I've started learning Mishna Brura and I've come across ruach raa in the sefer's discussion of hilchot netilat yadayim.
Is ruach raa simply another word for tuma, does it refer to smell, or some other concept entirely?
Answer
The source for this ruah ra'ah is Shabbat 109a:
רבי נתן אומר: בת חורין היא זו, ומקפדת עד שירחוץ ידיו שלש פעמים
That is, there is an entity referred to as "bat horin" which is said to be belligerent (my best attempt at translation in context) until a person washes his hands three times.
Rashi there describes this entity as a 'ruah':
בת חורין היא - הרוח
See Rashi to Eruvin 45b s.v. ruah ra'ah who identifies ru'ah ra'ah with demons:
או רוח רעה - שנכנס בו שד
It thus appears that ruah means a spirit or demons, and that a ruah raah, is a bad, i.e. malevolent or harmfull spirit.
Related: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/61019/8775.
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