Large size and Kosher, holds about 1 Liter / 34 Ounce / 1.8 Pint

Size (Height) :  5.5 inch  /  14 cm

Diameter (Top): 5.5 inch  /  14 cm

weight : 0.6 lbs  /  290 gram

Washing the hands (from Wikipedia)

 

General basis in Jewish law

The rabbis of the Talmud derived the requirement of washing the hands as a consequence of the statement in Leviticus 15:11

And whoever he that hath issue (a zav, ejaculant with an unusual discharge) touches without having rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.

and from Psalms 26:6

I will wash my hands in innocence; so will I compass Thine altar, O LORD. 

The Talmud inferred the specific requirements of hand-washing from these passages.

The general Hebrew term for ritual hand washing is netilat yadayim, meaning lifting up of the hands. The term "the washing of hands" after evacuation is sometimes referred to as "to wash asher yatzar" referring to the bracha (blessing) said which starts with these words.

Halakha (Jewish law) requires that the water used for ritual washing be naturally pure, unused, not contain other substances, and not be discoloured. The water also must be poured from a vessel as a human act, on the basis of references in the Bible to this practice, e.g. Elisha pouring water upon the hands of Elijah. Water should be poured on each hand at least twice. A clean dry substance should be used instead if water is unavailable

How performed

Contemporary practice is to pour water on each hand three times for most purposes using a cup, and alternating the hands between each occurrence; this ritual is now known by the Yiddish term negel vasser, meaning nail water. This Yiddish term is also used for a special cup used for such washing.

At meals

The Babylonian Talmud  discusses two types of washing at meals: washing before a meal is described as first waters (the Hebrew term ismayim rishonim), and after a meal is known as last waters (the Hebrew term is mayim aharonim). The first term has generally fallen from contemporary usage; the second term has stuck. The modern term for the former is Ntillat yadayim, washing of hands. Washing before meals is normative in Orthodox Judaism.

The Gemarah of the Babylonian talmud contains homilectic descriptions of the importance of the practice, including an argument that washing before meals is so important that neglecting it is tantamount to unchastity, and risks divine punishment in the form of sudden destruction or poverty. The discussion of mayim acharonim, washing after meals, contains a suggestion that washing after meals, as a health measure, is the more important of the two washings, on grounds that the salt used as a preservative in food could cause blindness if the eyes were rubbed without washing. 

Although mayim acharonim was once not widely practiced (for example, until recently it did not appear in many Orthodox PassoverHaggadahs) it has undergone something of a revival and has become more widely observed in recent years, particularly for special meals such as the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Conservative Judaism has supported discontinuing the practice of mayim acharonim on the grounds that the rabbis of the Talmud instituted it as a health measure, and since modern foods no longer contain preservatives so dangerous as to cause blindness upon contact with the eyes, washing the hands after meals is no longer required and can be discontinued by contemporary rabbinic decision. 

The standard Passover Seder has an additional, third washing, prior to eating the green vegetable, which is considered an act of eating separate from the meal. In Orthodox Judaism, it also has the same types of washings as any other meal, one before the meal and one after. Only the one before the meal is generally done outside Orthodox Judaism

Before worship

A sink for ritual hand washing at the entrance to the Ramban Synagogue.

According to the Shulchan Aruch, a person should wash both hands before prayer, based on a tradition requiring ritual purification upon entering the Temple in Jerusalem, in whose absence prayer, in Orthodox Judaism, serves in its place.

Before the Priestly Blessing

In Orthodox Judaism (and, in some cases, in Conservative Judaism), Kohanim, members of the priestly class, offer the Priestly Blessing before the congregation on certain occasions. Before performing their offices, they are required to wash their hands. Judaism traditionally traces this requirement to the Torah:

And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat; when they go into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to cause an offering made by fire to smoke unto the LORD.

It is customary for Levites to pour the water over the hands of the Kohanim and to assist them in other ways. In many communities, washing the feet before the Priestly Blessing is not practiced in the absence of a Temple in Jerusalem.

After sleeping

The Talmud states God commanded Jews to wash the hands and provides the text of the netilat yadaim blessing still in use.

According to the Shulchan Aruch a person who slept is required to wash upon arising, and says the natilat yadayim blessing.

Other occasions

The hands are also washed:

• after visiting the bathroom, the ritual washing of one's hands as a symbol of both bodily cleanliness and of removing human impurity.
• after cutting one's hair or nails
• after participating in a funeral procession, upon leaving a cemetery, or coming within four cubits of a corpse
• after touching a normally covered part of your body(private parts, back , arm pits, etc.)
• after touching inside of nose and ear
• after touching the scalp, but not if you just touched the hair
• prior to scribal work (optional)

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