''Tekhelet'' ( he, תְּכֵלֶת ''təḵēleṯ''; alternate spellings include ''tekheleth'', ''t'chelet'', ''techelet'' and ''techeiles'') is a "blue-violet",
"blue",
or "turquoise"
dye highly prized by ancient Mediterranean civilizations. In the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
and Jewish tradition, it was used in the clothing of the
High Priest, the tapestries in the
Tabernacle
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...
, and the ''
tzitzit
''Tzitzit'' ( he, ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and today by observant Jews and Samaritans. are usually ...
'' (fringes) affixed to the corners of one's four-cornered garments, including the ''
tallit
A tallit ''talit'' in Modern Hebrew; ''tālēt'' in Sephardic Hebrew and Ladino; ''tallis'' in Ashkenazic Hebrew and Yiddish. Mish. pl. טליות ''telayot''; Heb. pl. טליתות ''tallitot'' , Yidd. pl. טליתים ''talleisim''. is a ...
''.
Tekhelet is most notably mentioned in the third paragraph of the
Shema
''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewi ...
, quoting .
Neither the source nor method of production of ''tekhelet'' is specified in the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...
. According to later rabbinic sources, it was produced exclusively from a marine creature known as the ''Ḥillazon''.
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
br>Menachot 44a
Tosefta
The Tosefta ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah.
Overview
In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ...
Menachotbr>9:6
/ref> Knowledge of how to produce ''tekhelet'' was lost in medieval times, and since then ''tzitzit'' did not include ''tekhelet''. However, in modern times, many Jews believe that experts have identified the ''Ḥillazon'' and rediscovered the ''tekhelet'' manufacture process, and now wear ''tzitzit'' which include the resulting blue dye. The creature most commonly thought to have produced authentic ''tekhelet'' is the snail Hexaplex trunculus (historically known as ''Murex trunculus'').
A garment with ''tzitzit'' has four tassels, each containing four strings. There are three opinions in rabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...
as to how many of the four strings should be dyed with ''tekhelet'': two strings; one string; or one-half string.
Biblical references
Of the 49 or 48 uses in the Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
, one refers to fringes on cornered garments of the whole nation of Israel (), 42 refer to the priesthood or temple clothes and garments. The remaining 6 in Esther
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chose ...
, Jeremiah and Ezekiel
Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible.
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is ackn ...
are secular uses; such as when Mordechai puts on "blue and white" "royal clothing" in Esther. The color could be used in combination with other colors such as 2 Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sec ...
where the veil of Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...
is made of blue-violet (''Tekhelet''), purple
Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, ...
(Hebrew: אַרְגָּמָן ''Argaman'') and scarlet
Scarlet may refer to:
* Scarlet (cloth), a type of woollen cloth common in medieval England
* Scarlet (color), a bright tone of red that is slightly toward orange, named after the cloth
* Scarlet (dye), the dye used to give the cloth its color
* ...
(Biblical Hebrew: שָׁנִי (''Shani'') or כַּרְמִיל ''karmiyl''). states that ''tekhelet''-cloth could be obtained from "isles of Elishah" (likely Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
). All Biblical mentions of ''tekhelet'' (both secular and priestly) attribute its usage to some kind of elite. This implies that ''tekhelet'' was difficult to obtain and expensive, an impression further corroborated by the later rabbinic writings.
History
The manufacture of ''tekhelet'' appears to date back to at least 1750 BCE in Crete. In the Amarna letters (14th century BCE) ''tekhelet'' garments are listed as a precious good used for a royal dowry.[
At some point following the Roman destruction of the ]Second Temple
The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherite ...
