פירוש על ברכות 29:1

"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.