{"id":8410,"date":"2026-07-30T23:49:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T20:49:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themuseumguy.co.il\/?p=8410"},"modified":"2026-08-02T01:37:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T22:37:55","slug":"blue-twist-of-espionage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themuseumguy.co.il\/he\/post\/blue-twist-of-espionage\/","title":{"rendered":"The Blue Twist of Espionage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Antiquities Authority Knows Exactly What It Is Doing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every year, right on schedule, the ancient world produces a headline that happens to match the calendar.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coincidence? I think not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blog post for Tisha b\u2019Av and Tu b\u2019Av 5786 \/ 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Israel Antiquities Authority<\/a> is very good at public relations, and it does not particularly hide it. Two days before Purim 2019, it announced a Persian-period jar fragment shaped like a human face<\/a> from the City of David \u2014 the press release opens with the words “In honor of Purim.” Twelve days before Hanukkah 2021, it announced a Hellenistic fortress burned by the Hasmoneans<\/a> in the Lachish Forest, with the director quoted saying “in a few days, we will be celebrating Hanukkah.” Five days before Hanukkah 2022, it was a small wooden box of silver tetradrachms<\/a> from a cave in Nahal Darga, read as the savings of a Jew who fled during the persecutions of Antiochus IV. And one week ago, two days before this fast, charred First Temple roof beams from the City of David<\/a>, with the excavator saying plainly: “We are just before Tisha b’Av.”[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes the timing produces something better than a headline. In late February 2023 the IAA announced an ostracon from Tel Lachish inscribed “Year 24 of Darius”<\/em> \u2014 the father of Achashverosh, days before Purim. Within forty-eight hours it retracted: a visiting scholar, a specialist in ancient Aramaic script, had scratched the letters herself as a demonstration and left the sherd on the site. The potsherd was genuinely ancient. Only the writing was not. Chief Scientist Prof. Gideon Avni put it in Hebrew better than any English release managed: \u05de\u05e1\u05ea\u05d1\u05e8 \u05e9\u05e0\u05ea\u05e7\u05dc\u05e0\u05d5 \u05d1’\u05db\u05ea\u05d5\u05d1\u05ea \u05e9\u05d4\u05ea\u05d7\u05e4\u05e9\u05d4’<\/em> \u2014 “it turns out we ran into an inscription that came in costume.”[2]<\/a><\/sup> Days before Purim. You can\u2019t make this stuff up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The murex shell from Ancient Shiloh, announced during the Three Weeks, 5786. Photo: COGAT Spokesperson’s Unit.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So it is no surprise at all that in the middle of the Three Weeks, the Israeli press was abuzz about\u2026 a snail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Snail in a Mikveh at Shiloh<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On 12\u201313 July 2026, the Archaeology Staff Officer Unit of the Civil Administration, working with the Binyamin Regional Council, announced a find<\/a> from Ancient Shiloh: an ornate Second Temple-period mikveh<\/em>, a nearly intact Roman-period cooking pot resting inside it, and \u2014 the part that travelled \u2014 the shell of a murex, the sea snail from which the ancient world made its most expensive dyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff Officer Benjamin Har-Even said the quiet part out loud, and I mean that as a compliment: “We are in the period of the Three Weeks, when we commemorate the destruction of the Temple, and archaeological discoveries of this kind take on special meaning. Beyond their scientific importance, they illustrate the deep historical connection between the Jewish people and Ancient Shiloh.”<\/em> He is a repeat offender, by the way \u2014 his unit announced an oil lamp from Nebi Samuel<\/a> on the first night of Hanukkah last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look closely at the photograph the unit released. The shell is broken open at the shoulder, in a very particular spot. It stands to reason that it was punctured in order to extract the gland that is used to produce the most valuable dye in the ancient world: Tekhelet<\/span> (blue<\/span>) and Argaman<\/span> (purple<\/span>). That is where the hypobranchial gland<\/a> sits, and that is where a dyer opens the shell to reach it. At Tel Shikmona<\/a>, where hundreds of dye-related artifacts have been excavated, shells broken precisely there are exactly what the workshop refuse looks like.[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A marine snail, deep in the hills of Ephraim and quite far from the sea, sitting in a Mikveh, in the town where the Mishkan<\/em> stood for 369 years.[4]<\/a><\/sup> The fact that is was found in Shiloh ties not only to Tisha b\u2019Av (9th of Av), when I started writing this post, but also to Tu b\u2019Av (15th of Av), when I finally got around to finishing it. Shiloh is where women would dance in white, on Tu b\u2019Av:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd \u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e8 \u05e9\u05b5\u05c1\u05d1\u05b6\u05d8 \u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05e0\u05b0\u05d9\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05df \u05dc\u05b8\u05d1\u05d5\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05e7\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4\u05b8\u05dc<\/strong> \u2014 the day Benjamin was allowed back in. And where did that happen? \u05d4\u05b4\u05e0\u05b5\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d7\u05b7\u05d2\u05be\u05d4\u05f3 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d9\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05de\u05b8\u05d4<\/em> \u2014 the annual festival at Shiloh<\/strong>, the dance in the vineyards, \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 (Judges 21:19\u201323).