''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"
'' 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 usuall ...

'' (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 f ...

''. 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 Jewis ...

, 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 ...

. 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 ce ...

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 ( ...

Menachot Tractate Menachot ( he, מְנָחוֹת; "Meal Offerings") is the second tractate of the Order of Kodashim. It has Gemara in the Babylonian Talmud and a Tosefta. Menachot deals with the rules regarding the preparation and presentation of grain- ...

br>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 ''Hexaplex trunculus'' (previously known as ''Murex trunculus'', ''Phyllonotus trunculus'', or the banded dye-murex) is a medium-sized sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex shells or rock snails. It is included ...

(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 chosen ...

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewi ...

and Ezekiel are secular uses; such as when

Mordechai Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed. Biblical acco ...

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 sect ...

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 (Biblical Hebrew: שָׁנִי (''Shani'') or כַּרְמִיל ''karmiyl''). states that ''tekhelet''-cloth could be obtained from "isles of

Elishah Elishah or Eliseus ( ''’Ĕlīšā'') was the son of Javan according to the Book of Genesis (10:4) in the Masoretic Text. The Greek Septuagint of Genesis 10 lists ''Elisa'' not only as the son of Javan, but also a grandson of Japheth. His name ...

" (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 ge ...

). 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 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 R. Ahai ( he, רב אחאי, read as ''Rav Achai''; sometimes recorded as R. Aha, Hebrew: רב אחא, read as ''Rav Acha'') was a Jewish Savora sage of the first generation of the Savora era. R. Ahai is the most recorded Savora sage in the Babyl ...

(5th-6th century); however the

Tanhuma Midrash Tanhuma ( he, מִדְרָשׁ תַּנְחוּמָא) is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch aggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of ...

(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 unti ...

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 ''renovat ...

put the ''tekhelet'' and

argaman Argaman ( he, אַרְגָּמָן, , Crimson) is an Israeli settlement organized as a moshav in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley, eight kilometres north of the Damia Bridge with an area of 4,500 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction ...

industries under a royal monopoly, causing independent dyers to cease their work and find other employment. The apparent final straw was the

Muslim conquest The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He esta ...

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 transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of ...

and early

rishonim ''Rishonim'' (; he, ; sing. he, , ''Rishon'', "the first ones") were the leading rabbis and '' poskim'' who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, , "Set Table", a ...

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 ...

, Aquila, Symmachus,

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

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 de ...

, 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 ...

), ''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'', m ...

(''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 appearanceto the sea, and the sea is similar to the sky, and the sky is similar to lapis lazuli, 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 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 compre ...

quotes Moshe ha-Darshan who describes it as "the color of the sky as it darkens toward

evening Evening is the period of a day that starts at the end of the afternoon and overlaps with the beginning of night. The exact times when evening begins and ends depend on location, time of year, and culture, but it is generally regarded as beginn ...

" - a deep blue or dark violet.

himself describes the color as "green, and close to the color of leeks"; commenting on a Talmudic passage according to which the morning

may be recited once it is light enough to distinguish between ''tekhelet'' and leeks. In Akkadian, the cognate word ''takiltu'' is written using the word sign also used for lapis lazuli, 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 Sifre ( he, סִפְרֵי; ''siphrēy'', ''Sifre, Sifrei'', also, ''Sifre debe Rab'' or ''Sifre Rabbah'') refers to either of two works of '' Midrash halakha'', or classical Jewish legal biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Numbers ...

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, som ...

Dye Text (7th century BCE), as well as the

Leyden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

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 Wadi Murabba'at, also known as Nahal Darga, is a ravine cut by a seasonal stream which runs from the Judean desert east of Bethlehem past the Herodium down to the Dead Sea 18 km south of Khirbet Qumran in the West Bank. It was here in caves ...

(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 D ...

(1st century BCE),

Qatna Qatna (modern: ar, تل المشرفة, Tell al-Mishrifeh) (also Tell Misrife or Tell Mishrifeh) was an ancient city located in Homs Governorate, Syria. Its remains constitute a tell situated about northeast of Homs near the village of al ...

