New

Tekhelet Strings - Raavad

by Ptil Tekhelet

$75.00

Unit price: per

New

Tekhelet Strings - Raavad

by Ptil Tekhelet

$75.00

Unit price: per

Tzitzit Type: Standard

Thickness: Thick

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Handcrafted in Israel

Biblical Blue

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Product description

Ptil Tekhelet provides genuine Tekhelet strings so Jews can once again fulfill the mitzvah of wearing Tekhelet on their Tzitzit.
The Renewal of a Biblical Commandment
The renewal of the fundamental mitzvah of affixing a string of blue — the Ptil Tekhelet — onto the tzitzit has touched every corner of the globe. Hundreds of thousands of Jews now once again wear Tekhelet, kissing the sky-blue strings as they recite the Shema each day.
We are commanded to place a thread of blue on our tsitsit as a constant and conspicuous reminder of our stature. We are banim lamakom — noble sons of the King of the Universe — always pursuing His mitzvot.
The Rediscovery of Biblical Blue

In honor of Parshat Shelach — where the mitzvah of Tzitzit and Tekhelet is first given to Am Yisrael — we celebrate Shabbat HaTekhelet and the remarkable story of a color lost and found.
For over a millennium, Tekhelet was the most coveted dye in the ancient world. Kings, generals, and high priests wore it. It adorned the Sanctuary and the Temple. And God commanded every Jew to weave a single thread of it into their tzitzit — a visible reminder of the aspiration to be "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
Then, roughly 1,300 years ago, it vanished. The identity of the Chillazon — the mysterious sea creature whose secretions produced this luminous blue — slipped into obscurity. Jews continued wearing tzitzit, but with white strings alone, the mitzvah remained incomplete.
The yearning never faded. Great Rabbis devoted their lives to solving the riddle — among them Rabbi Gershon Henokh Leiner of Radzyn and Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Halevi Herzog, the first Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel. Over the past half-century, their efforts were vindicated. A convergence of rabbinic scholarship, marine biology, and archaeology led to the conclusive identification of the Murex trunculus sea snail as the authentic source of Biblical Tekhelet.
Today, hundreds of thousands of Jews around the world once again wear the Ptil Tekhelet — the blue thread — on their tzitzit, kissing those sky-blue strings as they recite the Shema each day.
The blue has returned.
Tying Tekhelet: The Three Opinions

There are three primary opinions among the Rishonim regarding the ratio of white strings to Tekhelet strings in tzitzit:
Rambam — Half of one string (which, when folded, becomes one of the eight strings) is Tekhelet. The Rambam understands the verse in Bemidbar to mean: place upon the fringe of each corner (the white k'naf) one thread of Tekhelet. Only the windings (ptil) around the white core must be Tekhelet. (Hilchot Tzitzit 1:6)
Raavad & the Aruch — Based on the Sifre in Shelach, one full string (when folded, two of the eight strings) must be Tekhelet. (Hasagot, Hilchot Tzitzit 1:6)
Tosafot-Rashi — Two full strings (when folded, four of the eight strings) must be Tekhelet. (Menachot 39a and 41b, "Beit Shammai")

Product description

Ptil Tekhelet provides genuine Tekhelet strings so Jews can once again fulfill the mitzvah of wearing Tekhelet on their Tzitzit.

The Renewal of a Biblical Commandment

The renewal of the fundamental mitzvah of affixing a string of blue — the Ptil Tekhelet — onto the tzitzit has touched every corner of the globe. Hundreds of thousands of Jews now once again wear Tekhelet, kissing the sky-blue strings as they recite the Shema each day.

We are commanded to place a thread of blue on our tsitsit as a constant and conspicuous reminder of our stature. We are banim lamakom — noble sons of the King of the Universe — always pursuing His mitzvot.

Biblical Blue

String Options

(a) According to Tosafot (and Rashi), of the four strings placed on a corner, two are to be blue and two are to be white (resulting in four blue and four white strings when the strings are folded through the corner hole).

(b) According to the Rambam, of the four strings placed on a corner, only one half of one string is to be blue and the remaining three and a half strings are to be white (resulting in one blue and seven white strings when the strings are folded through the corner hole).

(c) The Raavad takes issue with this and holds that of the four strings placed on a corner, one is to be blue and three are to be white (resulting in two blue and six white strings when the strings are folded through the corner hole).

I hereby affirm that the tzitzit – including the threads of tekhelet from the “Ptil Tekhelet” factory in Kfar Adumim – the tekhelet in these threads are made from the sea snail, the Murex trunculus, which several of the Gedolim agree upon.

I affirm that for the purpose of those who are interested and want this tekhelet, the “blood” which is derived from the aforementioned snail is pure, with no addition of any other snail “blood” or dye.

All the dyeing of the wool is done by workers who are Yirei Shamayim by hand, and done with the utmost consideration for the mitzvah of Tekhelet – Leshem Mitzvat Tzitzit.

All the tzitzit strings which are made in this factory are made “lishma” – for the expressed purpose of tzitzit – Leshem Mitzvat Tzitzit by Jews who are Shomrie Torah Umitzvot from beginning to end at every stage of this Avodat kodesh

Valid only when the package bears the silver colored hologram sticker

How Tekhelet is Made

About 1300 years ago, the secrets of Tekhelet, this wondrous blue color and the identity of the mysterious sea creature – the Chillazon – that produced the dye was lost. Over the past half-century, a convergence of research and discoveries by Rabbis, scientists, archaeologists, and others has led to the conclusive identification

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