The Mysterious Secret of the Hilazon – Dyeing to be Holy.

This is part of the mystery of the Tzitzit (fringe), and not the Tallit (Prayer Shawl) itself. Scriputre shows that our Hebrew Savior, Lord Jesus/Yeshua did wear Tzitziot, (the plural of Tzitzit), on His Prayer Shawl. This was a matter of keeping Torah, the Law, the Instruction of God; and Messiah kept Torah perfectly!Numbers 15:37-41 verse 38, ‘And the Lord/YHVH/Adonai spake unto Moses, saying, “Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them throughout their generations fringes in the corners of their garments, and that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue.”Each of the four corners of the garment, ‘Tallit’ (prayer shawl), had to have Tzitzit (fringe) on it. This was made very clear to the children of Israel. They were to look on fringes and ‘Remember (Zikkaron) the ‘Words’ of Torah.’ 

 For God to place this instruction in scripture, commanding His people to make the fringes with the blue thread, He was in effect saying: ‘You are a kingdom of priests to Me.’ This is echoed in Rev. 1:6: “He has made us kings and priests (lit. ‘a kingdom of priests’) unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.” 

The scriptures also teach that it was a violation ordinarily for one to mix two fibers such as wool and linen.

The fringes were to be made of wool, but this blue thread was to be made of linen.

So only in this instance, did God allow this to be done. It goes without saying that wool comes from sheep and of course the significance that Jesus/Yeshua being not only the Shepherd but also the Lamb of God is not without deep meaning.

A talit gadol (or a talit katan) must be primarily white with black stripes and made from at least 51% natural fibers. ‘Who is this that comes from Edom, with DYED garments from Bozrah? This glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength? I that speak in righteousness mighty to save’. (Isaiah 63:1) The word tallit תַטִלּי is pronounced TAH-LISS by those who use the East European Hebrew dialect. The plural, “tallesim,” is pronounced as TAH-LAY-SIM.” The more modern Israeli pronounciation you will hear most often, is “TAH-LEET.” The plural is “tallitot.” Pronounced as TAHLEE-TOHT.” The fringes on the talit are “tzitzit.” Pronounced zeet zeet  “TSI-TSIT.”The term Tallit, or talith is two Hebrew words, “TAL, meaning “tent” and ITH, meaning “little.” The tallit, when wrapped around the shoulders and pulled over the head, forms for the owner a “little tent” or “prayer closet where he may meet privately with God. The Psalmist writes:

I will dwell in your tent for all ages; I will take refuge in the shelter of the corners of your Tallit.” Tassels added to the hem were not worn by commoners, but by the nobility or royalty. The second significance of the tzitzit, then, is that they showed the wearer to be more than a commoner. He was a noble, or a royal personage.Not just the presence of the tzitzit but their colors also carried meaning. The color was white, but among the white cords on each tassel there was to be one blue strand. This color combination was part of the trappings of royalty, as were the colors blue and purple:The third significance of the tzitzit, therefore, was in their colors. They spoke of royalty and kingship. Even today we talk of “royal blue” and “royal purple” from the custom of Roman emperors who wore purple mantles.

The Tzitzit had to have a cord of blue (techlet) in it, according to the command of God. Why Blue and where did the blue color come from?

Tekhelet or techlet is a blue dye mentioned 49 times in the Hebrew Bible/Tenakh.It was used in the clothing of the High Priest,the tapestriesof the Tabernacleand the Tassels.Blue stripes were to be used: as with techelet, the sages explain why tekhelet blue is so significant.

The symbolism of tekhelet is manifold;the rich blue colors recall the oceans and the sea. The sea is like the sky of the infinite Heavens, reminding us of God’s presence in the world and of the bond between the wearer and God;
 and the Heavens are like God’s Throne of Glory, (kisei ha’kavod), the foundations of which are said to be sapphire. It is also to remind us of God Himself and where the Divine Presence dwells.

In the old testament The tallith of a prophet or master teacher would have dark purple-blue threads in the corner tassel. People believed that the purple thread contained miracle power.This is why the woman with the issue of blood wanted to touch the hem of Jesus’ tallith or garment. When she was healed, Jesus said, “Who touched Me?…I felt virtue leave Me.” Then He told her, “Your faith has made you whole,” clarifying it was not a purple thread but her faith in Him as Messiah (see Matthew 9:20-22 and Luke 8:43-48). 

According to the Talmud, the color was obtained and dye produced from a marine creature. A species of snail called Murex trunculus,known as the Hilazon or Chilazon.

It took some 12,000 of these to fill a thimble with blue dye.

This small animal’s body contains a special gland.

