Commentary for Berakhot 29:1
יפנה ויטול ידיו ויניח תפילין ויקרא ק"ש ויתפלל וזו היא מלכות שמים שלמה
should first have evacuation, then wash his hands, lay Tefillin, read the Shema' and offer his prayers — that is receiving the kingdom of heaven in perfection.
Abraham Cohen Footnotes to the English Translation of Masechet Berakhot
"The cleansing here has nothing to do with priestly ablution; it means simply to prepare oneself in such a way as to be able to concentrate all one's mind during the prayer without any disturbance"; Schechter, Aspect of Rabbinic Theology, p. 66 n. 1. On the practice of the Essenes, see Schurer, n. ii. p. 199.
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