In the Talmud, Rav Oshaya rules that "any food that is dipped into a liquid requires hand-washing before it is eaten." (BT  P'sachim  115a). This is because unwashed hands transmit ritual impurity to liquids, which can then be transmitted to the food dipped into them. However, because we are not (yet) eating a bread-ish product, we don't say the blessing for washing hands before a meal. We just rinse. 

The practice of hand-washing prior to eating a meal also evokes ancient priestly practice. In Exodus 30:17-21 (part of a very important person's  parasha  for her Bat Mitzvah), Aaron and his sons (the priests) are commanded to wash their hands and feet for ritual purification prior to entering the Tent of Meeting. This section of the bible was probably from much later priestly authors, reflecting their own practices.

Adapted from   Mishkan HaSeder: A Passover Haggadah  (CCAR, 2021), 16-17.


haggadah Section: Urchatz