Royal blue and the Jew TB Shabbat 75

Jews have never really been into hunting for food because of the kosher laws. If a person kills a kosher animal either by shooting it with a bow and arrow or a gun, the animal becomes treif.  For human consumption the kosher animal must be ritually slaughtered. Domesticated animals are the norm of kosher meat because of their easy accessibility. Nevertheless, one could trap an animal for purposes other than consumption. Consequently, one of the 39 prohibited labors is trapping.  Today’s daf TB Shabbat 75 provides such an example.

“We learned in the mishna, among those liable for performing primary categories of labor: One who traps a deer or any other living creature. The Sages taught in a Tosefta: One who traps a ḥilazon and breaks its shell to remove its blood for the dye is liable to bring only one sin-offering. He is not liable for breaking the shell. Rabbi Yehuda says: He is liable to bring two, for performing the prohibited labors of trapping and for threshing, as Rabbi Yehuda would say: The breaking of a ḥilazon is included in the primary category of threshing, as its objective is to extract the matter that he desires from the shell that he does not.” (Sefaria.or translation)

What is a ḥilazon and why was it so important that Jews trapped them? The Torah commands us to put tsitsit (ציצית) or fringes on the corners of our garments. (Numbers 15:3-41) One of string of these fringes needed to be the color t’kheilet (תכלת) dye (BT Men. 42b).  ““Fluid from a mollusk (ḥilazon) was used to produce the blue (t’kheilet) dye.” (Etz Haim: Torah and Commentary, Halakhah L’ Ma’aseh, page 855)  For the longest time people believed that the ḥilazon was extinct; consequently, there was no blue colored thread on our talitot. Today the ḥilazon has been identified as the Murex trunculus.

“The evidence for identifying the Murex trunculus as the source of tekhelet is decisive, and goes beyond merely fitting the general descriptions of the Chilazon as found in the Talmud:

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Shard of a vat found at Tel Shikmona from the Bronze Age, 3200 years old. The chemical composition of the stain is identical to the dye obtained from Murex trunculus.

The Jerusalem Talmud (as quoted by the Raavyah) translates tekhelet asporphiron (the Latin and Greek name for trunculus-like shells). Pliny and Aristotle describe these shells as the source of the ancient dyes.

·         The Talmud indicates that true tekhelet is indistinguishable from the blue dye of vegetable origin – kala ilan (indigo). The dye ultimately derived from trunculus is molecularly equivalent to indigo.

·         Extensive marine biological surveys have revealed that the only snails in the Mediterranean which produce stable dyes are those of the Murex family. The dye obtained from trunculus is very stable and steadfast, which accords with the Rabbinical description of tekhelet.

·         Archeologists in Tyre and elsewhere uncovered mounds of Murex shells dating from the Biblical period which were broken in the exact spot necessary to obtain the dyestuff. Chemical analysis of blue stains on vats from 1200 BCE reveals patterns consistent with those of modern day trunculus.

·         When listing the precious commodities used in building the Mishkan (tabernacle), the Torah consistently includes tekhelet along with gold, silver, and other familiar materials, recognized by all for their worth. Yechezkel speaks of the tekhelet from Tyre and the “Isles of Elisha”, and the Megillah tells us that in Persia, Mordechai wears royal clothes made of tekhelet. Surely, the Torah is referring to that same valuable dye commonly used by royalty throughout the rest of the ancient world. (https://www.tekhelet.com/tekhelet/introduction-to-tekhelet/)

“Though the snails are plentiful, the amount of dye each yields is infinitesimal. In 1909, tests by the Austrian chemist Paul Friedlander demonstrated that 12,000 snails were needed to provide 1.4 g of pure dye.” (The JPS Torah Commentary: Numbers, page 412) That’s why people called this color royal blue. Only royalty could afford it. “The tsitsit are the epitome of the democratic trust within Judaism, which equalizes not by leveling but by elevating. All of Israel is enjoined to become a nation of priests. In antiquity, the tsitsit (and the hem) were the insignia of authority, high breeding, and nobility. By adding the violet woolen cord to the tsitsit, the Torah qualified nobility with priesthood: Israel is not to rule man but to serve God. Furthermore, tsitsit are not restricted to Israel’s leaders, be they kings, rabbis, or scholars. It is the uniform of all Israel. (Ibid., page 414)