, the identity of the source of the dye was lost, and since then Jews have only worn ''tzitzit'' without ''tekhelet''. The Talmud mentions use of ''tekhelet'' in the period of Rav Ahai (5th-6th century); however the Tanhuma (8th century) laments that ''tekhelet'' has been lost.[
This loss appears to have been caused by a progression of historical events. Already in the first century, ]Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
and Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
restricted the use of the Murex dye to the governing class. Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unt ...
made laws that stated no one was allowed to wear purple because it was the color of royalty, and specifically he forbade goods dyed with Purpura (the name used for the Murex trunculus) under penalty of death. The idea that it was illegal to wear ''tekhelet'' is corroborated by a Talmudic story, in which rabbis caught smuggling ''tekhelet'' were liable to the death penalty. In the sixth century, Justinian
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renova ...
put the ''tekhelet'' and argaman industries under a royal monopoly, causing independent dyers to cease their work and find other employment.[ The apparent final straw was the Muslim conquest of 639, in which the royal Byzantine dying industry was destroyed.][ Developments in the Jewish community may also have played a role, such as the proliferation of counterfeit (indigo) threads which made the procurement of genuine ''tekhelet'' difficult, and the persecution of Byzantine Jews which interfered with their export of ''tekhelet'' to Babylonia.][ Some have argued that the use of ''tekhelet'' persisted (at least in certain locations) for several centuries beyond the Muslim conquest, based on texts from the ]geonim
''Geonim'' ( he, גאונים; ; also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura Academy , Sura and Pumbedita Academy ...
and early rishonim which discuss the commandment in practical terms.
The reason why royalty used the Murex dye as opposed to indigo which looked the same was because indigo faded. However once they figured out how to make indigo endure they stopped using the Murex trunculus because indigo was much cheaper. That time is when people stopped using the Murex trunculus for its Dye entirely.
Identifying the color of ''tekhelet''
Despite the general agreement of the most of the modern English translations of the phrase, the term ''tekhelet'' itself presents several basic problems.
First, it remains unclear to what extent the word in biblical times denoted a color or a source material, though it appears that at least in contemporary Mesopotamian sources, the cognate word ''takiltu'' referred to a color and not a material or dying process.[
Second, although with time ''tekhelet'' came to denote the color blue, the exact hue in antiquity is not definitively known. The task is made harder by the tendency of ancient writers to identify colors not so much by their hue, as by other factors such as luminosity, saturation and texture.][ Modern scholars believe that ''tekhelet'' probably referred to blue-purple and blue colors.][ The color of ''tekhelet'' was likely to have varied in practice, as ancient dyers were generally unable to reproduce exact colors from one batch of dye to another.
]
Sources
In the early classical sources (Septuagint
The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...
, Aquila
Aquila may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Aquila'', a series of books by S.P. Somtow
* ''Aquila'', a 1997 book by Andrew Norriss
* ''Aquila'' (children's magazine), a UK-based children's magazine
* ''Aquila'' (journal), an or ...
, Symmachus, Vulgate
The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible.
The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus&nbs ...
, Philo
Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt.
Philo's dep ...
, and Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
), ''tekhelet'' was translated into Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
as '' hyakinthos'' (, "hyacinth") or the Latin equivalent.[Efraim Vaynman]
Tekhelet: Color Perception or Apprehension?
/ref> The color of the hyacinth flower ranges from violet blue to a bluish purple (though the hyacinth species dominant in the eastern Mediterranean - Hyacinthus orientalis - is violet[), and the word ''hyakinthos'' was used to describe both blue and purple colors.][
Early rabbinic sources provide indications as to the nature of the color. Some sources describe ''tekhelet'' as visually indistinguishable from ]indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...
(''kala ilan'').[Bava Metzia 61a-b; Menachot 40a-b] This description is also somewhat ambiguous, as different varieties of indigo have colors ranging between blue and purple,[ but generally the color of dyed indigo in the ancient world was blue.][Baruch Sterman]
Tekhelet Perception
/ref>
Other rabbinic sources describe ''tekhelet'' as similar to the sea or sky. An oft-repeated explanation for the Torah's choice of ''tekhelet'' went as follows: "Why is ''tekhelet'' different from all other colors? Because ''tekhelet'' is similar n appearance
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
to the sea, and the sea is similar to the sky, and the sky is similar to lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color.
As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mine ...
, and lapis lazuli is similar to the Throne of Glory." (In a few versions of this source, "plants" (''asavim'') are included in this chain of similarity even though plants are not blue; though it has been suggested that these sources refer to bluish plants like hyacinth.[) ]Jose ben Jose Jose ben Jose ( he, יוסי בן יוסי) was an early payyetan who lived in Palestine in the 4th to 5th century CE.
