[Avodah] Is dirt clean?

[Akiva Miller via Avodah]

If a Jew wants to eat bread, halacha requires a certain form of
hand-washing, but that has nothing to do with this thread.

There are also certain situations where halacha recognizes a certain
*spiritual* uncleanliness, and requires a certain hand-washing to remedy
it. Most (all?) of these situations are listed in S"A O"C 4:18, and include
things like getting up from bed, exiting a bathroom, removing one's shoes,
and others. It is noteworthy that this se'if begins with the words "These
things require washing with water", as if to suggest that washing with
other things would not be effective. Indeed, the Mishne Brurah #39 comments
on the word "with water":

> However, for tefilah - and certainly for learning Torah -
> a mere cleaning is enough for any of these cases, as
> noted below in se'if 22, in the case of one who gets up
> from bed. And this is certainly [acceptable] if there is
> no [water available]. However, removing the Ruach Raah
> requires specifically water. ...

But this thread isn't about those situations either. I am mentioning it
only in order to clearly establish that there is yet another category of
situations, namely the ones that the MB pointed to as being in Se'if 22.
The Mechaber wrote there (S"A O"C 4:22):

> If one has no water, he should wipe his hands on a
> pebble or dirt or anything that cleans, and say the
> bracha 'Al Nekiyus Yadayim'. This [procedure] is
> effective for tefilah, but not to remove the ruach
> raah which is on [the hands].

The Mechaber's phrase "anything that cleans", and his wording for the
bracha in such cases, not to mention his comment about ruach raah at the
end -- All these things make it abundantly clear that we are talking about
*physical* cleanliness, as opposed to other kinds of cleanliness. And the
Mechaber writes similarly in O"C 92:4, that prior to Tefilah,

> One must wash his hands with water if he has some, and
> if he doesn't have any [the Mechaber explains how far
> one must go to obtain water]. But if he is worried that
> he will pass the time limit for Tefilah, then he should
> clean his hands with a pebble or dirt or anything that
> cleans.

My question is simple: Why is dirt in the category of "things which clean"?
It seems to me that if I would rub my hands with dirt they would (almost
always) be even dirtier afterwards than before.

The only answer I can think of is that halacha considers dirt to be clean.
Is it possible that the *only* uncleanliness that prohibits tefila are the
things listed in OC 4:21 - touching covered parts of one's body, etc. (and
perhaps other specific listings elsewhere)

Here's a practical situation. Suppose someone is at work, and it is close
to Mincha time. So he goes to the bathroom, exits, and does the best
washing you can imagine, with whatever chumros you like. Then he realizes
he has a bit more time until mincha, so he decides to go back to work, but
with constant attention to being very careful not to scratch his head, or
touch under his shirt, or any of the things that would require him to wash
again before mincha. But his job is a butcher, and he will get his hands
bloody. Or he is a painter or printer, and he'll get paint or ink on his
hands. Or he is a farmer or construction worker, and he'll get actual earth
on his hands. And now it is time for mincha. Are his hands halachically
clean or dirty? If you tell me that they are dirty, how does it help to
wipe his hands in the dirt?

I have more questions on this topic, but I hope this will get the ball
rolling. Thank you.

Akiva Miller
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