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Why the two-handled washing cup?


By Eliezer Posner

Question:

What is the reason for the two-handled washing cup I've seen used for ritual hand-washing? If such a cup is not handy, can I use a regular cup?

Answer:

After the first hand is washed, it is clean and pure. The unwashed hand, however, is not. If the two hands touch after the first hand was washed, it is necessary to rewash the first one. We use a two-handled cup to make the process simpler, making it easier to avoid the hands touching each other.

You can use any cup to wash your hands, just be careful that the two hands don't come in contact with each other after the first one is washed.

Rabbi Eliezer Posner
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Eliezer Posner is a former member of the chabad.org Ask the Rabbi team.
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Reader Comments
Latest Comments:
Posted: Apr 15, 2011
Ritual handwashiing before Torah scribing
We are scribing a new Torah at our Temple. All participants are required to pour water over their hands - three times each time. Is this a custom prior to performing a Mitzvot? The children are very curious.
Posted By Francine Brussels, Coral Springs, Florida

Posted: Mar 21, 2010
Primitive habit
A tap can actually be used. The one hand would turn on the tap to wash the other, then turn it off. Twice. Then the washed hand, using something to avoid direct contact with the handle would turn on the tap to wash the remaining hand, then turn it off. Twice.

It's actually not very different from the way a modern day surgeon washes before operating.
Posted By Michael, Orlando, FL

Posted: Feb 24, 2010
Thank you for writing. The keyword here is "ritual" - what is being discussed in this article is the cup used for ritual handwashing either when awaking in the morning, after using the restroom, or before eating bread products (such as bread, pita, challah and matzah) and for which we need to pour water over our hands using a vessel. Of course, when we just plain wash our hands to clean them from dirt, etc. we use plain old tap water with no vessels.
Posted By Chani Benjaminson, chabad.org

Posted: Feb 24, 2010
How about progress?
Is there any modern person who washes hands with a cup?
I have been using running tap water for many years.
Are there no taps in orthodox jewish homes or are they just conserving primitive habits?
Do you carry a personal cup or use the dirty one I see in public wc's?
Posted By A Golan, Kiryat Ono, Israel

Posted: Dec 12, 2009
hand washing
I seem to have heard in some talmud class, that one should wash his hands before sitting down to a meal, even if he does not plan to eat bread. In this case no blressing is said.
Posted By Alex song, boca raton, fl

Posted: Apr 30, 2008
RE: Isn't the cup itself unclean?
A cup can become ritually impure. However, the impurity of the cup is irrelevant. The reason is a bit technical, so bear with me.

When we wash our hands, we must avoid only impurity that came about as a result of the hand washing process. Impurity that existed earlier is irrelevant. Therefore, if the cup itself is impure, it can still be used and touched. The only thing that must be avoided is the impure water on the cup or on one's hands, as this water became impure as part of the hand washing process. (See Shulchan Aruch Harav 162:134.)
Posted By Eliezer Posner

Posted: Apr 29, 2008
ISn't the cup itself unclean?
I see that you cannot have the unclean hand and the clean hand come into contact with one another, but isn't the cup just as unclean from having been touched by unclean hands? Or is it because we are talking about spiritual cleanliness and although everything has "life" the low level of a cup's life cannot be corrupted and therefore cannot be clean or unclean spiritually?
Posted By Michael Dolan, Dongying, Shandong, China



 


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