In some sources he is called "Jose ben Jose the orphan", on the assumption that only an orphan would receive the same name as his ...
was another early author who described ''tekhelet'' as resembling the sky.[
In still other sources the color of ''tekhelet'' is compared to the night sky. Similarly, ]Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compr ...
quotes Moshe ha-Darshan who describes it as "the color of the sky as it darkens toward evening" - a deep blue or dark violet.
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compr ...
himself describes the color as "green, and close to the color of leeks"; commenting on a Talmudic passage according to which the morning Shema
''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewi ...
may be recited once it is light enough to distinguish between ''tekhelet'' and leeks.
In Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform, early writing system
* Akkadian myt ...
, the cognate word ''takiltu'' is written using the word sign also used for lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color.
As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mine ...
, suggesting they have similar colors.[Shiyanthi Thavapalan,]
Purple Fabrics and Garments in Akkadian Documents
, ''Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History'', 2018, Lapis lazuli can vary between blue and purple-blue, and according to some sources the preferred shade of lapis lazuli in the Near East was purple-blue.[ However, Mesopotamian mythology asserted that visible sky is a layer of lapis lazuli stone underlying Heaven, suggesting a sky-blue color for the stone.
The Sifrei says that counterfeit ''tekhelet'' was made from both " eddye and indigo", indicating that the overall color was purple. However, other sources list just "indigo" as the counterfeit,][ suggesting either that in their opinion the color was purely blue, or that indigo was the main counterfeit ingredient and the other ingredients not significant enough to mention.
The ]Sippar
Sippar (Sumerian: , Zimbir) was an ancient Near Eastern Sumerian and later Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river. Its '' tell'' is located at the site of modern Tell Abu Habbah near Yusufiyah in Iraq's Baghdad Governorate, s ...
Dye Text (7th century BCE), as well as the Leyden and Stockholm papyri (3rd century) provide recipes for counterfeit ''takiltu'' dye that include a mixture of red and blue colors, for an overall purple color.[
A pure blue color can only be produced from Hexaplex dye through a debromination process. Only in the 1980s did modern scientists learn how to create blue Hexaplex dye using this process, leading some experts to declare that ancient dyers would not have been able to create blue ''tekhelet'' (and therefore, that an undebrominated purple color is more likely).][ However, in recent years archaeologists have recovered several fabrics dyed blue with Hexaplex dye 1800 or more years ago, demonstrating that ancient dyers could and did make blue dye from Hexaplex.][ Such fabrics have been found at Wadi Murabba'at (2nd century), ]Masada
Masada ( he, מְצָדָה ', "fortress") is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the ...
(1st century BCE), Qatna (14th century BCE), and arguably[Efraim Vaynman]
A Testament to the True Tekhelet
/ref> Pazyryk valley (5th-4th century BCE).[
]
Identifying the ''ḥillazon''
While the Bible does not identify the source of ''tekhelet'', rabbinic halakha
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comm ...
specified that it could only be made from a sea creature known as the ''ḥillazon''.[
Rabbinic sources describe various qualities of this creature. It was found on the coast between Tyre and ]Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...
. "Its body is similar to the sea, and its form (ברייתו) is similar to a fish, and it comes up rom the sea
Rom, or ROM may refer to:
Biomechanics and medicine
* Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient
* Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac
* R ...
once every 70 years, and with its blood ''tekhelet'' is dyed, therefore it is expensive." Dye was extracted from the ''Ḥillazon'' by cracking it open, suggesting that it has a hard external shell. Just as the Hebrews' clothing did not wear out in the desert (), the shell of the ''Ḥillazon'' does not wear out. Garments tied with ''tekhelet'' and indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...
have such similar appearance that only God can distinguish them. Elsewhere, one opinion says that there is no chemical test which can distinguish between ''tekhelet'' and indigo wool, but another opinion describes such a test and tells the story of it working successfully. Trapping the ''Ḥillazon'' is considered a violation of Shabbat.[ In the time of the Talmud the ''hilazon'' was used as part of a remedy for hemorrhoids, though this may refer to a different species of snail.
Various animals have been suggested as the ''ḥillazon''.]