The liquid from this gland was dried and became a powered dye.In Acts 16, Lydia, a resident of Thyatira;being a seller of purple, would have been a wealthy and influencial woman. The clients who purchased garments or fabric from her, were the very rich. (Acts 16:14-16:40)This color was so expensive, that all but royalty were to wear it. When Messiah Jesus/Yeshua haMashiach returns riding in the heavens on His majestic white war horse, He will be clothed in glorious royal, garments of a King.

The zitzit with one thread of blue.

Why Blue and where did the blue color come from?

Some three thousand five hundred years ago, Moses gave instructions for the making of “tekhelet” (blue dye) that was to be used in the veil that covered the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and in the ribbons along the edges of the tallit – the Jewish prayer shawl.

One of the contributions Adonai requested in the wilderness was blue which is tekhelet תכלת in Hebrew. Tekhelet blue, known as Divine Blue, identifying Israel and her God.Numbers 15:38, established the cord of blue as a necessity for all generations of Israel: “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.”

 Much of the Wilderness Tabernacle utilized tekhelet blue:


Exodus 26:1 “ten curtains of fine twisted linen and tekhelet blue”Exodus 26:4 “loops of tekhelet blue on the edge of the outermost curtain … likewise on the edge of the curtain in the second set.”

• Exodus 26:31 “You shall make a veil of tekhelet blue…”Exodus 26:36 “a screen for the doorway of the tent of tekhelet blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen…”

• Exodus 27:16 “a screen of twenty cubits, of tekhelet blue…” 

This fact alone is very curious, as the Israelites must have had access to a significant amount of this dye and they were in the wilderness! The interesting question is, did they bring it with them from Egypt? Was it part of the wealth of Egypt that they left with?This is probably the case as the coast of Egypt which included Goshen where they were enslaved was part of the Mediterranean Sea; and also as expensive as this color was to own, no doubt the Egyptians had it and it was something to be desired.Location of wilderness tabernacle and where they were in the wilderness at Mount Sinai.Here they received Torah and instructions for building the Mishkan.The distance from Goshen to Mediterranean Sea was about 40 kilometers, approx. 25miles.

Lost and Found — The Tale of a Snail

Tekhelet blue, known as Divine Blue, has come to symbolize the hope of redemption; with its loss and amazing rediscovery after nearly 2,000 years.

 Extracting blue and purple dyes from a snail that grew in the Mediterranean became an important industry for centuries. However, with the Islamic invasion of the Holy Land in the seventh century, the industry disappeared. For the past 14 centuries the formula has evaded Jewish scholars.

Thus, until recently, Jewish prayer shawls have had only black ribbons.

When the Romans conquered Israel in 63 BC they seized control of the production of tekhelet blue.  By the third century AD, under the Emperor Constantine, only Romans, and primarily royalty, were allowed to use and wear the tekhelet blue. Jews were prohibited from its use—especially after the Council of Nicaea which established harsh laws restricting Jews (and Christians) from observing biblical commandments from the Old Testament.

Jewish dyers went underground. By around 600 AD, as the Jews were scattered, persecuted, and confined to ghettos, the identity of the creature from which the dye was extracted and the process of producing tekhelet blue was lost all together.From that time until very recently, tallits, the traditional prayer shawl that held the tzitzit, or tassels, as commanded in Numbers 15:38, on its corners, could not contain the cord of blue. 

The sages believed the loss of the tekhelet blue was attributed to the disobedience of Israel, suggesting that its rediscovery would be a sign of restoration and signal the coming of Messiah in His glory to Israel.

The miraculous rebirth of Israel in 1948, and the reunification of Jerusalem following the Six Day War in 1967 inspired zeal and renewed hope among the Jewish People. They thought redemption may truly be at hand. The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has painstakingly recreated the Holy Vessels and Garments in anticipation of the rebuilding of the Holy Temple according to biblical descriptions. Missing were the tekhelet blue and the ashes of the Red Heifer.

Tekhelet Restored! 

Tekhelet, (Strong’s 8504) the color (violet). Strong’s feels this sapphire blue comes from the Cerulean mussel in which the dye was obtained.  This was the color, blue, representing the firmament of the heavens that was used as fabric and curtains to drape the ceiling of the Wilderness Tabernacle.  It was the Zohar, when it refered to tekeleth, that stated, “This color had to appear in the Tabernacle for this reason:”Genesis 1:6 – “And God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’” 

It was this dye, the color sapphire blue that became one of the rarest and most costly of dyes to be obtained in the ancient world.  It was always known to come from the gland of a snail in the Mediterranean, which disappeared soon after the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, and the process of how to extract it was lost. One source reports that in 1984, Irving Ziderman, a biochemist at the Israel Fiber Institute in Jerusalem, was able to identify the source of the ancient dye. After years of research, trial and error, he perfected the process, using the mucus of the “banded dye murex,” a spiny shellfish once thought to be extinct.Not until 1985, one Sabbatical week of years, was this snail rediscovered in the Mediterranean. Out of it came the royal purple and the royal blue.  It was also this blue dye that was used to dye the blue cord on each tzitzit, which was the hem or fringe of the prayer shawls of the Hebrews as commanded by HaShem.

