Cups Fit for Netilat Yadayim

From Halachipedia
This is the approved revision of this page; it is not the most recent. View the most recent revision.

Materials

  1. A cup of any material is fit for netilat yadayim as long as it can hold a reviyit of water.[1]
  2. It is unfit to wash one's hands with water that was contained in someone else's hands. According to Ashkenazim after the fact it is acceptable.[2]
  3. A paper or plastic cup is fit for netilat yadayim if nothing else is available. It is preferable to have in mind that one is going to use it again and not throw it out immediately.[3]

Size

  1. If a kli is round or wobbly and can't sit without being supported or leaned against something so that it can't hold a reyivit without any support it is unfit for netilat yadayim.[4]
  2. If it has a hole in it or cracked such that it would let in water if the cup was placed on top of water then it is unfit for netilat yadayim even if the cup can still hold a reviyit below the hole or crack.[5]

Poured by a Person

  1. The water must be poured onto one's hands with a cup so that it is poured by the strength of a person.[6] In an extenuating circumstance when it is impossible to get water poured on one's hands one can dip one's hands in a cup which has a reviyit of water. Nonetheless, one may not recite a bracha on such a washing and one should hold the bread with a napkin.[7] If afterwards one was able to wash normally they should without a bracha.[8]
  2. The water can be poured by anyone including a child or non-Jew.[9] Some say that a child below six shouldn't be used.[10]
  3. Water poured by a monkey shouldn't be used but after the fact is acceptable. If one can get more water one should wash again without a bracha.[11]

Canteen with Spigot

  1. It is acceptable to wash from a canteen with a spigot that when opened water flows out of the hole and when closed can hold a reviyit of water.[12] However, for each of the three times each hand is washed the spigot should be opened and closed.[13] Only the initial spurt of water from opening the spigot is considered as though it comes from the force of a person and so it can be necessary to open and close the spigot several times to cover one's whole hand.[14]
  2. If there was a canteen with water which was dripping water the water dripping out of the canteen is unfit for netilat yadayim since it isn't being poured with the force of a person.[15]

Faucet

  1. Some poskim say that one may not wash for netilat yadayim directly from a sink faucet since the water was not contained in a vessel.[16] Others allow it if the water comes from a a container of water on the roof (water heater) through pipes. Even they only allow it if there's no cup available.[17] Water from a reservoir is not fit for netilat yadayim.[18]

Water Bottle

  1. A bottle with a thin opening can be used for netilat yadayim as long as the water is poured out constantly without interruption.[19]

Sources

  1. ↑ Shulchan Aruch OC 159:1
  2. ↑ Shulchan Aruch OC 159:6 and Rama
  3. ↑ Halacha Brurah 159:3. Igrot Moshe OC 3:39 regarding to kiddush writes that one shouldn't use a disposable cup since a kos shel bracha needs to be complete and a disposable cup is lesser significant than a broken one.
  4. ↑ Shulchan Aruch OC 159:3
  5. ↑ Shulchan Aruch OC 159:1
  6. ↑ Shulchan Aruch OC 159:8
  7. ↑ Mishna Brurah 159:57
  8. ↑ Shulchan Aruch OC 159:8
  9. ↑ Shulchan Aruch OC 159:11
  10. ↑ Rama 159:11. Mishna Brurah 159:70 quotes the Gra who held that the child of any age is acceptable to pour the water for netilat yadayim.
  11. ↑ Shulchan Aruch OC 159:12, Mishna Brurah 159:74
  12. ↑ Shulchan Aruch OC 159:5 and Rama write that the canteen is fit for netilat yadayim even though it doesn't hold a reviyit of water without the spigot holding in the water since it is made specifically in this way to hold water with the spigot in place. Mishna Brurah 159:27 points out that if the spigot doesn't close completely and the canteen leaks it is unfit for netilat yadayim. Halacha Brurah 159:24 agrees.
  13. ↑ Shulchan Aruch OC 159:9, Halacha Brurah 159:24
  14. ↑ Mishna Brurah 159:64, Halacha Brurah 159:24. See the Pitchei Teshuvot 159:16 quoting the Shulchan Hatahor 159:12 who argues that we shouldn't practically wash from a canteen with a spigot. See there for his reasons.
  15. ↑ Shulchan Aruch OC 159:9
  16. ↑ Or Letzion OC 1:16 writes that the water from a sink faucet is unfit for netilat yadayim since it was not contained in a vessel even if it is connected to a canteen holding water on the roof since the water goes through pipes before it reaches the faucet. All the more so is the case with pipes drawing water from outside.
  17. ↑ Tzitz Eliezer 8:7 writes that it is considered like water coming out of a vessel since the water is being pushed from the vessel to the faucet it is like it is being poured straight out of the vessel. Cheshev Haefod 159 seems to agree. Yaskil Avdi 5:26 writes that the faucet holding the water in the pipes and the pipes are not considered a vessel so one can't do netilat yadyaim with water from the faucet. However, he defends the minhag of those who do so by saying that since the water comes from a water heater on top of the roof which is a vessel it is considered as though it comes from a vessel. Halacha Brurah 159:24 writes that in extenuating circumstances one can rely on this opinion.
  18. ↑ Minchat Yitzchak 4:21 writes that one may not do netilat yadayim from tap water since there is no vessel. In extenuating circumstances he allows doing netilat yadayim from the sink and then afterwards doing tevilat yadayim in the water in the sink.
  19. ↑ Or Letzion 2:46:6
Retrieved from "http://localhost:80/index.php?title=Cups_Fit_for_Netilat_Yadayim&oldid=19513"