''Hexaplex trunculus''
In his doctoral thesis (London, 1913) on the subject, Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog named '' Hexaplex trunculus'' (then known by the name "Murex trunculus") as the most likely candidate for the dye's source. Herzog concluded “it is very unlikely that the ''tekhelet''-hillazon is not the snail called murex trunculus, but though unlikely, it is still possible.” Though ''Hexaplex trunculus'' fulfilled many of the Talmudic criteria, Herzog's inability to consistently obtain blue dye (sometimes the dye was purple) from the snail precluded him from declaring it to be the dye source. In the 1980s, Otto Elsner, a chemist from the Shenkar College of Fibers in Israel, discovered that if a solution of the dye was exposed to ultraviolet rays
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation i ...
, such as from sunlight, blue instead of purple was consistently produced. In 1988, Rabbi Eliyahu Tavger dyed ''Tekhelet'' from ''H. trunculus'' for the ''Mitzvah'' (commandment) of ''Tzitzit'' for the first time in recent history.[ Based on this work, four years later, the ''Ptil Tekhelet'' Organization was founded to educate about the dye production process, and to make the dye available for all who desire to use it. The television show '' The Naked Archaeologist'' interviews an Israeli scientist who also makes the claim that this mollusk is the correct animal. A demonstration of the production of the blue dye using sunlight to produce the blue color is shown. The dye is extracted from the hypobranchial gland of ''Hexaplex trunculus'' snails.][
Chemically, exposure to sunlight turns the red 6,6'-dibromoindigo in snails into a mixture of blue indigo dye and blue-purple 6-bromoindigo. The ''leuco'' (white) solution form of dibromoindigo loses some bromines in the ultraviolet radiation.]
Arguments for Hexaplex Trunculus
The dye produced by Hexaplex has the exact same chemical composition as indigo,[ corresponding to the statement that only God can distinguish the ''tekhelet'' from indigo garments.
In the area between Tyre and Haifa where the ''hilazon'' was found, piles of murex shells hundreds of yards long have been found, apparently the result of dying operations.][ In Tel Shikmona (near Haifa), a "biblical era purple dye workshop" was found including relics of purple dye produced from sea snails, as well as textile manufacturing equipment.
Hexaplex has a hard external shell, as the ''hilazon'' appears to.
The word ''Ḥillazon'' is cognate to the Arabic word ''halazuun'', meaning snail. Hexaplex opponents suggest that in ancient times the word might have referred to a broader category of animals, perhaps including other candidate species such as the cuttlefish.][
Another requirement according to the Talmud is that the dye cannot fade, and the Murex dye does not fade and can only be removed from wool with bleach.
The Talmud states that the ''hillazon'' is preferably kept alive while the dye is extracted, as killing it causes the dye to degrade. This matches both ancient descriptions of the Hexaplex dying process, and also modern experience that an enzyme in the snail needed for dye production decays quickly after death.][
The ]Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
translates ''tekhelet'' as ''porporin''; similarly ''Musaf Aruch'' translates ''tekhelet'' as ''parpar''. These translations refer to the Latin term ''purpura'', meaning the dye produced by Hexaplex snails.[ Similarly, Yair Bacharach stated that ''tekhelet'' was derived from ''purpura'' snails, even though this forced him to conclude that the color of ''tekhelet'' was purple rather than blue, as in his era it was unknown how to produce blue dye from Hexaplex.][
The word porforin, or porpora, or porphoros is used in the midrash as well as many other Jewish texts to refer to the ''Ḥillazon'', and this is the Greek translation of ''Murex trunculus''. Pliny and ]Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatet ...