Murex branfaris and Murex trunculus Snails 

 Numbers 15:37 – “HaShem said to Moses saying, Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tzit-tzit on the corners of your garments, and with a blue cord on each tzit-tzit, You will have these tzit-tzit to look at and you will remember ALL the commands of the Lord, and you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lust of your own hearts and eyes.  Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God.’”

 The secret to reviving this ancient formula to fulfill the commandment in Exodus 25:4 and produce tekhelet blue was a riddle waiting until the 1980s to be solved. 

The Biblical True Blue from the Murex Trunculus The Murex Trunculus snail had been identified in the early 20th century by the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. Ezekiel 27:7 speaks of Tekhelet blue from Tyre and the coastlands of Elishah. Archaeologists uncovered mounds of Murex shells in Tyre and the surrounding area that dated to the biblical period. Blue stains on large pots and vats from 1200 BC were tested, and found to be consistent with the modern day Murex trunculus. However, until the 1980’s all experiments on the Murex extract only yielded purple dye …

until one sunny day.

Otto Elsner, a professor at Shenker College of Engineering and Design near Tel Aviv, took the process outside in the sunlight, and found that the dye specimen turned a beautiful, perfect tekhelet blue.

As soon as the gland is exposed to oxygen, the liquid in that gland undergoes a fascinating chemical transformation from a clear liquid to a yellow, to a green, a greenish blue, aquamarine, then blue and ultimately ends up a dark purple the purple liquid is dried and then ground into a powder.  By exposing this new compound to sunlight, the blue described in the ancient Jewish sources is achieved.Dr. Baruch Sterman describes one of the most dramatic aspects of the tekhelet:

“The molecules of any specific color can be measured in exact wavelengths.  This measurement is read in increments called nanometers.  When the molecules of the blue color called Tekhelet, extracted from the murex trunculus snail are measured, the reading peaks at exactly 613 nanometers. What a marvelous coincidence that this number matches the total number of commandments in the Torah, written by the finger of God in sky-blue sapphire.”Because eventually the tekhelet was lost, until recently, an observant Jew could not fulfill the directive of gazing upon the blue cord or meditate on the “twist of blue” and recall the eternal Torah, hewn from sapphire under the Throne of Glory. However once again he can and very soon the non-Jew, who loves God, Torah and Israel, can look forward to the days when;

Zechariah 8:23 – “Ten men of all languages and nations will take hold of one Jew by the corner Tzit-tzit of his garment and say, ‘Let us go with you because we have heard that God is with you.’”

Once again—for the first time in almost 2,000 years, the Jewish People are able to fulfill this commandment in the Land of Israel. And once more, they wear a cord of blue in their tzitzit as commanded.

The Talmud (Menahot 44a) says that once every 70 years the shores of the land of Israel are visited by the segulit snail from which the tekhelet, used to mark certain religious items, was made.

On November 10, 1990, The Jerusalem Post reported that these snails had begun to surface by the thousands along the Mediterranean coast!!

Some Orthodox Jews believe the reappearance of the snails are a sign of the approaching of the Messianic Age. 

Today, in Israel those praying at the Western Wall are wearing prayer shawls with beautiful blue ribbons.

Below is a 2,000-year old textile that contains the mysterious blue dye described in the Bible.Isaiah writes: and come let us reason together that our sins though they be as scarlet, κόκκινον, can become as white as snow. 

This color of “sins like scarlet or κόκκινον, red as crimson” of Isaiah 1:18, is Tyrian or Phoenician purple, crimson of murex shellfish from φοινός phoinós “blood red” Mycenaean…

The miracle of this techlet is now being made once again in Israel. They have found the snail, (murex trunculus), that is needed to make the blue dye.

Today as we are literally seeing Bible prophecy fulfilled before our eyes; in so many ways and in such precise detail helps us to realize we are in close proximity to His appearance. Are we truly living by the fringe of a wing and a prayer?

Let’s continue praying with intent, ‘within tent’!

Remembering, taleh means lamb, and also comes from the word that means covering!

God provided Himself a lamb.

The Taleh Elohim the Lamb of God.

The Lamb is our covering –  The Taleh is our Taletha !

This small snail has returned to the waters of Israel, and is seen as a “Sign that Messiah is coming soon.”

Even so.. come Lord Jesus!Make sure we are ready when He does..

Please don’t leave this site without knowing you are saved and assured that you belong to Him; with a deep conviction that you know where you will go, when your body can no longer sustain you in this realm. 

Make certain Jesus is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him. 

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

Its all about Life and Relationship not Religion.

NOT SURE?

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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