the population.

WhatFor

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 9:43 am

Mommyg8 wrote:

Because men need to hold it in place to avoid peeing all over the floor.

You don't think there are germs down there in a guy's sweaty crotch? Imagine if you found out after shaking someone's hand that they don't wash after they touch their genitals. That's kinda gross. Why wouldn't one wash with soap?

Learning

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 9:44 am

Mommyg8 wrote:

Why wouldn’t they they still touch stuff. I assumed everyone wash hands with soap. It’s universal. I’m surprised

Mommyg8

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 9:44 am

WhatFor wrote:

Aren't they not supposed to touch according to halacha?

amother

Ginger

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 9:48 am

WhatFor wrote:

They don't actually need to. Hate to get all technical on this topic, but many are trained to aim w/o touching anything other than their zipper and do it without an issue.

WhatFor

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 9:50 am

amother [ Ginger ] wrote:

They don't actually need to. Hate to get all technical on this topic, but many are trained to aim w/o touching anything other than their zipper and do it without an issue.

I'd hate to see what the floor in front of such urinals looks like.

33055

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 9:52 am

Whether a man touches his privates or not when urinating, he should be using soap and water because he touches other things in the bathroom. I get grossed out that so many people don't use soap.

I get super disgusted people going to my bathrooms and then using my kitchen sink to wash their hands. It is disgusting and unhygienic. I don't want your toilet germs in my kitchen. It's obvious when they don't use soap.

amother

Goldenrod

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 10:00 am

My five year old can and does pee without touching. And he is very neat. But I still have him wash his hands, mostly to get him into the habit and also because he is touching the flusher and it doesn't hurt to wash off the germs he picks up throughout the day playing. It's probably worse than what we picks up going to the bathroom.
But I agree with most people here and suggest you leave it alone.

amother

Wine

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 10:23 am

Men who are knowledgeable in Halacha do not touch their private part when urinating. That’s what my boys were taught in 7th grade. They should not be touching that part. Those who follow are okay with using water. If something got touched then obviously soap is recommended.

groovy1224

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 10:39 am

This thread is so interesting. OP wants to know how someone would deal with finding out that a teacher in her son's school doesn't wash his hands after the bathroom. Most people seem to be intent on providing alternate realities in which the Rebbi really DID wash his hands, or was using the bathroom for some other purpose so he didn't really need to.

People. I hate to break it to you, but a disgusting, too large percentage of people do NOT wash their hands after using the bathroom, especially men. My office at work was recently getting a new carpet so I had to set up a makeshift work station next to the bathroom and the number of people (mostly men, honestly) that flushed the toilet and opened the door immediately leaving no time to wash was appalling. These are grown, professional adults.

So yeah, I believe OP's son. Would I tell the administration about it? Probably not, I doubt they'd do anything. But by all means maybe have him carry around a small hand sanitizer so he can sanitize after touching the bathroom doorknob or something.

amother

Indigo

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 10:50 am

Buy the Rebbe a big bottle of hand sanitizer for his desk!
Yes it is gross if someone doesn't wash hands after bathroom but don't inform the school. Save your comments or complaints for very important stuff!

amother

Blush

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 10:51 am

So gross. But, I don’t think there’s much you can do. I highly doubt the school would do anything about it even if you said something. I can’t believe it’s almost 2020 and this is still something people don’t attend to. My boys went to a yeshiva for a short time and they said there was no soap in any of the bathrooms because the kids play with the soap so the school just doesn’t put any in. IMO, that’s nearly criminal. I’d send my kids to school with mini Purells because the problem is, if it’s not that Rebbi, it’s dozens of other people. Unfortunately. Call me OCD, but I definitely feel on the right side of having educated my kids in this regard. And I hope it doesn’t change with peer pressure. I also have no problem with calling people out if I feel the situation requires it. We once had a guest who used the bathroom (it was right near our kitchen so I could tell he flushed and came right out) and went to wash his hands in our kitchen. RIGHT OVER MY PASTA WHICH WAS DRAINING IN THE SINK. I said “nope, you are not going to do that. It’s gross. You can go back to the bathroom and wash there.” Guess what? We’re still friends and I doubt he even remembers the incident.

amother

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 1:05 pm

Spoke to dh and he agrees with everyone here, not to say anything, but also knee exac6which rabbi it is and says he never washes his hands....so yeh grosssss

But it would be good in general to have a schoolwide meeting about healthy habits during winter..everyone can use a review...

amother

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 1:10 pm

amother [ Indigo ] wrote:

Haha love your idea

amother

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 1:11 pm

amother [ Indigo ] wrote:

Haha love your idea

perquacky

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 1:37 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

But it would be good in general to have a schoolwide meeting about healthy habits during winter..everyone can use a review...

I don't think it's necessary to have a school-wide meeting, but a simple email to the main office to ask that they post signs in the bathrooms reminding everyone that it's cold and flu season and that they should wash their hands seems appropriate.

It shouldn't have to be framed this way--people should ALWAYS wash their hands--but maybe it would be easier to mention if you didn't have to tell anyone what your son saw a rebbe do.

On the topic of teachers using the same facilities as the students, if there's no staff restroom, then what choice does the rebbe have? Maybe he couldn't wait. Going to the bathroom is a normal function we all do several times throughout the day, and some people have some very odd hangups about what happens or doesn't happen in public restrooms. The rule for boys is: DON'T LOOK.

And wash your darn hands regardless of what you were in the bathroom to do!

amother

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 1:52 pm

perquacky wrote:

Yes!

estreya

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 2:49 pm

He could perhaps have (had) one of those very small bottles of hand sanitzers like Purell he carries in a pocket .... not everyone uses soap and water. Reporting this to the school, I would think, would probably be met with a dismissive reaction.

amother

Papaya

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 5:58 pm

Op you seem pretty obsessed yourself. How many kids do you have? Maybe you need to focus on something else.
Do you eat in restaurants, any idea what goes on there? You can teach your children cleanliness but you cant change the world.
Reporting the rebbis bathroom habits may only make you look bad.
His job is to teach your child and if hes doing a good job of it then stop complaining.

amother

Bronze

Thu, Nov 14 2019, 9:16 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Not to dismiss you’re concern but to actually have a discussion with your husband about this, and that your husband ‘knew exactly who it was’ -
this sounds like Lashan hara & in my opinion worse than not washing hands (which is still up for debate).
Like I can’t believe you actually had a discussion about this with your Dh.
You are really making this into a HUGE DEAL.