also both refer to the Porpura as being the source for purple and blue dyes, showing that the Murex has a long history of being used for blue dye.[
speaks of treasures hidden in the sand; the Talmud states that the word "treasures" refers to the ''Ḥillazon''. Similarly, Hexaplex trunculus often burrows into the sand, making it difficult to detect even by scuba divers.][
While (as described in the next section) Hexaplex arguably does not fit every textual description of the ''hillazon'', nevertheless "Of the thousands of fish and mollusks that were studied to date, no other fish has been found that can produce the ''tekhelet'' color" which suggests that there is no more likely alternative species.][
]
Arguments against Hexaplex Trunculus
The Talmud equates the colors of ''tekhelet'' and indigo, but also gives a practical test to distinguish between the two fabrics. Seemingly, since the color-producing compounds in ''Hexaplex trunculus'' and indigo are identical, no test should be able to distinguish them.[ However, according to Professor Otto Elsner, while Hexaplex and indigo have the same color-producing compound, they also contain other compounds which differ and may lead to a different response in the practical test.][ According to Professor Ziderman, the test consists of a chemical reduction reaction occurring when hydrogen is produced by decaying organic matter. Indigo (from a vegetable source) is more strongly reduced than the debrominated indigo found in snail ''tekhelet'' (assuming a blue-purple rather than pure blue ''tekhelet''), leading to a different result to the test.][
The ''hillazons body resembles the sea. This does not appear to be true of Hexaplex. Hexaplex supporters argue that when alive Hexaplex is well camouflaged and has a similar appearance to the sea floor, apparently due to algae which grow on its shell.][ This shell color can even be blue, similar to the sea.][
The ''hillazon'' has a "form like a fish", which a snail seemingly does not. Hexaplex supporters reply that its shell somewhat resembles a fish in shape. Similarly ]Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
, Tosafot, and Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compr ...
say the ''Ḥillazon'' is a "fish" (דג), while Hexaplex is a snail rather than a fish. Hexaplex supporters argue that many forms of aquatic life (e.g., shellfish
Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater env ...
— of which sea snails would be an example) are also called "דגים" in Hebrew.
The ''hillazon'' is said to come up from the sea once every 70 years. It is unclear what this is exactly referring to, but the Hexaplex has no such cycle. Hexaplex supporters note that elsewhere the Talmud makes clear that the ''hillazon'' was also hunted by normal methods at other times.[Shabbat 75a] Some sources say the reference to "70 years" does not imply a periodic cycle, but rather simply that this phenomenon is a rare event.[ Hexaplex may have cycles of other lengths which inspired this statement: a seven-month cycle for harvesting Hexaplex was claimed by Pliny and confirmed by modern researchers, while Hexaplex appears to have a yearly behavioral cycle in which it burrows in the sand in summer and emerges to swim in winter.][ Other sources claim that the 70-year cycle was a miraculous occurrence which no longer occurs, or else that the decrease in Hexaplex population numbers may have caused this behavior to cease.][
There are two other snails that produce the same dye as Hexaplex trunculus: Bolinus brandaris and Stramonita haemastoma, so how do we know which one is the ''Ḥillazon''? Some argue that dye from any of these species would be valid. Alternatively: Hexaplex trunculus contains more natural indigo and thus is a more natural source for blue ''tekhelet'', and archaeological finds show Hexaplex trunculus being processed separately from snails of the other species, suggesting that a different color was derived from this species.]
Trapping the ''Ḥillazon'' is a violation of Shabbat.[ However, according to some rishonim, in general it is permitted to capture slow-moving animals like snails on Shabbat (as capturing them requires only a trivial effort - בחד שחיא). This contradiction suggests that the ''hillazon'' is not a snail. Hexaplex supporters argue that since Hexaplex tends to camouflage itself and hide in the sand, capturing it is a difficult process and thus (by some opinions) forbidden.][
Rambam, describing the ''Ḥillazon'', says that "its blood is as black as ink", which is not true of Hexaplex. Hexaplex supporters argue that this statement has no apparent source earlier than Rambam, and appears to be based on a mistaken statement by Aristotle.][ In any case, a black precipitate can in fact be derived from Hexaplex, which is then refined into dye.][
Tractate Menachot and the Rambam explain the process for making the dye for ''tekhelet'', and neither of them mention explicitly that it needs to be placed in the sunlight. Putting the dye in sunlight is a requirement to make the dye from the murex trunculus.]
''Sepia officinalis''
In 1887, Grand Rabbi Gershon Henoch Leiner, the Radziner Rebbe
A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritu ...
, researched the subject and concluded that '' Sepia officinalis'' (common cuttlefish
Cuttlefish or cuttles are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control ...
