CONTENTS Techeiles Revisited Rabbi Berel Wein PAGES 2-4 Principles Regarding Tying Tzitzis with Techeiles TOPICS IN Collected Sources Perek PAGES 5-7 Kala Ilan Rabbi Ari Zivotofsky PAGES 8-9 Dyeing Techeiles HaTecheiles Dr. Baruch Sterman DAF YOMI • MENACHOS PEREK 4 PAGES 10-11 Maareh Sheni in Dyeing Techeiles PAGES 12-13 Rav Achai’s Dilemna PAGES 12-13 PTIL TEKHELET The Coins of Techeiles Dr. Ari Greenspan The Common Thread that Unites our PAGE 15 DEDICATED BY Jewish Past, Present, and Future RABBI & MRS. DOVID FULD Techeiles Revisited Rabbi Berel Wein “Color is an emotional ne of the enduring mysteries of Jewish life following the exile of the Jews from the Land of Israel was the disappearance of the string of experience. Techeiles Otecheiles in the tzitzis garment that Jews wore. Techeiles was known to be of a blue color while the other strings of the tzitzis were white in color. Not only did Jews stop wearing techeiles but they apparently even forgot how is the emotional it was once manufactured. The Talmud identified techeiles as being produced from the “blood” of a sea creature called the chilazon. And though the Talmud reminder of the bond did specify certain traits and identifying characteristics belonging to the chilazon, the description was never specific enough for later generations of Jews to unequivocally determine which sea creature was in fact the chilazon. between ourselves It was known that the chilazon was harvested in abundance along the northern coast of the Land of Israel from Haifa to south of Tyre in Lebanon (Shabbos and Hashem and 26a). Though techeiles itself disappeared from Jewish life as part of the damage of exile, the subject of techeiles continued to be discussed in the great halachic how we get closer to works of all ages. Just as the Jews did not forget Zion and Jerusalem, their subconscious memory of past glory and spiritual greatness kept techeiles Hashem with Ahavas alive, in their memory if not in actual practice. There are a number of basic questions a “lost” commandment, the tradition Hashem, the love of that require study in order for any (mesorah) of which has also been determination of the possibility of lost? These questions, which have observing techeiles in our time. The always existed and been discussed Hashem, the love of three main questions are: 1) When and in halachic and rabbinic literature, why did techeiles disappear from the began to move from the realm of Torah and Mitzvos,” Jewish world? 2) Which sea creature is purely intellectual and speculative the chilazon and how can blue dye be to the arena of Jewish practice about RABBI ABRAHAM J. TWERSKI manufactured from it? and 3) Even if one hundred thirty years ago. Since the chilazon can be positively identi- then, the search for the chilazon fied and techeiles processed from it, is and the debate about renewing the it within our halachic power to revive observance of techeiles has intensified 2 • PTIL TEKHELET • WWW.TEKHELET.COM Techeiles Revisited the Moslem conquest of dye obtained from that squid, which the country, in c. 638. he believed was techeiles. He defended In any event, the range his contentions in a massive three- of dates advanced volume work of Torah scholarship for the disappear- entitled Sfunei Tmunei Chol, Psil ance of techeiles in Techeiles, and Ein Hatecheiles. How- the Jewish world ever, Rabbi Herzog in his 1913 disserta- extends from tion proved that Rabbi Leiner’s squid the late fifthwas not the chilazon. Rather, Rabbi century (Rabbi Herzog advanced the theory that the Yehoshua Kutner chilazon was a snail, Murex trunculus, in Yeshuat Malko, that had been discovered in Mediter- Orach Chaim, 2:1- ranean waters by a French zoologist, 3) to the fifteenth Henri Lacaze Duthiers, in 1857. How- century with the ever, Rabbi Herzog was disappointed fall of Constantinople by the fact that the dye obtained to the Moslems in from this snail was purple in color 1453 (mentioned by Rav and not the blue indigo necessary Herzog as a possibil- for techeiles. The problem that Rabbi ity, though he personally rejects Herzog raised was solved by a chance it.) Mar Shalom Gaon (died 859), discovery of Dr. Otto Elsner of the The seal of the Rebbe of Radzyn, Rav Nachshon Gaon (died in 889) Shenkar Institute in Tel Aviv in the Rav Gershon Henoch Leiner, z”l Rav Shmuel ben Chafni Gaon (died early 1980’s. He discovered that the 1034), Rav Yitzchak Alfasi (died 1103), liquid extracted from the gland of until it has now achieved the status Rambam (died 1204), and many the snail, when exposed to the air, of discussion regarding practical other great Geonim of Babylonia and turns purple in color. However, dur- observance. Rishonim of Spain and France ing the dyeing process, when it is There are