The third chapter of massekhet Menakhot dealt with aspects of different mitzvot which are essential. For example, each letter in a Torah scroll is essential. If a letter is missing, the entire Torah scroll becomes pasul, unusable until repaired. The fourth chapter discusses those aspects of a mitzvah which aren’t essential at all. The fourth chapter begins: “MISHNA: The absence of the sky-blue (also described as violet-gg) [tekhelet] strings does not prevent fulfillment of the mitzva of ritual fringes with the white strings, and the absence of white strings does not prevent fulfillment of the mitzva with the sky-blue strings. If one has only one, he wears it without the other. ” (Sefaria.org translation)
The commandment of tsitsit
is found in Numbers 15:37-40. “And
Adonoy spoke to Moses saying: Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them to
make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their
generations; and they will place with the fringes of each corner a violet thread
(tekhalet). And it will be to you for
fringes, and you will look upon it and you will remember all the commandments
of Adonoy, and you will perform them; and you will not turn aside after your
hearts and after your eyes which cause you to go astray. In order that you will
remember and perform all My commandments; and you will be holy unto your God. I
am Adonoy, your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I
am Adonoy, your God—” (Searia.org translation) Twice a day we
were site this paragraph as the third paragraph of the prayer Shema.
The fringes
or tassels on the corners of the garment are four threads that are folded in become
eight when attached to the garment through a hole. The tekhalet threads must be wool and depending on the material of the
garment the other two threads may be of any other material. The Mishna teaches
that the tekhalet threads or the
white threads are non-essential. The garment may have four tekhalel threads or four white threads.
Jacob Milgram in Excursus 38 in the New JPS Commentary
on the book of Numbers comments in detail about the mitzvah of tsitsit. This excursus is very
interesting and extensive. I have only quoted those paragraphs that seems to me
most relevant concerning the tekhalet.
“The nature of tsitsit
is illuminated by the literature and art of the Ancient Near East, which shows
that the hem was ornate in comparison to the rest of the outer robe. The more
important the individual, the more elaborate embroidery of his hem. His
significance lies not in his artistry but in its symbolism as an extension of
his owner’s person and authority…
“… Another legal context of the hem is illustrated by
clay documents, on which the impression of a hem replaces a signature. Today a
nonliterate might sign with his fingerprints; in ancient Mesopotamia, however,
it was the upper-class that might use the hem.
“E. A. Speiser has made the attractive suggestion that
the practice in the synagogue to this day oppressing the edge of the tallit to
the Torah scroll is a survivor of this ancient custom. This act followed by the
recitation of the blessings may well have originated as a dramatic
reaffirmation of the participants commitment to the Torah. He thereby pledges
both in words (blessing) and indeed (impressing his ‘signature’ on the scroll)
to live by the Torah’s commandments.
“… The requirement of the tekhalet, the violet cord, gives further support to the notion that
tsitsit signified nobility. The
violet die was extracted from the gland of the murex snail (khizalon; Sif Deuteronomy 354, Shabbat
26a, Menakhot 42b)… (Blue is not an earth color. Unlike earth colors used as
dies like red and brown, it is very rare. Because it was so rare, blue dye was
very expensive. Only the nobility could afford it. That’s how the color blue
became known as royal blue.-gg)
“Though the snails are plentiful, the amount of
Daiichi yields is infinitesimal. In 1909, test by the Austrian chemist Paul
Friedlander demonstrated that 12,000 snails were needed to provide 1.4 g of
pure dye. No wonder that during the reign of Nabonidus, the last king of
Babylon (555-539 BCE), purple wall was 40 times more expensive than will die
with other colors. In 200 BCE 1 g of the die caused $84, or 36,000 per pound.
Diocletin paid the equivalent of $8460 for 320 g of pure silk from Sidon or
#11,724 per pound. In 300 CE the demand raise the price of Sidonian in silk to
$98,700 per pound (all figures are in 1984 dollars).
“The Bible apparently assumed that even the poorest
Israelite could afford at least four violet threads, one for each tassel… Thus
weaving a violent thread into the tsitsit
enhances its symbolism as a mark of nobility. Further, since all Jews are
required to wear it, it is a sign that Jews are people nobility. Their
sovereign, however, is not mortal: Jews are princes of God.
“To recapitulate: The tsitsit are the epitome of the democratic thrust 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) where the insignia of authority, high breeding, and nobility. By
adding the violet wooden court 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.” (Pages 410-414)
“Tekhelet, or Biblical Blue, was once the most precious commodity in the
ancient world. For reasons, some understood and some less so, about 1300 years
ago, Tekhelet was lost, and the secrets of this wondrous blue color including
he identity of the mysterious sea creature – the Chillazon – that produced the
dye, slipped into obscurity. Jews continued to wear tzitzit, but with only
white strings were unable to fulfil the mitzvah in its most complete
form. Over the past few decades, research by both the scientific and
halachic communities has led to the identification of the Chillazon as the Murex trunculus sea-snail and once again Jews can wear Tekhelet as
commanded in the Torah.”
To learn more about the
revival of the mitzvah of including tekhalet in our tallitot follow this link:
Torah.https://www.tekhelet.com/pdf/DafYomi-2026-Eng1.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment