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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