Tekhelet-Techeiles Archives - My Western Wall: Recent Episodes
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- From the Latin Vulgate: (https://www.biblestudytools.com/vul/numbers/15.html) “loquere filiis Israhel et dices ad eos ut faciant sibi fimbrias per angulos palliorum ponentes in eis vittas hyacinthinas “
- Wycliffe translation (2 centuries before King James – https://www.biblestudytools.com/wyc/numbers/15.html): “Speak thou to the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, that they make to them hems by (the) four corners of their mantles, and fasten they in them laces of jacinth; (Speak thou to the Israelites, and thou shalt say to them, beginning now, and forevermore, they shall put tassels on the four corners of their mantles, and fasten a blue ribbon to the tassels;) “
- Tyndale translation (1500s – https://www.biblestudytools.com/tyn/numbers/15.html): “speake vnto the childern of Ysrael and byd them that they make them gardes apon the quarters of their garmetes thorow out their generacions ad let them make the gardes of ribandes of Iacyncte“
- Webster Bible (1611 – https://www.biblestudytools.com/wbt/numbers/15.html): “Speak to the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes on the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribin of blue: “
- Sagradas Escrituras (1569) (Español) SEV (https://www.biblestudytools.com/sev/numeros/15.html): “Habla a los hijos de Israel, y diles que se hagan pezuelos (franjas) en los remates de sus vestidos, por sus generaciones; y pongan en cada pezuelo de los remates del vestido un cordón de cárdeno. ” Cardeno means purple.
- Statenvertaling (Dutch) SVV (1637 – https://www.biblestudytools.com/svv/numberi/15.html): “Spreek tot de kinderen Israels, en zeg tot hen: Dat zij zich snoertjes maken aan de hoeken hunner klederen, bij hun geslachten; en op de snoertjes des hoeks zullen zij een hemelsblauwen draad zetten” – hemelsblauwen = sky blue
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We want to have some piece of Chazal that says murex trunculus is the Chilazon for Techeiles – purfura. The Raavya is known about, as was discovered by Bezalel Naor 30 years ago, that Techeiles is purfurin.
People didn’t know what Prifinan meant, and there were those saying that it wasn’t trying to translate the word Karti, let alone Techeiles as Purfirin, rather simply a parallel. This can be kvetched since Brachos gave a number of examples of MiSheyakir, meaning when there’s enough light to make a difference so one knows when to say Shema. One way is when your friend is from 4 Amos, or the difference between a domesticated and wild donkey, and Techeiles/Karti and Techeiles/Lavan. So the claim was that it was to be Purfirin and Prifinan as another thing in the sequence. And Prisinan isn’t a translation of Karti. And there are a lot of creative explanations like from Mendel Singer and others to what the term Prifinan really means, like a robe and hem of a robe, etc. Shlomoh Taitelbaum suggested that perhaps Prifinan was a bad Girsa. Yankelewitz went to a university library to investigate and sure enough it says Prisinin. That was nice and made the Raavya more powerful, but it wasn’t necessarily a bombshell.
The piece that Mordechai Honig מרדכי מ’ הוניג discovered in a privately owned Ashkenazi manuscript puts the Yerushalmi in context. Before, it was unclear why the Yerushalmi was discussing the translation. In fact, we said the reason Chazal never spelled out that Techeiles was purfirin was because they wouldn’t have bothered with a translation. So why is the Yerushalmi even bothering to translate Techeiles?
This translation by the grandson of the Raavya puts it into context. There’s a machlokes Tannaim what Misheyakir is, is Techeiles against Lavan or Karti, which is easier or harder to identify? But also, why this? Why not compare the red of a beard and the red of blood? Anything. What’s special about Techeiles/Karti and Techeiles/Lavan?
