Washing Hands After Leaving the Cemetery – Should One Wipe the Hands?

Greetings, It is customary that those who wash their hands after returning from the cemetery do not wipe them, but rather leave their hands wet until they dry naturally. The Ben Ish Chai (Year 1, Parashat Toldot, section 16) explains that this is not a strict legal requirement, but is done so as not to distract one's thoughts from the remembrance of death. Therefore, if it is winter and very cold, making it very difficult to keep the hands wet without wiping, one is permitted to dry them. (See also Chazon Ovadia, Avelut, Volume 1, pages 560–562, and Halacha Brura, Volume 1, pages 111–112.) 

Blessings, Hillel Meirs