In Levush HaAron (pages 89-92) the question is brought up: “How can the chemical test of Chazal differentiate between תכלת and קלא אילן?” It answers: “… The indirubin that is present in plant indigo is known to make vat dyes…
H/T Rabbi Mordechai Honig for finding this 15th century Ksav Yad on Rashi for Bechoros 38a. Our modern editions have “Chilazon” as “Limon” (almost like a lemon). Apparently this was a misprint, aaaaaand….. it’s yet another reference to Limetz/Limace (snail)!…
A few weeks ago I ran some dyeing experiments to test: a) if dyeing murex trunculus wool at night will produce blue, b) if it’s purple, if heat will turn it blue without UV rays from sunlight (as Ptil Tekhelet…
In case one was wondering if a Rishon was explicit in what Techeiles and the source is, to me the most blatant one is the Raavya (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliezer_ben_Joel_HaLevi) to explain Brachos 1 Halacha 2 in the Talmud Yerushalmi . While more…
Among the Techeiles community, it’s well known that Rabbi Chaim Yisroel Belsky ZT”L wore Techeiles but didn’t actively tell people they needed to wear it. What many people don’t know was his journey to arrive to the conclusion that murex…
Techeiles is a Mitzvah in the Torah that has been lost for 1,300 years. Upon its revival, it naturally has received its healthy dose of skepticism for various reasons. This is my “top 10” list of common objections to wearing…
This post originally was seen at BeisHamikdashTopics by Yoav Elan. It is widely known that techeiles (the blue dye) comes from a sea creature called the chilazon. Many hundreds of these animals had to be harvested from the bottom of the ocean in…
This is an incredible resource, in that this gives you the recipe. Translated by Dr. Israel Ziderman, and edited by me. That said, I found out about the exact translation of the “mystery chemicals” below: Tartar Deporat – (Cream of…
See this presentation below on how to get the blue color. Sunlight at a specific stage. Making purple, then steam in a very hot temperature (or boiling water). R’ Toporovich – even if you take solution and boil it, turns…
By Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein. Apparently Kachol used to mean dark and/or silvery. Techeiles and Sapir (sapphire) were used to simply mean “blue.” The original, unedited piece was in Google Groups “What’s in a Word?” The English language is blessed…