The answer is that Chazal had a Kabbala of what time it is and had these Simanim. The Yerushalmi is looking for a background page, some kind of Pasuk to put each one in. Yerushalmi explains the background. Bein Techeiles L’Lavan is because of Ureisem Oso. It being the Techeiles. It means only after daybreak. R’ Eliezer says no, it’s later and the Pasuk means it’s Techeiles as opposed to some other dyed material. Which dyed material? Techeiles and not something dyed similar. Close but not Techeiles is Karti.The Raavya says this is important. There’s a discussion in Meforshai HaMishna is that Karti is a vegetable/leek. The Raavya discusses that there’s a Machlokes Rishonim discussing, does Karti mean leek or is it a leek-colored cloth? The Yerushalmi says that no, it’s a leek-colored cloth, not leek from the grocery store. To make that distinction, the Raavya needs to make that translation to make this clear. Once the first half of the phrase was translated, the second half came along with it and that’s where we have purphirin is Techeiles.
The manuscript gives the background which isn’t explicit in the Raavya. The context tells us that this can only be a translation of Techeiles as this is the whole point of the piece.
Bottom-line: that’s why the text V’Chen Ikkar D’Garsinan is crucial because it links the second part of that Mishna with the first. The later one would make it seem to imply that those are two different Mishnas and one can then get creative as mentioned above.
The post Techeiles Bombshell – 14th Century manuscript appeared first on My Western Wall.
After the destruction of the 2nd temple, it was less certain which fish/squid was used and the process to make the dye. Still the mitzva of Tzitzis exists, albeit in a less than perfect manner. R’ Gershon Henoch Leiner in…
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The post What Is the Breslov View on Tekhelet Strings? appeared first on My Western Wall.
By: Reuven Chaim Klein Let’s clarify this from the get-go: There is no word in Classical Hebrew for the color “purple.” I repeat: There is no word in Classical Hebrew for the color “purple.” In fact, the English word purple itself does…
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The post The Color Purple appeared first on My Western Wall.
I submitted this response in the comments. The status was “This comment is awaiting moderation.” Not surprisingly, it wasn’t approved on their site. From Rabbi Akiva Dershowitz and the “Beis Horaah” (https://dinonline.org/2018/08/22/the-reason-why-not-wearing-techeles/): Question: Some people wear “Techeles” Tztitzis. I…
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The post Response to DinOnline’s Negative Attitude on Techeiles vis a vis the Gedolim appeared first on My Western Wall.
A while ago a Chabadnik asked me to tie Techeiles on a Chabad Tallis Gadol for him. The problem was that while tying it on a Chassidic Tallis Kattan is relatively straightforward, a Tallis Gadol isn’t. That’s because the second…
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The post Chabad Talleisim – A Tale of Two Kesher Elyons and Techeiles appeared first on My Western Wall.
Techeiles is a Mitzva explicitely stated in the Torah to integrate with Tzitzis. Strangely, this faded out of practice for 1,300 years, as the precise identity of the Chilazon and method of dyeing was lost. Over the span of the…
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The post Maricultural Advances to Potentially Growing Murex Trunculus Snails in Israel appeared first on My Western Wall.
Techeilet traditionally has been associated with the color “blue” yet there are references to it being shades of green or purple. Rambam (Maimonides) calls it Shachor, which is debated to be either black or simply any dark color (Kesef Mishna).…
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The post Holy Goluboy! The Blue Color, Techeilet and Cultural References appeared first on My Western Wall.
See (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigo_dye): “In Mesopotamia, a neo-Babylonian cuneiform tablet of the seventh century BC gives a recipe for the dyeing of wool, where lapis-colored wool (uqnatu) is produced by repeated immersion and airing of the cloth.[ St. Clair, Kassia (2016). The…
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The post How Indigo was made appeared first on My Western Wall.
In Levush HaAron (pages 89-92) the question is brought up: “How can the chemical test of Chazal differentiate between תכלת and קלא אילן?” It answers: “… The indirubin that is present in plant indigo is known to make vat dyes…
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The post Techeiles Case Study: Kala Ilan Chemical Test with Urine appeared first on My Western Wall.
H/T Rabbi Mordechai Honig for finding this 15th century Ksav Yad on Rashi for Bechoros 38a. Our modern editions have “Chilazon” as “Limon” (almost like a lemon). Apparently this was a misprint, aaaaaand….. it’s yet another reference to Limetz/Limace (snail)!…
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The post Chilazon – Ksav Yad (Manuscript) on Bechoros 38a appeared first on My Western Wall.
