Posted on 03/01/2011 12:41:11 AM PST by firebrand
RAMAT GAN, Israel — One of the mysteries that scholars have puzzled over for centuries is the exact shade of blue represented by “tekhelet,” which the Bible mentions as the color of ceremonial robes donned by high priests and ritual prayer tassels worn by the common Israelite.
What was known about tekhelet (pronounced t-CHELL-et) was that the Talmud said it was produced from the secretion of the sea snail, which is still found on Israeli beaches.
Traditional interpretations have characterized tekhelet as a pure blue, symbolic of the heavens so that Jews would remember God. Not so, according to an Israeli scholar who has a new analysis: tekhelet appears to have been closer to a bluish purple.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Do you have a source for this? Worthy of a letter to the Times, if so.
FASCINATING.
THX.
Thanks for the ping! :-)
The dye came from the chillazon, which washed up on shore only "once every seventy years." Whether or not they have actually identified the correct species is yet to be seen.
Another challenge I heard is that the process they performed to produce the dye was repeatable with other crustaceans. I forgot the source but I believe I heard it from an amazing rov, Rabbi David Fink (a link to his tzitzis class, although I haven’t listened to it to see if he talks about techeyles. I wasn’t at this shiur but he lectured at my yeshiva: http://www.ytyh.org/audio/AudioShiurim/Fink/Fink-Tzititit-OC-S10.mp3 )
In general, (and one of the best things I learned from him) to pick and choose minhagim (customs) from different groups (wearing techeyles tzitzis like a zionist, a black hat like a charedi, a gartle (belt for prayer) like a chossid...) is problematic. How to define “problematic?” Ask your local orthodox rabbi...
The article says “some time after” 70. That means a long time, not sometime. I wonder if the Times writer decided not to get into the issue of the Muslim conquest.
When the time is right, the correct red heifer will be born and the sacrifices will resume on the rebuilt third temple.
God says the temple will be rebuilt and there will be sacrifices and it will happen.
No doubt about it.
The response? "He will help us rebuild our temple".
I almost fell out of my chair. Rebuilding the temple could very well be part of the seven-year "peace" contract that the Antichrist confirms between Israel and the nations.
Unbelievable.
GGG ping?
|
· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe · |
|||
Antiquity Journal & archive Archaeologica Archaeology Archaeology Channel BAR Bronze Age Forum Discover Dogpile Eurekalert LiveScience Mirabilis.ca Nat Geographic PhysOrg Science Daily Science News Texas AM Yahoo Excerpt, or Link only? |
|
||
|
· Science topic · science keyword · Books/Literature topic · pages keyword · |
|||
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
Whoops, and thanks for the pings!
Interesting stuff. Does anybody know if the blue on the Israeli flag, then... is symbolic of that blue as used on ceremonial robes? or does it refer to something else?
Yes, the article specifically states that is what the blue on the Israeli flag represents.
Yea. Love it.
Long my favorite color.
Very cool. Thanks!!
So... if they finally decide that the color blue was in fact different... will they change the flag? :-)
Thank you for the ping. At least a crustacean has another use rather that being eaten by the goyim. Reading what the consensus among Orthodox/Hasidim is.........
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
