Siman 159 – How the water should come upon your hands

34. Netillas yodayim must come from a vessel made to hold liquid and is able to contain a reviis at least. The material does not matter.              (ShA 1 – MB 2)
35. If the vessel has a hole big enough for liquid to enter (and certainly if the vessel leaks), it becomes disqualified as a keli even if, below the hole, there is a space to contain a reviis. Since the walls above the hole cannot hold liquid, they’re not counted as part of the keli. When you pour the water it will be coming onto your hands via material that is not a keli. (ShA 1,2 – MB 28)
36. A broken vessel, that spills out its liquid to less than a reviis if not held up, is disqualified. (ShA 3-  MB 13,14)
37. If the top of a vessel was broken, but the bottom still holds a reviis, it can be used if you have no other one. Just make sure to pour the water out of the lowest part of the broken rim. (ShA 3 – MB 12)
38. A pot lid that stands on its own and holds a reviis of water should still not be used unless set aside permanently for holding water. (MB 15)
39. A bag or box originally made for non-liquids does not qualify as a keli for netillas yodayim even if you fixed it to hold water. (ShA 4, MB 19)
40. A leather wine skin is disqualified as is, since it collapses when empty. (ShA 4-MB 18)
41. You can wash using a vessel that needs to be supported only if originally manufactured as such. (ShA 5)
42. There are four types of pitchers:

1. The spout protrudes above the rim level – do not pour through he spout.
2. The spout is made level to the rim – you may pour out through the spout.
3. The spout is fashioned to be under the rim level – pour only through the spout (some poskim are maykil to pour over the rim).
4. The spout is a pipe, even one that extends above the rim level – you can pour out through the spout (some poskim don’t allow it through the spout). (MB 24)

43. A vessel with a plug (or tap) at the bottom can be used by pouring the water by unplugging it or by pouring the water over the rim.           (Rama 5 – MB 26)
44. If you do netilla on your right hand and then touch it to your left hand which is still tomay, your right hand becomes tomay again. (MB 32)
45. Dunking your hands in a mikva is an alternative to netilla. If you are in a boat and you can’t reach down to the sea – you can scoop up a pail full of sea water – if the water in the pail is dripping (some say streaming) out through a hole, the water in the pail is considered connected to the sea through “nitzok”. You can toivel your hands in the pail. This can be relied upon if you have no better option. (MB 45,47)
46. “Nitzok” can also be employed by pumping water out of a well and putting your hand next to the ground as the stream of water comes down. The water on the ground is connected to the water in the well which is a mikva. (MB 47)
47. You need koach gavra. A barrel full of water that fell over (not by man) and water is flowing from a hole in the top – that water is not kasher for netilla. But if a person tilted it over, the water flow is kasher for netilla all day long. Lechatchila, be machmir even in this case. (ShA 9,10 – MB 67)
48. Turning on a faucet (of an urn e.g.) counts as koach gavra only for the first spurt. You must turn it off and on again to count as another kasher pouring. (ShA 9 – MB 64)
49. The person pouring the water does not have to have daas. A child of any age is classified as a gavra. Lechatchila, avoid having water poured by a nidda or a non-jew. (ShA 11 – MB 69, 70)
50. Lechatchila, there should be kavana of either the noitel or the pourer – for a netilla that works for a meal. So in a case where neither have kavana for a halachic netilla (e.g. water fight), do not say a beracha “al netillas yodayim”. The best would be to deliberately metamay your hands and wash again with kavana and say a beracha.                          (ShA 13 – BeH “ul’chatchila”)
51. Here are cases that you can toivel your hands lechatchila:

1. Natural running water (e.g. spring or river – not flowing rain water) – as long as your two hands can be covered in the stream at the same time it is enough.
2. A mikva that contains at least 40 se’ah.
3. A pool of 40 se’ah that was filled by a stream (on the ground) of drawn water. (ShA 14,15,16 – MB 77,91)

52. You cannot do tevilla in a vessel, even when attached to the ground. (MB 89)
53. If you toivel your hands, still bless with the nusach “al netillas yodayim”. If the water you use would not be kasher for netilla (as per Siman 160), then the nusach changes to “al tevillas yodayim”. (MB 97)