cellio | daf bit: B'rachot 15

B'rachot, the first tractate of the talmud, begins with discussions of when and how to say the sh'ma and its associated blessings, which we do twice a day. (The sh'ma consists of excerpts from torah.) This is a key recitation, by which the rabbis say that we accept the yoke of the kingdom of heaven and the yoke of the commandments.

R. Yochanan said: if one desires to accept upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of heaven in the most complete way, [in the morning] he should attend to his bodily needs, wash his hands, put on t'fillin, recite the sh'ma, and pray the t'filah (the central prayer of each service). R. Hiyya b. Abba said in R. Yochanan's name that if one does those things, it is as if he has built an altar and offered a sacrifice upon it. On washing one's hand, Rabina quotes an unnamed student from Palestine, saying: if one has no water for washing he can rub his hands with earth or a pebble or sawdust, because the proof-texts for washing don't say "with water" but rather "in cleanliness". Further, R. Chisda cursed anyone who went looking for water when the time for saying the sh'ma was at hand. (15a)