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The essence (ikar) of the mitzvah is tekhelet and one wearing white without tekhelet has not fulfilled a complete mitzvah (mitzvah shleimah). Rashi on Men. 40a
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Tzitzit, the ritual macrame strings and knots that adorn the tallit, and the biblical colour of tekhelet fascinate me. I already introduced the blue thread (tekhelet) in 'One thread, Two thread' (the week of Metzora 5765) where I compared the significance of the Bible's red thread with the blue thread of this week's parasha. Tzitzit are the ritual fringes or tassels on the four corners of the tallit (called gdilim in Deut. 22:12). (The mitzvah and meaning of tzitzit was also written about in a previous column in our archives.) The blue thread was made from a dye derived from a marine snail. The story of how the dye was rediscovered in modern times is fascinating and reads like a mystery novel, with false leads, scientific blunders and accidental breakthroughs. I don't want to go into the scientific details of how the banded dye murex (Murex trunculus) was found to produce the correct blue colour. To make a long story short: a few years ago, a small group of very committed individuals launched the initiative to identify and recover the process to extract the blue dye and opened a small cottage industry to produce the dyed threads. (The website of their organization, Ptil Tekhelet, is well worth checking out. You can also order (pricey) tekhelet threads for your tallit from them online.) Instead, this time I want to focus on a different aspect of this topic; what does having a blue thread mean, and what is the halachic reaction now that the blue dye and tekhelet threads are once again available.
First some background: according to the Torah, we are to look upon the tzitzit and remember to do all the mitzvot (commandments). Some rabbis even went so far as to say that wearing mitzvot equals all the other commandments, or at the very least, protects us from sin! How does this work? One thread of the tzitzit was tekhelet, blue, which reminds us of the sea, the sky, and God's Throne of Glory. According to the Sefat Emet's mystical commentary, these three levels remind us of the Exodus (sea), the Torah (sky) and God's presence (throne). (These also correspond to the three festivals: Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot and Miriam, Moses, and Aaron, respectively). This was a colour worn by the priests, so wearing a blue thread would remind us that we are a holy people. According to the midrash, the blue reminds us of the tablets (which were inscribed on sapphire). Producing this blue colour was (and continues to be) labour intensive, and not surprisingly expensive and a symbol of royalty. According to a guide from Ptil Tekhelet, the contrast between the blue and the white threads is the important thing. The sea, the sky (and God's presence) are all, at times perceived as blue and yet at the same time we understand that they are both colourless (air is clear and water is clear). It is the same with God's presence. Sometimes it is visible like the blue, and sometimes it is all around us but not perceived. There is even numerical significance to the threads and knots and windings so when you look at the tzitzit, you are reminded of all the mitzvot and that God is one. Pretty neat for a bunch of strings and knots!
So the tzitzit are pretty important. But the Torah specifically states: and when you look upon the blue thread... Do your tallit's fringes have a blue thread? How did the blue thread get lost? After the Jews were exiled by the Romans in the second century, the identity of the marine snail and the dye-processing techniques were eventually lost. Difficulties in ascertaining that the blue threads were in fact kosher, and not the counterfeit blue (indigo from plant sources) the rabbis waived the requirement of the blue thread. Because the rabbis considered this a mitzvah with two parts (1. wear a blue thread, and 2. wear tzitzit), they retained the mitzvah of tzitzit. For about 1500 years, Jews have only worn white tzitzit. (By the way, as a way of remembering the blue thread, the tallit garment itself usually had blue stripes that became the inspiration for the Israeli flag.) We now have a unique situation to restore the performance of a direct mitzvah from the Torah (unrelated to the land of Israel). We also no longer practice the mitzvot that relate to the Temple, until the Temple is rebuilt. But the mitzvah of tekhelet is unique in that it is the only mitzvah, unrelated to the Temple or the land of Israel, that fell into disuse and in our generation we now have the opportunity to restore. So the question is, why has the practice not found wide acceptance, in either the liberal or traditional communities? Look around the next time you're in synagogue and let me know how many people have tekhelet threads on their tzitzit. I bet not alot. I realize that tekhelet has only become available recently; over time more Jews are finding out about the availability of tekhelet and choosing to tie tekhelet threads. (Every year, the number of orders for tekhelet from Ptil Tekhelet grows).
Among liberal Jews, fulfilling mitzvot precisely as they are mandated by halachah is often not an issue. So I would not expect large numbers of liberal Jews to worry whether they have tekhelet threads on their tzitzit or not. But what about the observant community for whom the halachic performance of mitzvot is a priority? The reason isn't price (you should see the price of the etrog (used for only one week a year) or for a beautifully scribed mezzuzah or tefillin). On one 'blog' I've read of some discomfort with the practice being not environmentally-friendly: killing 30 snails for one set of tekhelet threads, but I hardly think that is the stumbling block for most Jews. A few challenge the authenticity of the identification, but they are in the minority. A number of prominent rabbis are convinced: Rabbi Moshe Tendler, talmudic scholar and biology professor at Yeshiva University, Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, and Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, author and psychiatrist. But even with these heavy-weights, there is definitely some resistance. The issue, Rabbi Weinreb explains is that, "sociologically, Halacha tends to be very conservative and tekhelet is an innovation, which people tend to resist because it's new." Even though he admits that "many of us are convinced that this is a way to do the mitzvah completely," and wearing tekhelet evokes "a sense of the tradition centuries ago — before it was lost."
Isn't this surprising? An ancient, authentic, and fuller way to perform a mitzvah is resisted by the halachic community because it is perceived of as an innovation. In religious communities where there is a strong force of conformity I wonder what the tipping point will be. Right now maybe only two or three (brave) souls in a synagogue might have tekhelet. (The number is higher in 'hip' Orthodox communities). What happens when it reaches 25, or 50 percent? At a certain point, will it become prevalent (and those who don't have tekhelet will be considered less authentic?) We'll have to wait and see.
Lessons for Today
Just so readers do not think that I am being unfairly critical of one group, let me hasten to point out that the same resistance to innovation and change is found in liberal communities too. I remember being a 'rebellious' teenager and going to a Reform synagogue with my head covered (shocking!) and I was asked to remove it. That synagogue was as 'orthodox' about not covering one's head as Orthodox synagogues are about covering it. I find that most organizations, even if they at one time believed in 'reform', are pretty resistant to change. I have tekhelet threads on my tallit. It is a reminder to do the mitzvot and that God is one, but it is also a graphic symbol that we must continue to be open to change and growth or we risk becoming a fossil.
Shabbat Shalom
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