Q&A: Spiny Dye-Murex
Spiny Dye-Murex
Question
Hello,
Recently I was exposed to the issue of attaching a tekhelet thread to tzitzit. After a brief look through responsa, I found that you also wrap yourself in tzitzit with tekhelet.
If you could lay out for me what the difference is between Radzyn and the spiny dye-murex, and whether it really makes a difference what the tekhelet is produced from.
Answer
I didn’t understand the question. The difference is that these are different creatures. The question is which chilazon the Talmud was talking about. Simply speaking, it does make a difference, although claims have been made that what matters is the shade regardless of the source of the dye. It seems that the comparison to kala ilan rules out that thesis.
Discussion on Answer
You read that I wear it. So what’s the question?
I want to start putting tekhelet on my tzitzit. Do I need to use tekhelet produced specifically from the spiny dye-murex?
As far as I’ve checked, the Radzyn chilazon has been refuted. I use spiny dye-murex.
So bottom line, what should I do?