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast with tekhelet and argaman, which express socioeconomic class, here there was a strive towards simplicity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5\u05bc \u05d9\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d8\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05b0\u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7\u05b2\u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c1\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b8\u05e9\u05b8\u05c2\u05e8 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d0\u05b8\u05d1 \u05d5\u05bc\u05db\u05b0\u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd \u05d4\u05b7\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05e4\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd, \u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4\u05b6\u05df \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d9\u05b0\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05e6\u05b0\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05db\u05b0\u05dc\u05b5\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b8\u05d1\u05b8\u05df \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05d0\u05d5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9\u05df, \u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05dc\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d1\u05b7\u05d9\u05b5\u05bc\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea \u05de\u05b4\u05d9 \u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05d0\u05b5\u05d9\u05df \u05dc\u05d5\u05b9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were no days as joyous for Israel as the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur, for on them the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in borrowed white garments \u2014 so as not to shame the one who had none.<\/em> (Mishnah Ta\u2019anit 4:8)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But how does this story connect to Tisha b\u2019Av?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s work our way backwards from Tu b\u2019Av:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd \u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05dc\u05d5\u05bc \u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05de\u05b5\u05ea\u05b5\u05d9 \u05de\u05b4\u05d3\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8<\/strong> \u2014 the day the deaths of the wilderness generation ended. That is the generation of the Spies<\/em>. Tisha b\u2019Av opens with their weeping; Tu b\u2019Av is the day the sentence finishes running. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The essence of Tisha b’Av is the rejection of the Land of Israel, and the loss of both Temples in Jerusalem:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u05d5\u05bc\u05db\u05b0\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9\u05d1: “\u05d5\u05b7\u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b8\u05bc\u05c2\u05d0 \u05db\u05c7\u05bc\u05dc \u05d4\u05b8\u05e2\u05b5\u05d3\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea \u05e7\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc\u05b8\u05dd \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05bc\u05d1\u05b0\u05db\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc \u05d4\u05b8\u05e2\u05b8\u05dd \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05dc\u05b7\u05bc\u05d9\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d4\u05b7\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0”, \u05d0\u05b8\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05e8\u05b7\u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b8\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05e8\u05b7\u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05d7\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05df: \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9 \u05dc\u05b7\u05d9\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b5\u05d9\u05dc \u05ea\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e2\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05d0\u05b8\u05d1 \u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b8\u05d4. \u05d0\u05b8\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05dc\u05b8\u05d4\u05b6\u05dd \u05d4\u05b7\u05e7\u05b8\u05bc\u05d3\u05d5\u05b9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05da\u05b0 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0: \u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05dd \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05db\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05b6\u05dd \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05db\u05b4\u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05dc \u05d7\u05b4\u05e0\u05b8\u05bc\u05dd \u2014 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05e7\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1\u05b5\u05e2\u05b7 \u05dc\u05b8\u05db\u05b6\u05dd \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05db\u05b4\u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d3\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it is further written: “And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried and the people wept that night” (Numbers 14:1). Rabba said that Rabbi Yo\u1e25anan said: That night was the night of the Ninth of Av. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: You wept needlessly that night, and I will therefore establish for you a true tragedy over which there will be weeping in future generations.<\/em><\/p>\nTaanit 29a<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Let me weave the story together. There are several threads, and \u2014 this being a post about dye \u2014 they are all twisted around each other. Start with the blue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Blue Thread<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The commandment itself comes at the end of Parashat Shelach<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u05d3\u05b7\u05bc\u05d1\u05b5\u05bc\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc\u05be\u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b8\u05de\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc \u05d0\u05b2\u05dc\u05b5\u05d4\u05b6\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05e9\u05c2\u05d5\u05bc \u05dc\u05b8\u05d4\u05b6\u05dd \u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05e6\u05b4\u05ea \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05db\u05b7\u05bc\u05e0\u05b0\u05e4\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d1\u05b4\u05d2\u05b0\u05d3\u05b5\u05d9\u05d4\u05b6\u05dd \u05dc\u05b0\u05d3\u05b9\u05e8\u05b9\u05ea\u05b8\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05b8\u05ea\u05b0\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05e6\u05b4\u05ea<\/strong> \u05d4\u05b7\u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05e0\u05b8\u05e3 \u05e4\u05b0\u05bc\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9\u05dc \u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05db\u05b5\u05dc\u05b6\u05ea<\/span>\u05c3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves <\/em>fringes<\/em><\/strong> on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach <\/em>a cord of blue<\/span><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\nNumbers 15:38<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Tekhelet<\/span> appears some forty-nine times in Tanakh \u2014 the curtains of the Mishkan<\/em>, the garments of the High Priest, and this thread on the corner of an ordinary person’s clothing\u2014tzitzit<\/em>. It became so bound up with the tallit<\/em> that when the modern State of Israel designed a flag, it reached for those stripes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the part that still surprises people. Tekhelet<\/span> and argaman<\/span> \u2014 the blue and the royal purple \u2014 come from the same animal. Three species of the family Muricidae were used around the ancient Mediterranean: Hexaplex trunculus<\/em> (\u05d0\u05e8\u05d2\u05de\u05d5\u05df \u05e7\u05d4\u05d4-\u05e7\u05d5\u05e6\u05d9\u05dd, the banded dye-murex), the one reportedly identified<\/a> at Shiloh, Bolinus brandaris<\/em> (\u05d0\u05e8\u05d2\u05de\u05d5\u05df \u05d7\u05d3-\u05e7\u05d5\u05e6\u05d9\u05dd, the spiny dye-murex), and Stramonita haemastoma<\/em> (\u05d0\u05e8\u05d2\u05de\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea \u05d0\u05d3\u05d5\u05de\u05ea-\u05e4\u05d4, the red-mouthed rock shell). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hebrew word for the creature is \u05d7\u05b4\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05d6\u05d5\u05b9\u05df<\/a> \u2014 today it simply means “snail,” but it\u2019s also been called a \u201cpurple-fish\u201d by a Byzantine geographer, below. It\u2019s a sea creature, bottom line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What separates the blue from the purple is not the snail. It is light. In 1980 Prof. Otto Elsner of Shenkar, working with Prof. Ehud Spanier of the University of Haifa, established that exposing the dye vat to sunlight while the dye is in its reduced state converts dibromoindigo \u2014 the red-purple compound \u2014 into plain indigo. Dye in the shade and you get argaman<\/span>. Dye in the sun and you get tekhelet<\/span>.[5]<\/a><\/sup> This process had been lost for at least a millennium, and its rediscovery is a big deal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a personal thread in this. The knowledge of how to make tekhelet was lost for roughly a thousand years and recovered, in our lifetime, by a small group of stubborn people: Rabbi Eliyahu Tavger, Dr. Baruch Sterman, Dr. Ari Greenspan and Joel Guberman, who built Ptil Tekhelet<\/a> at Kfar Adumim in the early 1990s, drawing on Otto Elsner’s chemistry, Prof. Zvi Koren’s analysis of ancient textiles and Prof. Zohar Amar’s historical work. When Joel heard I was getting married, he gave me the tekhelet for the tallit my wife gave me under the chuppah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Purple People<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The people of Israel are known as Am Segulah<\/em> – \u05e2\u05b7\u05dd \u05e1\u05b0\u05d2\u05bb\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4, <\/em>which in modern Hebrew sounds like “a purple nation”. But while this use of the word segulah<\/em> has little to do with purple and more to do with treasure[7], there are indeed a \u201cpurple nation\u201d we know about: The Phoenicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Phoenician” is not what the Phoenicians called themselves. The Greeks called them Phoinikes<\/span><\/em> (\u03a6\u03bf\u03af\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03b5\u03c2)<\/span>, and the most common explanation is that the word carries the sense of red-purple \u2014 the coastal people identified entirely with the thing they sold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They brought the industry south into Canaan. Tel Dor<\/a>, at the southern end of the Phoenician coastal world, is one of the clearest cases. The Byzantine geographer Stephanus of Byzantium preserves a line from Claudius Iolaus: “Next to Caesarea lies Dor, a very small town inhabited by Phoenicians. These settled here because of the somewhat rocky nature of the beaches and the abundance of the <\/em>purple-fish<\/em><\/strong>.”<\/em> An ancient writer explaining, without being asked, exactly why the town is where it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"With<\/a>