A few weeks ago I ran some dyeing experiments to test: a) if dyeing murex trunculus wool at night will produce blue, b) if it’s purple, if heat will turn it blue without UV rays from sunlight (as Ptil Tekhelet…
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The post Techeiles Dying Experiment – Anti-Murex Modern Chemicals Myth Debunked appeared first on My Western Wall.
In case one was wondering if a Rishon was explicit in what Techeiles and the source is, to me the most blatant one is the Raavya (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliezer_ben_Joel_HaLevi) to explain Brachos 1 Halacha 2 in the Talmud Yerushalmi . While more…
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The post Raavya and Techeiles Karti – Purfirin Prisinan appeared first on My Western Wall.
Among the Techeiles community, it’s well known that Rabbi Chaim Yisroel Belsky ZT”L wore Techeiles but didn’t actively tell people they needed to wear it. What many people don’t know was his journey to arrive to the conclusion that murex…
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The post Rabbi Chaim Yisroel Belsky ZT”L and Techeiles – the Real Story appeared first on My Western Wall.
Techeiles is a Mitzvah in the Torah that has been lost for 1,300 years. Upon its revival, it naturally has received its healthy dose of skepticism for various reasons. This is my “top 10” list of common objections to wearing…
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The post Top 10 Common Objections to Wearing Techeiles Today appeared first on My Western Wall.
This post originally was seen at BeisHamikdashTopics by Yoav Elan.
It is widely known that techeiles (the blue dye) comes from a sea creature called the chilazon. Many hundreds of these animals had to be harvested from the bottom of the ocean in order to produce even a small quantity of techeiles, and the process of extracting and preparing this dye entailed using strong chemicals under carefully controlled conditions. This painstaking and complicated procedure made the price of techeiles exorbitant, and according to Rambam it may not have been necessary.
Techeiles for *Tzitzis*
In discussing the requirement (that we mention every day in Shema) to put a thread dyed with techeiles upon the corners of our garments, Rambam (Hilchos Tzitzis 2:1) writes:
תְּכֵלֶת הָאֲמוּרָה בַּתּוֹרָה בְּכָל מָקוֹם הִיא הַצֶּמֶר הַצָּבוּעַ כְּפָתוּךְ שֶׁבַּכָּחל. וְזוֹ הִיא דְּמוּת הָרָקִיעַ הַנִּרְאֵית לְעֵין הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בְּטָהֳרוֹ שֶׁל רָקִיעַ. וְהַתְּכֵלֶת הָאֲמוּרָה בַּצִּיצִית צָרִיךְ שֶׁתִּהְיֶה צְבִיעָתָהּ צְבִיעָה יְדוּעָה שֶׁעוֹמֶדֶת בְּיָפְיָהּ וְלֹא תִּשְׁתַּנֶּה. וְכָל שֶׁלֹּא נִצְבַּע בְּאוֹתָהּ צְבִיעָה פָּסוּל לְצִיצִית אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהוּא כְּעֵין הָרָקִיעַ. כְּגוֹן שֶׁצְּבָעוֹ בְּאִסְטִיס אוֹ בְּשָׁחוֹר אוֹ בִּשְׁאָר הַמַּשְׁחִירִין הֲרֵי זֶה פָּסוּל לְצִיצִית
(Text from sefaria.org)
Anywhere in the Torah that it mentions “techeiles” it refers to wool dyed blue — the color of the sky on a bright, sunny day. The blue thread mentioned in connection with tztitzis must be dyed with a special dye which maintains its vibrancy without change. Wool that has not been dyed with this dye is unfit for tztitzis, even though it is the color of the sky. For example, if it was dyed with woad, a blacking agent, or any other darkening material, it is unfit for tztitzis.
Throughout this passage, as well as further in this chapter, Rambam distinguishes the blue dye “for tztitzis” from the blue dye mentioned “elsewhere in the Torah” (the only other places that techeiles is mentioned is in connection with the Tabernacle and the priestly garments). The “tztitzis” dye must be colorfast (permanent, indelible, and not subject to fading) whereas the Tabernacle dye need not be.
