Objects

The cup for ritual hand washing from the collection of the District Museum in Tarnów is a relatively heavy vessel of ¼ liter capacity with an upturned rim, made of thick copper sheet metal. It has two large handles, riveted a short distance apart on the same side. The inside is tinned.

At home, this type of vessel is used for ritual daily hand washing. The Hebrew expression netilat yadayim("washing (lit. taking up) of the handsis part of the blessing recited in the morning after waking up and getting dressed and before eating the bread. Before doing so, the rings should be removed and the hands should be poured with clean water all the way down to the wrist so that the water overflows between the fingers. This is done twice for each hand, after which the blessing Al netilat yadayim (Hebrew: Over the washing of hands) is said to start the day. Many believers recite this blessing only in the synagogue. Right-handed people perform the washing starting from the right hand, left-handed people from the left hand. The double handle had a practical significance and was used to pass the vessel from one hand to the other in order to wash one hand and then the other.

The item was purchased for the District Museum in Tarnów in 1982 in an antique shop "Desa" – Works of Art and Antiques at 10 Mikołajska Street. It may be from the Galician area; its original origin is unknown.

Barbara Bułdys