various dates and reasons bemoan the disappearance of techeiles exposed to direct sunlight it turns attributed to the demise of techeiles in from the Jewish scene. From all of into a brilliant indigo blue. The many the Jewish world. In the ancient world this it seems clear that techeiles was thousands of Jews who wear techeiles (and later in the world of Rome), the no longer available by the time of the today in their tzitzis obtain their colors of purple and blue were reserved zenith of the Moslem conquests in the techeiles strings from the dye of this for royalty and the upper classes. Mediterranean basin and the Balkans Murex trunculus snail (except of course The Romans were especially zealous in the seventh century. Rabbi David for the Radzyner Chasidim who follow about their governmental monop- ben Zimra (Radvaz) of Cairo stated oly on dye production for the royal at the end of the fifteenth century purple and blue. The Talmud records that the chilazon may certainly yet the arrest of two rabbis from Israel exist in the waters of the Mediterra- who were smuggling techeiles into nean but “we are unable to harvest it.” the Jewish community of Babylonia This situation remained in effect un- (Sanhedrin 12a). The Talmud also til the end of the nineteenth century. records that techeiles was brought to As for the remaining two questions Babylonia in the time of Rav Achai regarding techeiles – the identity of c. 500 CE (Menachos 43a). There is the sea creature called chilazon and no specific reference in the Talmud whether a “lost” commandment and that Jews were not able to obtain tradition can be revived after cen- and wear techeiles. Since the final turies of absence – there entered on redaction of the Babylonian Talmud the scene in 1889 Rabbi Gershon occurred c. 570 CE, Rabbi Isaac Henoch Leiner, the Radzyner Rebbe. Halevi Herzog, the first Chief Rabbi of Rabbi Leiner claimed that the Israel, in his seminal work on techeiles, chilazon was a type of squid called assumes that the techeiles manufac- the cuttlefish and he actually pro- turing factories in the Land of Israel duced thousands of sets of tzitzis that The Chilazon: were destroyed during the time of included a blue string made from a Murex trunculus Techeiles Revisited PTIL TEKHELET • WWW.TEKHELET.COM • 3 their Rebbe’s opinion that the chilazon was a squid.) There seems to be little doubt today that the snail, Murex trunculus, is indeed the long- lost elusive chilazon. The question of reviving techeiles use has been hotly debated in rabbinic circles for over a century. Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, the rabbi in Slutzk and Brisk in the middle and late 1800’s, discussed Rabbi Leiner’stecheiles and rejected it. Unfortunately, the Beis Halevi’s actual responsa was lost and two versions of his reckoning have come down to us. The Radzyner Rebbe, quoting the Brisker Rav in order to answer his objection, presents Rav Seated from left to right: HaRav Reuven Katz, HaGaon Rav Dov Weidenfeld of Tzivin, Soleveitchik’s contention that since HaRav Shmuel Yitzchak Hillman, and Chief Rabbi Isaac HaLevi Herzog. this squid was well known to the rabbis of all the ages, yet they did not regard it as being the chilazon, ery of how to obtain blue indigo dye One thing is certain: techeiles has this in effect constitutes a negative from its gland, would be sufficient in become a living issue and has left tradition regarding equating the terms of the first position attributed the exclusivity of the study hall and squid with the chilazon. However, if to the Brisker Rav, and on that basis entered into the everyday life of tens of the chilazon was instead found to be some feel that it is obligatory to wear thousands of Jews the world over. a newly discovered sea creature that techeiles in our very time. was unknown to the rabbis through- out the centuries, the lack of rabbinic There is a statement in the Midrash tradition would not necessarily dis- [Midrash Tanhuma (Shelach 28); qualify the techeiles produced from Bamidbar Rabba (17:5).] that techeiles “There is an obligation this recently discovered sea creature, was “nignaz” – “put-away/hidden.” There assuming, of course, that the pro- are those that maintain that this upon all who are spective chilazon and techeiles met statement also precludes the use of the criteria set forth in the Talmud. techeiles in our time. But it seems capable, to search for Within the Brisk family, though, a dif- clear that this was not the inten- [techeiles], to merit ferent line of reasoning is attributed tion of the Midrash, especially since to the Beis Halevi. They claim that techeiles was still in use after the Israel with this the Brisker Rav required a positive time of the writing of this Midrash.