Washing Cups and Towels
The Netilat Yadayim cup, or the ritual washing cup used in a Jewish household is an object of constant use and importance.Washing cups can be made of a variety of materials and be simple or elegant, but they all serve the purpose of holding the right amount fo water needed to douse the hands after sleep and before meals in the Jewish faith. Washing your hands after sleep consists of filling the cup and then dousing each hand in turn 3 times, switching hands between each douse. Washing before food is the same, but the cup is not switched between douses; instead, each hand is doused in turn 3 times. Both hand washings are started on the right hand, and both are paired with a special blessing over the washing of the hands:
Baruch Ata Hashem Elokeinu Melech Ha'olam, Asher Kideshanu Bemitzvotav Vetsivanu Al Netilat Yadayim.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְווֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת יָדָיִם
Blessed are you the lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctifies us with his commandments and instructs us on the washing of the hands.
One type of hand washing done without a blessing is the netilat yadayim to purify your hands from the Tumah (impurity) of touching an impure object or animal. This is traditional in some communities, but not in all communities.
In the time of the temple, Cohanim would wash their hands before entering the temple interior, and nowadays, Levites wash the hands of the Cohanim before they give the priestly blessing at the synagogue. Also known as a 'negel vasser', hand washing cups must be a certain size to comply with the tradition, a size large enough to hold the amount of water necessary to properly wash the hands 3 times each. The cups on the site are all of an appropriate size to use in ritual hand washing.
You may notice that many washing cups have two handles. This allows the washer to keep the pure hand from touching the impure hand while passing the cup between the hands. An appropriate gift for any Jewish special occasion, or as a housewarming gift, the washing cup comes in a range of prices and materials, and its versatility means that you can certainly find one that matches the occasion, the recipient's tastes, and your budget. All of the cups on israel-catalog.com are made in Israel, and shipped from the holy land to anyplace in the world, so that in addition to beautiful designs or fancy materials, another special part about the cups ordered here is that they come directly from the holy land. Nice negel vasser cups are a beautiful touch in a stylish house, and are a piece of Judaica that is used all the time, so that you can always enjoy its terrific design. They can be given as a gift at a housewarming, a wedding, a bris or any Jewish holiday, and they make a beautiful addition to any household, including, of course, your own.