) met many of the criteria. Within a year, Radziner chassidim
Izhbitza-Radzin is the name of a dynasty of Hasidic rebbes. The first rebbe of this dynasty was Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner, author of '' Mei Hashiloach'', in the city of Izhbitza. (Izhbitza is the Yiddish name of Izbica, located in prese ...
began wearing ''tzitzit'' with cuttlefish dye. Herzog obtained a sample of this dye and had it chemically analyzed. The chemists concluded that it was a well-known synthetic dye "Prussian blue
Prussian blue (also known as Berlin blue, Brandenburg blue or, in painting, Parisian or Paris blue) is a dark blue pigment produced by oxidation of ferrous ferrocyanide salts. It has the chemical formula Fe Cyanide.html" ;"title="e(Cyanide">CN ...
" made by reacting Iron(II) sulfate with an organic material. In this case, the cuttlefish only supplied the organic material which could have as easily been supplied from a vast array of organic sources (e. g., ox blood). Herzog thus rejected the cuttlefish as the ''Ḥillazon'' and some suggest that had Leiner known this fact, he too would have rejected it based on his explicit criterion that the blue color must come from the animal and that all other additives are permitted solely to aid the color in adhering to the wool.
''Janthina''
Within his doctoral research on the subject of ''Tekhelet'', Herzog placed great hopes on demonstrating that '' Hexaplex trunculus'' was the genuine ''Ḥillazon.'' However, having failed to consistently achieve blue dye from Hexaplex, he wrote: “If for the present all hope is to be abandoned of rediscovering the ''Ḥillazon Shel Tekhelet'' in some species of the genera ''Murex'' ow "Hexaplex"and ''Purpura'' we could do worse than suggest ''Janthina'' as a not improbable identification". Janthina is a genus of sea snails, separate from Hexaplex. More recently, blue dye has been obtained from Hexaplex and the pigment molecule itself is hypothesized to be Tyrian Purple or Aplysioviolin
Aplysioviolin is a purple-colored molecule secreted by sea hares of the genera ''Aplysia'' and '' Dolabella'' to deter predators. Aplysioviolin is a chemodeterrent, serving to dispel predators on olfactory and gustatory levels as well as by tempo ...
. Janthina seems an unsuitable candidate in several ways: it was apparently only rarely used by ancient dyers; it is found far out at sea (while the ''hilazon'' is apparently found near the coast); and its pigment is allegedly unsuitable for dying.[Halakhic aspects of reviving the ritual tekhelet dye]
/ref>
In 2002 Dr. S. W. Kaplan of Rehovot, Israel, sought to investigate Herzog's suggestion that ''Tekhelet'' came from the extract of ''Janthina''. After fifteen years of research he concluded that ''Janthina'' was not the ancient source of the blue dye.
Current status of the ''tekhelet'' commandment
A midrash states that ''tekhelet'' was "hidden" (נגנז) and now only white strings are available. According to the Sifrei, ''tekhelet'' is hidden until the next world. The meaning of the term "hidden" is unclear. Beit Halevi
Beit HaLevi ( he, בֵּית הַלֵּוִי, ''lit.'' House of the Levite) is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Sharon plain near Netanya
Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Cent ...
argued (when debating the Radziner rebbe) that a continuous tradition regarding the source of the dye, which no longer exists, was necessary in order for it to be used. However, Radbaz
David ben Solomon ibn (Abi) Zimra ( he, ר׳ דָּוִד בֶּן שְׁלֹמֹה אִבְּן אָבִי זִמְרָא) (1479–1573) also called Radbaz (רַדְבָּ"ז) after the initials of his name, Rabbi David iBn Zimra, was an early A ...
and Maharil ruled otherwise, that rediscovering the dye is sufficient to perform the commandment.[ Yeshuot Malko suggested that even if ''tekhelet'' was hidden until the messianic era, the apparent rediscovery of ''tekhelet'' suggests that the messianic era is approaching, rather than suggesting that the ''tekhelet'' is invalid.]
According to halakha
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comm ...
, when in doubt about the laws of a commandment from the Torah, one must act stringently. Some rabbis therefore argue that even if we are uncertain in our identification of the ''hilazon'', we must wear the most likely dye anyway (i.e. Hexaplex). Others disagree, asserting that the principle of stringency only applies in cases such that after one acts stringently there is no further obligation (whereas if Hexaplex is only doubtfully correct, there would remain a theoretical obligation to find the actual correct species and use it).