With my Homeschool history class at Tel Dor. Photo: Nachliel Selavan<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Visiting Tel Dor with my homeschooler history course in June 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tel Dor revealed Persian-period pits packed with crushed murex. And from the third century BCE, a two-pit installation joined by a lime-lined (where I am standing in the picture), capstone-covered drain \u2014 the southern pit full of broken shells, the northern one full of lumps of lime stained purple and pink, chemically confirmed as murex dye.[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just up the coast is Tel Shikmona<\/strong>, on the southern edge of Haifa where the Carmel runs into the sea, a 2025 study led by Golan Shalvi and Ayelet Gilboa published 176 artifacts<\/strong> connected to dye production \u2014 135 of them still stained purple, and the remains of at least 38 vats, some holding around 350 litres. The production runs continuously from roughly 1100 to 600 BCE, and from the ninth century it is an industry, not a household craft. The authors call it the largest such assemblage anywhere by two orders of magnitude<\/em>.[3]<\/a><\/sup> The excavators go further: they argue Shikmona was most likely the supplier of dye to the Temple in Jerusalem<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to see it, the National Maritime Museum in Haifa is running “The Color: Purple \u2014 Discovering Tel Shikmona and the Secrets of Purple”<\/a> (\u05d4\u05e6\u05d1\u05e2: \u05d0\u05e8\u05d2\u05de\u05df), curated by Adi Shelach, open since June 2026 and advertised through April 2027. One of the four displays is called \u05ea\u05db\u05dc\u05ea \u05d3\u05d5\u05de\u05d4 \u05dc\u05d9\u05dd<\/em>. Hold that thought; we are coming back to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next to Tel Dor sits the Mizgaga Museum<\/a> at Kibbutz Nahsholim, which holds the Tel Dor collection. The building is itself a story: a glass factory put up in 1891 by Baron Edmond de Rothschild to make wine bottles for the Zichron Yaakov and Rishon LeZion wineries, managed for a time by Meir Dizengoff, later the first mayor of Tel Aviv. It closed within about four years, and that\u2019s a story for another time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in the Purple<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By the Roman period, purple had become synonymous with royalty. Julius Caesar wore it. Augustus made it imperial. By the fourth century the true Tyrian purple was reserved to the emperor outright, and producing or wearing it without authorisation was treated as a crime against the state. Byzantine children born to a reigning emperor were porphyrogennetos<\/em> \u2014 “born in the purple,” after the porphyry-lined chamber of the palace \u2014 and the phrase outlived the empire that coined it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prices are hard to hold in your head. Theopompus reports that at Colophon purple dye sold for its weight in silver. In Diocletian’s Price Edict of 301 CE, a pound of purple-dyed silk is capped at 150,000 denarii \u2014 the same ceiling the edict sets for a lion. This is what the Phoenician cities were sitting on: a monopoly on the ancient equivalent of luxury petroleum, and the demand drove murex populations across the Mediterranean toward collapse. The shell middens at Tyre and Sidon run metres deep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brings us to a wall in Dura Europos, Syria. The synagogue at Dura Europos<\/a> was completed in 244\/245 CE and carries the most extensive cycle of Jewish biblical wall paintings to survive from antiquity. On the west wall facing Jerusalem, to the right of the ark-the Aron Kodesh-is the anointing of David by Samuel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Samuel anoints David, Dura Europos synagogue, 244\/245 CE<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The same panel with everything but David\u2019s purple robes are in focus. Artwork: Nachliel Selavan<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

David is dressed in purple, which in the 3rd century roman city of Dura Europos would have meant royalty [8]<\/a><\/sup>. On the opposite side of the Ark, is another person robes in purple and also blue:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05c7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d3\u05b3\u05bc\u05db\u05b7\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b8\u05e6\u05b8\u05d0 \u05de\u05b4\u05dc\u05b4\u05bc\u05e4\u05b0\u05e0\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d4\u05b7\u05de\u05b6\u05bc\u05dc\u05b6\u05da\u05b0 \u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05d1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e9\u05c1 \u05de\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05d5\u05bc\u05ea \u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05db\u05b5\u05dc\u05b6\u05ea<\/span> \u05d5\u05b8\u05d7\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8 \u05d5\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05d8\u05b6\u05e8\u05b6\u05ea \u05d6\u05b8\u05d4\u05b8\u05d1 \u05d2\u05b0\u05bc\u05d3\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05b7\u05db\u05b0\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05da\u05b0 \u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05e5 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d2\u05b8\u05bc\u05de\u05b8\u05df<\/span>\u05c3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Mordechai left the king’s presence in royal robes of <\/em>blue<\/span><\/em> and white, with a great crown of gold and a mantle of fine linen <\/em>and purple<\/span><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\nEsther 8:15<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The triumph of Mordechai, Dura Europos synagogue. Mordechai rides a horse, led by Haman; Esther is enthroned at the right.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

These paintings are in the National Museum of Damascus, and after years in which nobody knew what had become of them, a delegation was able to see them in September 2025 and reported them intact<\/a> \u2014 and this is exciting news indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Double-o-Blue: The Two Spies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The earliest depiction of the Spies we have comes from the mosaic floor of the ancient synagogue at Huqoq, in the Lower Galilee \u2014 two men, an enormous cluster of grapes slung on a pole between them, the verse spelled out above their heads. I wrote about that floor two weeks ago<\/a>, when Samson was carrying the gates of Gaza across it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Spies carrying the cluster, Huqoq synagogue mosaic, Lower Galilee. The text above their heads reads \u05d1\u05de\u05d5\u05d8 \u05d1\u05e9\u05e0\u05d9\u05dd. Photo: Jim Haberman, courtesy of Jodi Magness.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

They were sent to do a specific thing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b6\u05bc\u05d4 \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b8\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8\u05be\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05dc\u05b7\u05d7 \u05de\u05b9\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b8\u05ea\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the names of the men whom Moses sent <\/em>to scout<\/em><\/strong> the land.<\/em><\/p>\nNumbers 13:16<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Three chapters later \u2014 after the weeping, after the decree, at the very end of the same parasha \u2014 the tzitzit<\/em> commandment arrives, and it reaches for the identical verb:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b8\u05db\u05b6\u05dd \u05dc\u05b0\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05e6\u05b4\u05ea \u05d5\u05bc\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea\u05b6\u05dd \u05d0\u05b9\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9 \u05d5\u05bc\u05d6\u05b0\u05db\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05dd \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05db\u05c7\u05bc\u05dc\u05be\u05de\u05b4\u05e6\u05b0\u05d5\u05ba\u05ea \u05d4’ \u05d5\u05b7\u05e2\u05b2\u05e9\u05b4\u05c2\u05d9\u05ea\u05b6\u05dd \u05d0\u05b9\u05ea\u05b8\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be\u05ea\u05b8\u05ea\u05d5\u05bc\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc<\/strong> \u05d0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05e8\u05b5\u05d9 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d1\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05db\u05b6\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05e8\u05b5\u05d9 \u05e2\u05b5\u05d9\u05e0\u05b5\u05d9\u05db\u05b6\u05dd \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8\u05be\u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05dd \u05d6\u05b9\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05e8\u05b5\u05d9\u05d4\u05b6\u05dd\u05c3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all of God’s commandments and observe them, and <\/em>do not scout<\/em><\/strong> after your heart and after your eyes, by which you go astray.<\/em><\/p>\nNumbers 15:39<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Same root, \u05ea\u05d5”\u05e8. Rashi makes the connection, based on the Talmud Yerushalmi<\/a>: \u05d4\u05b7\u05dc\u05b5\u05bc\u05d1 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05e2\u05b5\u05d9\u05e0\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d4\u05b5\u05dd <\/em>\u05de\u05b0\u05e8\u05b7\u05d2\u05b0\u05bc\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd<\/em><\/strong> \u05dc\u05b7\u05d2\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05e3<\/em> \u2014 “the heart and the eyes are the body’s spies.”<\/a> The eye scouts, the heart wants, the body does. Espionage through the eyes. This makes for another curious Shiloh connection, which is in the portion of Ephraim, or Joseph. Joseph accuses his brothers of espionage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05de\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b2\u05dc\u05b5\u05d4\u05b6\u05dd \u05de\u05b0\u05e8\u05b7\u05d2\u05b0\u05bc\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05dd<\/strong> \u05dc\u05b4\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05e2\u05b6\u05e8\u05b0\u05d5\u05b7\u05ea \u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5<\/strong> \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05d0\u05ea\u05b6\u05dd\u05c3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he said to them: <\/em>You are spies.