Shalom.

I remember the Chabad forced us kids to wash our hands again if we spoke before eating bread.

What I don't understand is the following. What's the significance of the washing ritual as is? What am I missing by washing my hands with soap, let's say? What's the goal and why can only the ritual fulfill it?

Joseph

Quote "Question: when at work and washing with a cup is difficult (either for hamotzi or asher yatzar), is it permissable to leave your hands under the water coming out of the faucet for longer than normal and this will suffice for washing with a cup?"

It cannot substitute a vessel, but the only thing that doesn’t work without a vessel is for Hamoitzie. Everything else, at least, is good B’Dieved. Some people wash even L"Chatchila for Asher Yatzar without a vessel.

Quote J.L. "Does this negate my d'var?"

Could be.

Rav Chaim,

What is the significance of the vessel?

Joseph

Since washing our hands are to remind us of purity [Tahorah](See R' David's piece in the beginning of this thread for the long of this.) the Rabbis based the washing on other places in the Torah where we make Taharah. Since we see by the red heifer that the process needed a vessel, and also the washing of the Kohanim from the Kiyor, so the Rabbis made it that we should need it here to, similar to those places.

Rob, I thought that we learned just the opposite. I believe Rav Chaim agreed with what
I mentioned I had previously learned, namely that while the faucet is turned off and on, by human power, it *doesn't* meet the vessel requirement, unless one plugs the sink and uses it as a mini mikveh.

quote:

Originally posted by Rav Chaim:
Since washing our hands are to remind us of purity

Rav Chaim,

So the goal of the ritual wash is both to cleanse and to remind of a specific event?

Joseph

Quote "unless one plugs the sink and uses it as a mini mikveh."

If you also keep the water on, to keep it attached to the reservoir. (Though I was thinking, that maybe the filters may make a Hefsek that it wouldn't make it connected, since the holes are too fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Joseph Zeev:
Rav Chaim,

So the goal of the ritual wash is both to cleanse and to remind of a specific event?

Joseph

To keep it simple, yes.

Question When in a situation without a vessel can one cup the right hand to use as the vessel for the left and vise-versa?

quote:

Originally posted by Jacob Lessard:
Question When in a situation without a vessel can one cup the right hand to use as the vessel for the left and vise-versa?

When using the hand as a cup, wouldn't you be in essence making the hand wet? If so, how could you use a wet hand to pour water over it, it would be redundant.

You can't, it's still not a vessel.

quote:

You can't, it's still not a vessel.

If one were to line their palm with a piece of plastic wrap, and somehow used it to contain the right minimum amount of water, would that count as a vessel?

How about a rubber glove - a gloved hand?

An origami paper cup or disposable paper cup would work?

How about a sandwich bag?

Plastic wrap is not a utensil and gloves are not a utensil that’s designed to hold water, so they’re disqualified.

Paper cups and sandwich bags are not strong enough to last a lot of usings, so they also don’t have a Halachic status of an utensil. (based on Rav Moshe’s ruling which is based on a Mishna in Keilim brought in Tos. Shabbos 66a) A plastic cup, which is reusable and could be used for a long time I don’t think there should be a problem.