Ep. 55: Techeiles: The History of the Mysterious Blue Dye and its Fringe Benefits

The word “Techeiles” is mentioned dozens of times in the Torah, and is a subject that appears in many places in the Talmud and associated literature. Techeiles is both a color and a material , namely wool dyed with this color, but to fulfill the Torah’s requirement for this particular color it can only be derived from the blood of a mysterious aquatic creature called a chilazon. T he identity of the chilazon and the process of extracting and priming the dye for Techeiles was lost for about 1500 years. In the past 150 years, the subject of Techeiles had a resurgence and has aroused much interest and debate due to several claims of the rediscovery of the chilazon and the process of converting it into Techeiles. What is Techeiles, why is it relevant, and what do we know about its alleged rediscovery? – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php . Thank you! Contact: Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.org Twitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com. Please SUBSCRIBE, RATE and REVIEW all my podcasts on iTunes, Android, and Stitcher: Podcasts Links: This Jewish Life – A Podcast About Jewish Philosophy: Apple Podcasts , Android , Stitcher ; The Jewish History Podcast – The podcast telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish Peoples: Apple Podcasts , Android , Stitcher ; The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly podcast of analyzing and Exploring the Parsha: Apple Podcasts , Android , Stitcher ; TORAH 101 – A Podcast about the Divinity of Torah and the relationship between the Written and Oral Torah: Apple Podcasts , Android , Stitcher ; Eternal Ethics – The Pirkei Avos Podcast by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts , Android , Stitcher .