<\/em><\/strong> You have come to see <\/em>the land in its nakedness.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nGenesis 42:9<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is a profound accusation about how his brothers looked at the world as a place to opportunism and taking advantage. While he, Joseph, did not follow his eyes. I spoke about this in an event with Shiloh Winery \u2014 watch the clip (starts at 5:18)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Espionage, in a nutshell, is looking for the nakedness of a thing, looking for vulnerability. Hunting the seam, the weakness, the place where you could get leverage if you wanted it. The Spies were sent to see<\/em> the land. They ended up taking advantage of their agendas, and causing a lot of damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Twist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In his final words, Moses rebukes the generation in front of him, but sings about the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d7\u05b5\u05ea \u05dc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05de\u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b8\u05dd \u05d3\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05e2\u05b4\u05e7\u05b5\u05bc\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d5\u05bc\u05e4\u05b0\u05ea\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05ea\u05b9\u05bc\u05dc<\/strong>\u05c3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corrupt are they, not His children, their blemish \u2014 a generation crooked and <\/em>twisted<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\nDeuteronomy 32:5<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Netziv<\/a>, in Ha’amek Davar<\/a>, reads the two words as two destructions.[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05e2\u05b4\u05e7\u05b5\u05bc\u05e9\u05c1<\/strong> \u2014 crooked, stubborn \u2014 is the First Temple<\/strong>. Idolatry, bloodshed, adultery, and done \u05dc\u05d4\u05db\u05e2\u05d9\u05e1<\/em>, in open defiance. They did it out in the open, and so you can\u2019t hide what the issues are. This makes it possible to address the issues. The Temple was rebuilt inside a lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u05d5\u05bc\u05e4\u05b0\u05ea\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05ea\u05b9\u05bc\u05dc<\/strong> \u2014 twisted, plaited, tangled \u2014 is the Second<\/strong> Temple<\/strong>. And listen to what he actually says about that generation, because it is not what you expect a rebuke to say: \u05e9\u05d4\u05d9\u05d5 \u05e2\u05d5\u05e1\u05e7\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05ea\u05d5\u05e8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05e2\u05d1\u05d5\u05d3\u05ea \u05d4’<\/em> \u2014 they were engaged in Torah and in the service of God. That was the problem. The bloodshed was \u05dc\u05e9\u05dd \u05e9\u05de\u05d9\u05dd<\/em>, for the sake of Heaven. Anyone who transgressed was reclassified as a heretic, an informer, a legitimate target. Everything was justified, everything was principled, and everything was rotten. \u05d5\u05b0\u05e7\u05b8\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d4\u05b7\u05e4\u05b0\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05d3 \u05d4\u05b7\u05d8\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05d1 \u05de\u05b4\u05df \u05d4\u05b8\u05e8\u05b8\u05e2<\/em> \u2014 and it is hard to separate or unweave the good from the bad, because the bad was done in the name of Heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now the twist: \u05e4\u05b0\u05bc\u05ea\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05ea\u05b9\u05bc\u05dc<\/strong> and \u05e4\u05b0\u05bc\u05ea\u05b4\u05d9\u05dc<\/span> \u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05db\u05b5\u05dc\u05b6\u05ea<\/span>. Both deal with destruction through being twisted, warped, unbalanced. The sin of the second Temple was a lot harder to put a finger on, just like it\u2019s hard to figure out how the righteous leaders of the tribes of Israel became the spies. It\u2019s always for the greater good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Depths of the Sea to the Stars<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here is what I think is the most profound connection between the tekhelet from Shiloh and Tisha b\u2019Av + Tu b\u2019Av.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tekhelet of the snail is the color of the ocean where life on this planet began. We use a rather primitive life form, which has within it \u2013 through exposure to the sun \u2013 the potential to break out of our primitive pettiness, and reach the sky:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e0\u05b0\u05d9\u05b8\u05d0, \u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e8\u05b7\u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9 \u05de\u05b5\u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05de\u05b5\u05e8: \u05de\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e0\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e0\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05db\u05b5\u05dc\u05b6\u05ea<\/span> \u05de\u05b4\u05db\u05c7\u05bc\u05dc \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05e0\u05b5\u05d9 \u05e6\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05e2\u05d5\u05b9\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9\u05df? \u05de\u05b4\u05e4\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05b5\u05d9 \u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05d4\u05b7\u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05db\u05b5\u05dc\u05b6\u05ea \u05d3\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05de\u05b6\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b7\u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05dd, \u05d5\u05b0\u05d9\u05b8\u05dd \u05d3\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9\u05de\u05b6\u05d4 \u05dc\u05b8\u05e8\u05b8\u05e7\u05b4\u05d9\u05e2\u05b7, \u05d5\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05e7\u05b4\u05d9\u05e2\u05b7 \u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05b4\u05e1\u05b5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05d4\u05b7\u05db\u05b8\u05bc\u05d1\u05d5\u05b9\u05d3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir would say: What is different about <\/em>tekhelet<\/span><\/em> from all other types of colors, that it was chosen for the mitzvah of ritual fringes? Because tekhelet is similar to the sea, and the sea is similar to the sky, and the sky is similar to the Throne of Glory.<\/em><\/p>\nMenachot 43b<\/a>[10]<\/a><\/sup><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The primal issue with the spies, and the twisted generation of the Second Temple, is that we are stuck in out pettiness. We see things a certain way, and can\u2019t get out of our heads. We become spies, with our reptilian brains in search of vulnerability, looking to take advantage. Things have to go our way, and we are always right, and God is on our side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The introduction of tekhelet<\/span> is there to remind us that there is something bigger than us, deeper than us, even in the simplest life forms. We can learn both to be humble, and to dream big, to reach the stars. This might be a bit of a stretch, but it speaks to me very powerfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the essence of Tu b\u2019Av is \u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd \u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05ea\u05bc\u05b0\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc \u05e9\u05c1\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05d8\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05b8\u05d1\u05d5\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d6\u05b6\u05d4 \u05d1\u05bc\u05b8\u05d6\u05b6\u05d4. <\/strong>It\u2019s the breaking away from tribalism that forbade marriage between tribes in the generation of the desert. The spies, the tribal leaders in the desert, feared the shift from the tribal communities in the desert into the land of Israel, and perhaps thought they were saving Israel from a new reality they weren\u2019t prepared for. But that tribalism would have destroyed us! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? Because Tu b\u2019Av also marks the end (in Shiloh!) of a civil war:\u05d9\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd \u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05e8 \u05e9\u05b5\u05c1\u05d1\u05b6\u05d8 \u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05e0\u05b0\u05d9\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05df \u05dc\u05b8\u05d1\u05d5\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05e7\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4\u05b8\u05dc<\/strong> \u2014 the day the tribe of Benjamin was permitted back into the congregation, after they were almost completely destroyed:[11]<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05de\u05b0\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc \u05d4\u05b4\u05e0\u05b5\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d7\u05b7\u05d2\u05be\u05d4’ \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9<\/strong> \u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05b8\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d9\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05de\u05b8\u05d4… \u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05d5\u05bc \u05d5\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05e8\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05dd \u05d1\u05b7\u05bc\u05db\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd… \u05d5\u05b7\u05d7\u05b2\u05d8\u05b7\u05e4\u05b0\u05ea\u05b6\u05bc\u05dd \u05dc\u05b8\u05db\u05b6\u05dd \u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d0\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05b9 \u05de\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea \u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they said: the annual festival of the Lord is at <\/em>Shiloh<\/em><\/strong>\u2026 Go and wait in the vineyards\u2026 and each of you seize a wife from the daughters of <\/em>Shiloh<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\nJudges 21:19\u201321<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This snail wasn\u2019t just out of the blue. It was all about the blue. The ability to look up, see a bigger picture, and move towards new solutions and breaking away from old and outdated thinking that gets us stuck\u2026in our own shell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your thoughts about this? Do you agree or disagree with any of the points I make here? Let me know your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonus: Color of Return<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I invite you to watch this year\u2019s free Tisha b\u2019Av virtual tour and class: Color of Return: A Tisha b’Av Journey Through Color and Restoration<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 built around some of these ideas. I talk more about colors, a few of the paintings Dura Europos, as well as other mosaics and masterpieces that relate to this time of year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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