The Lost Chilazon

Pliny the Elder is laughing at this.

In the 19th century, the Radzyner Rebbe set out on an expedition to find the lost Chilazon. This was a creature from which traditionally the famous Biblical blue dye ( the Tekhelet) had been made in ancient times. The Rebbe thought that a certain squid fitted the description of the Chilazon. Unable to produce the dye himself, he sought the help of an Italian chemist, who showed him how to apply intense heat to a mixture of potash, iron filings and squid ink. Two years later, 10,000 of the Rebbe's followers were wearing blue threads on their tsitsits.

In 1913, Rabbi Herzog, the Chief Rabbi of Ireland, sent samples of the dye to chemists for analysis. The dye was found to be inorganic, synthetically made Prussian Blue. He was informed that virtually any organic substance mixed with iron filings and potash, and subjected to great heat, would produce the same blue dye. The Radzyner Rebbe had been misled by an unscrupulous chemist!

Pliny the Elder thinks this story is hilarious. If only the Rebbe had consulted my works, he says, he would have learned that the Chilazon he sought was not a squid at all, but a snail, the well-known Murex Trunculus!