Based on , the Talmud rules that we should not make divisions among the Jewish people. Therefore, if a person acts differently from the rest of the Jewish people they are creating divisions. Some have argued that one should not publicly wear ''tekhelet'' for this reason; others consider this not to be a concern. In any case it would not be relevant in many contemporary communities where ''tekhelet''-wearing is widespread.
There exists a Torah commandment (לא תגרע) not to detract from any other Torah law. Rabbi Hershel Schachter says that if one knows what ''tekhelet'' is yet chooses to wear ''tzizit'' without ''tekhelet'', they are violating this commandment. Many other rabbis do not agree with this statement.
Different opinions on tying ''tekhelet''
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
holds that half of one string should be colored blue and it should wrap around the other seven white strings. It should wrap around three times and then leave some space and then three more and leave some more space and should continue like this for either 7 or 13 groups. The first and last wrap around should be from a white string not a blue string.
Raavad
Abraham ben David ( – 27 November 1198), also known by the abbreviation RABaD (for ''Rabbeinu'' Abraham ben David) Ravad or RABaD III, was a Provençal rabbi, a great commentator on the Talmud, ''Sefer Halachot'' of Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi and '' ...
holds that one full string should be blue and there should be four groups of at least seven coils alternating between white and blue both beginning and ending with blue.[ There are multiple other opinions of how to tie the ''tzizit'' if one full string is blue.
Tosafot holds that two full strings should be ''tekhelet''. He is of the opinion that the coils should be in groups of three, starting with three white, then three blue alternating and ending with three white. There is another way to tie using two full strings that Schachter follows based on the opinion of Shmuel Ben Hofni Gaon.][
]
Tekhelet in Jewish culture
Besides the ritual uses of ''tekhelet'', the color blue plays various roles in Jewish culture, some of which are influenced by the role of ''tekhelet''.
The stripes on the tallit
A tallit ''talit'' in Modern Hebrew; ''tālēt'' in Sephardic Hebrew and Ladino; ''tallis'' in Ashkenazic Hebrew and Yiddish. Mish. pl. טליות ''telayot''; Heb. pl. טליתות ''tallitot'' , Yidd. pl. טליתים ''talleisim''. is a ...
, often black or blue, are believed by some to symbolize the lost ''tekhelet'', though other explanations have been given.[ The use of blue in the ''tallit'' and Temple robes led to the association of blue and white with Judaism and inspired the design of the flag of Israel.
Like their non-Jewish neighbors, Jews of the Middle East painted their doorposts, and other parts of their homes with blue dyes; have ornamented their children with tekhelet ribbons and markings; and have used this color in protective amulets.] Tekhelet has been considered especially effective against the evil eye
The Evil Eye ( grc, ὀφθαλμὸς βάσκανος; grc-koi, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός; el, (κακό) μάτι; he, עַיִן הָרָע, ; Romanian: ''Deochi''; it, malocchio; es, mal de ojo; pt, mau-olhado, olho gordo; a ...
.
Gallery
Image:Tyrian-Purple.svg, Structural formula of murex-based tyrian purple, the red-purple dye present in ''tekhelet'' indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...
before explosure to sunlight. (''note the two bromides: in marine environments, sodium bromide is abundant, not so in terrestrial ones'')
File:Indigo skeletal.svg, Structural formula of plant based or synthetic indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...
, a ''counterfeit'' dark-blue
See also
*Tantura
Tantura ( ar, الطنطورة, ''al-Tantura'', lit. ''The Peak''; Hebrew and Phoenician: דור, ''Dor'') was a Palestinian Arab fishing village located northwest of Zikhron Ya'akov on the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Near the village, li ...
*Argaman, also called Tyrian purple, a Biblical reddish purple dye from the related seasnail, Bolinus brandaris.
Bibliography
Gadi Sagiv, 'Deep Blue: Notes on the Jewish Snail Fight'
*
*
KolRom Media, 'Techeiles - It's Not All Black and White'
References
External links
Ptil Tekhelet
– A group that promotes the view that the ''chilazon'' is the snail ''Murex trunculus''.
{{Authority control
Jewish ritual objects
Hebrew words and phrases in the Hebrew Bible
Jewish religious clothing
Non-clerical religious clothing
Animal dyes
Shades of blue
Mollusc products
Color in religion