A comment I made about a segment from a book that spoke about the Tsitsit and Tekhelet: I have to disagree with the last statement The blue here is the key to this verse, because the Tekhelet was very expensive and only rich people could afford it. The origin of the name Tekhelet can be traced to Sanskrit which is an Indian Language. In India the origin of the blue was of a plant base called Indigo, making possible that the original Tekhelt was any blue dye. There is a debate if Tekhelet is a color or colorant. The amount of coloring agent needed to dye a small fabric is very big in comparison to the amount of dye the mollusk can actually produce, making it unfeasible for a mass population to be bale to have that much Tekhelet. The probable historical reality was that the rich could use Tekhelet from the expensive source, while the poor (which probably made an average 10 silver Shekels a year) used other sources. In regards to women wearing Tsitsit, the term בני ישראל is a general form used when talking to a mixed crowed. Hebrew uses masculine forms more frequently than feminine. The text is talking to a mixed group making men and women part of the commandment. It was the opinion of Chakhamim (which usually means R.Meir) that women should wear Tsitsit, and R.Shimon was against. This shows that there was an opinion (and probably a practice) for women wearing them.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 12:00:00 +0000
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