In the times of the Gemara, techeiles from a chilazon was the only blue dye that was truly colorfast. There were other blue dyes, such as kala ilan (a plant derivative) but it was subject to fading. For this reason, a person who wanted to fulfill the Biblical requirement of placing a blue thread upon the corners of their garment had to use authentic techeiles from a chilazon (see Rambam 2:2 loc. cit.).
Jewish scientists have identified techeiles as the dye known as indigo. Nowadays it is possible to extract indigo from plants (or even manufacture it artificially) and purify it so that the dye is truly colorfast. This is evidenced by the fact that (according to Wikipedia) the main use of indigo is for giving denim jeans their characteristic blue color. Thus, it would seem that Rambam’s requirement that the dye for tzitzis be colorfast can be met using pure, artificial indigo. Even so, techeiles from a chilazon offers certain spiritual advantages which cannot be replicated in a lab. For this reason the techeiles used for tzitzis should preferably come from a chilazon.
Techeiles for the Priestly Garments
Regarding the techeiles used in the priestly garments Rambam (Hilchos Klei Hamikdash 8:13) writes:
וּתְכֵלֶת הָאֲמוּרָה בְּכָל מָקוֹם הִיא הַצֶּמֶר הַצָּבוּעַ כְּעֶצֶם שָׁמַיִם שֶׁהוּא פָּתוּךְ מִן הַכֹּחַל
Techeiles mentioned in all places [in the Torah] refers to wool dyed sky-blue
Consistent with what he wrote in Hilchos Tzitzis, Rambam does not stipulate that this techeiles dye be colorfast or that it come from a chilazon. Accordingly, the Temple treasurers could avoid the high cost of using chilazon techeiles for the numerous garments needed by the Kohanim and instead could use the cheaper alternatives such as kala ilan. Nowadays, this would permit the use of artificial indigo in the creation of the garments for use in the Third Temple. [As for the spiritual advantages of chilazon techeiles, those are specific to the mitzvah of tzitzis where we are told to “look at the wool strings dyed blue and be reminded of the Torah’s commandments and not sin.” No such requirement appears in connection with the techeiles of the priestly garments, and this in fact may be the reason that Rambam differentiates between these two uses of techeiles.]
In Tiferes Yisrael’s introduction to Seder Moed, called Kupas Rochlim, he addresses this issue in his discussion of the priestly garments. He first points out, for the record, that Rambam’s view is disputed by Rashi and Mishneh Lamelech (to Hilchos Klei Hamikdash loc. cit.) who both state that techeiles always refers to the blue dye extracted from a chilazon. Even so, Tiferes Yisrael goes on in support of Rambam’s view, showing (based on Yerushalmi Shabbos) that when the Jews built the Tabernacle in the wilderness it is highly unlikely that they used authentic techeiles for the curtains and priestly garments. How could they have procured such large quantities of chilazon specimens when this animal lives in the Mediterranean Sea along the northern coast of the Land of Israel, a great distance away? Rather, they probably used a blue dye from some other source.
Tiferes Yisrael goes even further and questions the need for chilazon at all. He sees no reason to differentiate the techeiles of tzitzis from the techeiles of the priestly garments since the Torah uses the same word in both cases. He concludes that as long as a blue dye is the correct shade and is colorfast then it should meet the Torah’s requirements. However, after consulting with expert dyers of his day, Tiferes Yisrael discovered that there did not exist any blue dye known at that time that was sufficiently colorfast.
[Tiferes Yisrael was certainly familiar with plant-based indigo, for he identifies kala ilan as indigo. Apparently he felt that the indigo of his day was not colorfast enough to pass the strict chemical tests described by the Gemara.] He concludes that, for practical purposes, the only way to obtain techeiles must be from a chilazon. Had Tiferes Yisrael been shown the indigo of today, which is certainly colorfast, he would likely agree that it would serve as techeiles both for tzitzis as well as the priestly garments.
This post is meant solely as an academic study of some of the views on techeiles and it should not be used to determine practical halachah. Special thanks to R’ Hallel Newman for bringing this Kupas Rochlim to my attention.
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