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Criteria
for Identification
of
Tekhelet
& the Hillazon
Prepared
by Mois A. Navon | ||
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Talmudic
Description |
Physical
Evidence |
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Environs |
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Tzaydei
hillazon - The fishers of the
hillazon are from Haifa to Tzur (Tyre). (Shabbat
26a). |
· Archeological
digs show remnants of the dyeing industry on the Northern coast of Israel
through the southern coast of Lebanon. (Royal Purple, p.149-157; Sterman,
p.64). · Digs
near Haifa and Tyre and beyond, revealed mounds of Murex shells
(broken to access their dyestuff) - some up to one hundred yards long and
several yards thick. (Royal Purple, p.24, p.151-5; Ziderman, p.438;
Twerski, p.82). |
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Shell |
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Potzeia
- One who breaks open a hillazon violates Shabbat. (Shabbat
75a). Go
and learn [about the clothes of the Jews in the desert] from the
hillazon, all the time that it grows, its shell (nartiko)
grows with it (Shir HaShirim R. 4:11). |
· R.
Herzog explains the use of the verb potzea to mean, “break open” -
as in a nut. (Herzog, p.57). · The
Murex snail is a hard-shelled Mollusk, which must be broken open to
obtain the dyestuff. (Ziderman, p.430). · The
shells found in the archeological digs were broken in the exact spot
necessary to obtain the dyestuff. (Ziderman,
p.438). |
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Expense |
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“The
hillazon is this: its body is like the sea, it’s creation is like a
fish, it comes up once in 70 years and with its blood one dyes
tekhelet - due to this it is expensive” (Men.
44a). |
· The
vagueness of these descriptions make them ineffective for use in
identification - other more indicative signs could have been given, if
that was the intention of the Gemara. Each point comes to explain the
conclusion of the statement that “the dye is expensive” (Rock,
n.57). · The
declaration that “it is expensive” is simply out of place in a formal
halachic definition.
It would, however, make sense as part of an explanation to
consumers curious as to the reason for the exorbitant price. (Herzog,
pp.66-7). |
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Creation |
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Briato
- Its creation is similar to that of a fish. (Men.
44b). |
· Briah
- a general classification of creatures - “like fish” that live in the
ocean, so too do Murex snails. (Rock, n.57). · Murex
snails are spawned from eggs, just like fish. (Twerski,
p.98). |
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Body
Color |
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The
body of the hillazon is like the sea. (Men.
44a). |
· The
snail shell takes on a blue-green color due to the sea fouling organisms
covering them. In any case,
the shell is always the same color as the seabed in which it is found.
(Sterman, p.69). Biblical and
Talmudic references to “sea” often refer to “sea-bed” (e.g. Yishaya 11:9).
(Rock, p.15). · It
is a more than reasonable assumption that the Gemara is referring to the
shell as it looks when it is caught (and not after it has been polished).
(Ziderman, p.430). |
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70
Years |
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…[the
hillazon] comes up once in 70 years (Men.
44a). |
· “Once
in 70 years” (an oft-used Talmudic expression meaning “once in a
lifetime”) it washes up; otherwise, it must be fished out, thus adding to
its cost. · “Nevuzaradan
left … the tzadei hillazon” (Shabbat 26.) - for the sake of
the king’s garments (Rashi on ibid.). · The
Rambam (Hil. Tzitzit 2:2) makes no reference to “70
years”. |
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Dye
Extrac- tion |
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One
is more pleased that it should be alive, so that the “blood” should be
clear/successful (Shabbat 75a) - the “blood” from the live
[hillazon] is better than from it dead. (Rashi on
ibid.) |
· Inside
the hypobranchial gland of the snail, only the precursors to the dye exist
as clear liquid. (Sterman, p.76). · The
chemistry of the dye formation in the Murex requires a specific
enzyme (purpurase), which quickly deteriorates upon the snail’s demise.
(Sterman, p.68). |
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Dye
Color |
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Tekhelet
resembles the color of the sea, and the sea the sky…(Men.
43b). God
said: I have distinguished in Egypt between the drop of [semen that was to
become] a firstborn and that of a non-firstborn, I will exact retribution
from he who attaches kela ilan to his cloth and claims it is
tekhelet (Baba Metzia 61b). |
· Kela
Ilan
has consistently been identified as indigo (Aruch), which is
blue. · The
blue dye obtained from the Murex trunculus snail is molecularly
equivalent to the dye obtained from the kela ilan plant. (Royal
Purple, p.175; Sterman, p.66). |
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Dye
Additives |
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How
is Tekhelet made? By placing the blood of the hillazon and
samanim (chemicals) in a pot to boil (Men. 42b) - samanim
are only to fix the dye into the fabric (Noda BeYehuda). |
The
process of making dye from Murex trunculus: ·
The
dyestuff is boiled along with a strong base to dissolve the snail meat and
to create the chemical environment for reduction. ·
A
reducing agent is added to make the dye water-soluble enabling it to take
to wool (typical of vat dyeing).
An acid is then added to neutralize the strong basic solution in
order to prevent the dye solution from damaging the wool. |
Dye
Testing |
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How
is Tekhelet made? … then we take out a little in an egg shell and
test it on a piece of wool (Men. 42b). |
As
with all vat dying, the Murex dye solution is yellowish in the vat
and its final color can only be determined when the dye oxidizes in the
wool. Since the resultant
color
can range from blue to purple, the dye must be tested to determine if it
has been sufficiently exposed to ultraviolet light. |
Dye
Quality |
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Lo
ifrad hazutei
- If its color is permanent then its valid (Men. 43a) - its dyeing is well
known for its steadfast beauty and does not change (Rambam, Hil
Tzitzit 2:1). |
· The
Murex dye binds very tightly to wool, and is among the fastest of
dyes known to the ancient world. (Sterman, p.67). · Three
days in strong bleach has no effect. (Twerski,
p.91). |
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Manner- ism |
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“Treasures
buried in the sands”(Dev. 33:19) refers to the hillazon. (Megilla
6a). |
Murex
trunculus
burrows into the sands and sediment on the sea floor. (Royal Purple,
p.181, p.190; Ziderman, p.429; Twerski, p.85). |
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Name |
porfura |
Raavya
quotes the Yerushalmi identifying tekhelet with the Greek word
porphyra. |
Porphyra
is the Greek word used to refer to Murex snails. (Sterman,
p.68). |
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Sources: R.
Isaac Herzog, The Royal Purple and The Biblical Blue, Keter,
1987. Dr.
Baruch Sterman, The Science of Tekhelet, Tekhelet:
Renaissance of a Mitzvah, YU Press, 1996. Dr.
Yisrael Ziderman, Reinstitution of the Mitzvah of Tekhelet in
Tzitzit, Techumin, Vol. 9. R.
Chaim Twerski, Identifying the Chilazon, Journal of Halacha and
Contemporary Society, Num. XXXIV. | |||
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www.tekhelet.com
mois@tekhelet.com | |||
