ritual washing
Sacred purification bath
Ritual washing is the ceremonial cleansing of the body or parts of it as a religious practice.
Many faiths prescribe washing before prayer, worship, or sacred meals—Muslims perform wudu before prayer, Jews practice netilat yadayim before eating bread, Christians may wash hands before communion.
The act symbolizes spiritual purification rather than physical hygiene: The priest performed the ritual washing before entering the sanctuary.
- ablutionRitualized washing of body
- mikvehJewish purification immersion pool
- lustrationCleansing rite or vetting
- immersionState of being submerged
- living waterFlowing, fresh water source
spiritual purity · wash away sins · foot washing · purification · baptism · kohen · ceremonial cleansing · anointing · cleansing · sprinkling · sacred vessels · purity · spiritual renewal · priest · font · feet · clean hands · water
- Islamic Lawsharia, Sharia, Shariah, Islamic law, fatwa
- hygienehygiene, handwashing, toothbrush, hand washing, sanitizer
- ritualsritual, rite, ceremony, sacrament, blessing
- Biblical Ritualsburnt offerings, altar offering, drink offering, thank offering, temple worship
- Mosaic lawMoses, Mosaic law, Ten Commandments, tablets of stone, commandment
- pilgrimage ritescircumambulation, prostration, ritual bathing, kora, darshan
ritual washingdesecration
Violating something sacred
profanation · contamination · sacrilege · defilement · pollution