Responsa for Berakhot 106:31
ת"ר שמן מעכב את הברכה דברי רבי זילאי רבי זיואי אומר אינו מעכב רבי אחא אומר שמן טוב מעכב ר' זוהמאי אומר כשם שמזוהם פסול לעבודה כך ידים מזוהמות פסולות לברכה
Our Rabbis have taught : The oil prevents the Grace [from beign said] — these are the words of R.Zilai ; but R. Ziwai says ; It does not prevent it. R. Aha says : Good oil prevents it. R. Zohamai says : Just as one who is dirty is unfit for the Temple-service, so are dirty hands unfit for the Grace.
Shut min haShamayim
We are also unsure regarding 'mayim acharonim', the hand-washing at the end of the meal. There are some sages who hold that since we no longer use fine oils1 to anoint hands during the meal, see Berachot 53b:31, we thus do not need to meticulous about the final hand-washing. I asked [in my dream] regarding this, whether they had anything to rely on in saying so or not.*Some contemporary sources use similar language but cite the lack of dangerous 'Salt of Sodom' [and not the lack of oil] as the reason not to be meticulous about washing hands (Tosafot on Berakhot 53b:32). See also Rosh on Berakhot 8:6 for a similar argument regarding lack of oils.
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