Wednesday, June 10, 2009

More on Sign Language and Hamotzi

When this question came in, I asked one of the resident experts on sign language - Nikki Press, who took an elective in the subject this year. This was her response:

We asked Mrs. Landau about signing between washing and eating bread, and she answered that people don't sign after washing, just like they wouldn't speak, as a matter of respect for the bracha. If it's necessary, for instance to ask someone to pass the salt, one should gesture and not sign. Rebecca Birnbaum added that when her brother asked a Rabbi about signing after washing, he said that it is not allowed- because it's a form of communication just like speech.

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