True Blue

By: Jason

Not only did I get to finally meet up with my cousin, her husband and her 4 adorable kids (my second cousins!), but was lucky enough to be able do so while exploring the beaches of Israel for a strange gastropod (snail that is) whose internal gland reveal secret colors that have been at the center of ancient civilizations for millennia.  The liquid in the branchial gland contains the dye precursors to the brilliant and sacred blues and purples that these snails were highly valued for and that adorned the robes of royalty in Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. 

In Jewish culture and tradition, these dyes were incorporated into the 'tzitzim' - the specially knotted yarns that make up the ritualistic fringes worn by observant Jews.  In the Hebrew Bible it is commanded (Numbers 15:37-39) to incorporate this blue color dye (Tekhelet) into the tzitizim.

Tzitzim with blue Tekhelet
(photo: Tekhelet.com)

That’s where the fun came in!  After a brief introduction to the story of Tekhelet, it’s origin, and the chemistry behind making the dye, we learned about its rediscovery. Yes, the process for making the dye was lost for almost 1,300 years, and only recently rediscovered by a French Zoologist, an Italian chemist, and multiple rabbis, one of which who wrote his PhD dissertation on the topic!  Then, a snorkel trip to the shallow tidal areas on the beach; imagine, a bunch of mostly religious Jews, a software engineer from L.A. (the guide), a marine biologist (me), and a bunch of kids all like bumper cars in a small little area of the water.  I never found the snail, but others did.

Murex trunculus (photo: wikipedia.org)

After snorkeling, we got to actually dye some wool  using a kit that was set out before us.  Really a fascinating process.  If you are interested, there’s more here:  http://www.tekhelet.com.

Dyeing the wool (photo: Tekhelet.com)

Since I neglected to take any pictures of my cousins at all (shame on me because they are all adorable!), you will have to wait for the next installment of pictures when I see them.   This was a great way to see my family and share a great time with them.  What better way than the beach!