(14th century BCE), and arguablyEfraim Vaynman
A Testament to the True Tekhelet
/ref>

Pazyryk valley Ukok Plateau is a plateau covered by grasslands located in southwestern Siberia, in the Altai Mountains region of Russia near the borders with China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The plateau is recognized as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ent ...

(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 commandm ...

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 metropol ...

. "Its body is similar to the sea, and its form (ברייתו) is similar to a fish, and it comes up rom the seaonce 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

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 Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog ( he, יצחק אייזיק הלוי הרצוג; 3 December 1888 – 25 July 1959), also known as Isaac Herzog or Hertzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland, his term lasted from 1921 to 1936. From 1936 until his deat ...

named ''

'' (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, 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 Rabbi Yair Chayim Bacharach (1639, Lipník nad Bečvou, Moravia — 1702; also known by his work Chavos Yair) was a German rabbi and major 17th century posek, who lived first in Koblenz and then the remainder of his life in Worms and Mainz. H ...

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 Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

and

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

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 Tora ...

Tosafot The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

, and

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 — 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 ''Stramonita haemastoma'', common name the red-mouthed rock shell or the Florida dog winkle, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the rock snails. Subspecies ''Stramonita haemastoma'' contains ...

, 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

, 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 Spiritua ...

, researched the subject and concluded that '' Sepia officinalis'' (common cuttlefish) met many of the criteria. Within a year, Radziner chassidim 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 CN)">Cyanide.html" ;"title="e(Cyani ...

" made by reacting

Iron(II) sulfate Iron(II) sulfate (British English: iron(II) sulphate) or ferrous sulfate denotes a range of salts with the formula Fe SO4·''x''H2O. These compounds exist most commonly as the heptahydrate (''x'' = 7) but several values for x are know ...

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 ''

'' 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 Tyrian purple ( grc, πορφύρα ''porphúra''; la, purpura), also known as Phoenician red, Phoenician purple, royal purple, imperial purple, or imperial dye, is a reddish-purple natural dye. The name Tyrian refers to Tyre, Lebanon. It i ...

or Aplysioviolin. 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

Sifre Sifre ( he, סִפְרֵי; ''siphrēy'', ''Sifre, Sifrei'', also, ''Sifre debe Rab'' or ''Sifre Rabbah'') refers to either of two works of '' Midrash halakha'', or classical Jewish legal biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Number ...

i, ''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, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council. In it had a population of . ...

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 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

, 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 Rabbi Hershel Schachter (born ) is an American Orthodox rabbi, posek (religious law authority) and rosh yeshiva (dean) at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), part of Yeshiva University (YU) in New York City. Schachter is an ''hal ...

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''

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 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.

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

, 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 The flag of Israel ( he, דגל ישראל '; ar, علم إسرائيل ') was adopted on 28 October 1948, five months after the establishment of the State of Israel. It depicts a blue hexagram on a white background, between two horizontal blu ...

. 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; ar ...

Gallery

Image:Tyrian-Purple.svg, Structural formula of murex-based

tyrian purple Tyrian purple ( grc, πορφύρα ''porphúra''; la, purpura), also known as Phoenician red, Phoenician purple, royal purple, imperial purple, or imperial dye, is a reddish-purple natural dye. The name Tyrian refers to Tyre, Lebanon. It i ...

, the red-purple dye present in ''tekhelet''

before explosure to sunlight. (''note the two

bromide A bromide ion is the negatively charged form (Br−) of the element bromine, a member of the halogens group on the periodic table. Most bromides are colorless. Bromides have many practical roles, being found in anticonvulsants, flame-retardant ...

s: in marine environments,

sodium bromide Sodium bromide is an inorganic compound with the formula Na Br. It is a high-melting white, crystalline solid that resembles sodium chloride. It is a widely used source of the bromide ion and has many applications.Michael J. Dagani, Henry J. Ba ...

is abundant, not so in terrestrial ones'') File:Indigo skeletal.svg, Structural formula of plant based or synthetic

, a ''counterfeit'' dark-blue

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''.

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