A proper washing cup is mandatory for netilat yadayim before a meal. There is a machloket Rishonim whether a cup is required for washing hands upon rising in the morning. The Shulchan Aruch[1] says that it is “good” to be careful about all the essential requirements of full netilat yadayim when washing in the morning, but the Rama[2] stresses that a cup is not absolutely necessary. The Rashba,[3] the main source of the stringent approach, attributes the need for a cup to the need to sanctify oneself as he rises in the morning as a “new creation.” Another reason to wash hands in the morning is to remove ruach ra’ah (a “bad spirit”). The Shulchan Aruch[4] is equivocal about whether one must wash his hands with a cup in order to remove ruach ra’ah (based on the Zohar), or whether it is sufficient to dip his hands in water three times.[5]
One who used the bathroom should wash or scrub his hands to remove any uncleanliness, but that does not require a cup.[6] Regarding netilat yadayim upon leaving a lavatory or a bathhouse, realize first that the source is post-Talmudic.[7] The issue is a concern about ruach ra’ah, but the level of ruach ra’ah is lower than that of the morning.[8] Therefore, although the Zohar requires washing three times to remove ruach ra’ah in the morning, we wash only once after leaving the bathroom.[9] Along the same lines, it appears that the need for a cup does not apply either. There is a stringent opinion that requires three washings after leaving the bathroom, and some people do so and/or use a cup. However, the Mishna Berura,[10] who cites it, points out that the Magen Avraham rejects the stringency, and he does not seem to endorse it either.
The gemara[11] forbids reciting holy utterances, such as Kri’at Shema and berachot, in a privy or near a chamberpot. However, the gemara permits such recitations in the proximity of a “Persian outhouse,” where the ground is graded so that the excrement rolls away immediately. Modern poskim discuss whether our modern plumbing is like a Persian outhouse because the waste does not stay in the bowl for extended periods, or whether it is more akin to a classical outhouse since the waste remains there until it is flushed away. Another point of leniency is that most modern bathrooms contain a washing area and, thus, since the room is not designated solely as a toilet, it might not have the laws of a talmudic bathroom.[12] Another issue is that today’s toilets might not absorb excrement.[13] Some claim that ruach ra’ah (which mandates the washing) is no longer prevalent. Do all these points add up to a heter to make berachot and wash in modern bathrooms?
A consensus among poskim forbids reciting berachot in modern bathrooms. However, many feel differently regarding the need to wash hands upon exiting the facilities. Since the requirement to wash then is weaker, there is halachic justification for leniency. Indeed, prominent poskim are lenient when it is difficult for one to find a washing area outside the bathroom.[14] This also lends legitimacy to the many whose practice is never to be careful to wash after leaving a bathroom. Please note that the above applies only when the toilet is cleaned effectively by flushing.
Ruach ra’ah does not preclude one from making berachot[15] as unclean hands do. Thus, even if one generally uses a cup, but happens to be in a situation where none is available, he should nevertheless wash and then recite Asher Yatzar. If water is not available, one should clean his hands in other halachically viable ways and then recite Asher Yatzar. When he finds water, he should then wash his hands to remove the ruach ra’ah.