Rarest Blue: The Remarkable Story Of An Ancient Color Lost To History And Rediscovered

`In the heyday of Rome, the Jews were close to the Empire's center. When power shifted eastward, the Jewish center was in Babylon; when it skipped to Spain, there again were the Jews. When in the Middle Ages the center of civilization moved into Central Europe, the Jews were waiting for it in Germany and Poland. The rise of the United States to the leading world power found Judaism focused there. And now, today, when the pendulum seems to be swinging back toward the Old World and the East rises to renewed importance, there again are the Jews in Israel...'- Professor Huston SmithThis quote above describes the importance of the book `The Rarest Blue'. This monumental writing helps to educate us historically, scientifically and currently as we move toward key important future events. It is the Jewish nation that has established ethical monotheism in the world, along with key standards that establish healthy guidelines for living that impact family, financial trade, education, peace and social harmony. Their role in the world has been critically important historically to the modern world's development. The story of 'The Rarest Blue' points to how the dye impacted extensively on trade, commerce and with world leaders while simultaneously pointing to something much much greater. `The Rarest Blue' provides an important education in understanding that the re-institution of the Blue dye symbolically points the importance of the role of prayer and observance in bringing to fruition the actual coming of the Mashiach. Mashiach is a term used in the Torah to describe priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25. Traditional and current Orthodox thought have mainly held that `the Messiah' will be the anointed one (messiah), descended from his father through the Davidic line of King David who will gather the Jews back into the Land of Israel, usher in an era of peace, build the Third Temple, have a male heir and re-institute the Sanhedrin, among other things.With this in mind we should remember the words of Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah 3:4 based on Tosefta Sanhedrin 13:1; Talmud Sanhedrin 105a which states that `Righteous Gentiles have a place in the world to come'. Jerusalem Talmud Peah 1:1 also states in Job 37:23: "With justice and an abundance of kindness, He does not deal harshly." G-d does not withhold reward from Gentiles who perform His commandments.' This fact suggests that it is critically important for us as non-Jews (Gentiles) to educate ourselves on how to respectfully support the Jewish nation's future endeavors as much as we critically can. This means that `The Rarest Blue' cannot be overlooked.The desire for the re-institution of priests and kings is not antithetical with those who observe Christians doctrines because most mainline doctrines support theological belief in a redeemer that will come again and establish himself in the Messianic age. Revelation 1:6 states `And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.'`The Rarest Blue' invites us to join with the Jews in understanding the importance of the Tekhelet and how it contributes to the significance of its historicity in light of what is currently being rebuilt. The book challenges us to separate out from being mediocre citizens to outstanding individuals with a deeper perception of who we really are in cooperating with epic events and how prayer supports to that endeavor.As we pray in unison with the Jewish leaders as they observe the tradition of the Tekhelet in their prayer, it becomes the place of thanksgiving and rejoicing for what the Jews have accomplished and will be establishing for the world to come. It gives us a place to live from- a launching pad. It puts the odds in our favor in everything that is going on in our lives. It gives us a mindset that overcomes. It turns us from an over-comer into `more than a conqueror' and with it implies the reestablishment of Kings and Priests with authority on the earth.For this is who the Jewish nation inherently is. There is for them beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, praise for heaviness for G-d's glory. They are `more than conquerors' despite every effort inconceivable to exterminate them from the earth...and yet it is because of their heritage that we have been established in righteousness and should persistently follow in their footsteps in their kingly cerulean blue pursuit as is described in all its magnificence in `The Rarest Blue'. The Sterman's are to be applauded for this book is truly stellar.

I had been fascinated by the wonderful book 'A Perfect Red' and hoped that this would be a similar read, blending aspects of science, history, fashion, and dyeing. While there is a truly interesting story here, it is unfortunate that the prose is wandering and quixotic. The first several chapters are hard to get through (my wife gave up after reading about 20% of the book), bouncing around in time period and describing historical events in wild tangents. The author obviously is in love with the subject; I think it is for this reason he cannot resist mentioning random bits of historical information or sometimes connecting minor historical events that don't keep to the main story. Some of these points may be interesting, but the net effect is that we often lose the main thread. I also cannot help wondering if the story wasn't told in the best order. For example, a chapter on the science of the color blue almost surely should have appeared early in the book; instead, it is tagged on almost like an afterthought, appearing after what seemed like the end of the story. The writing style also jumps around a bit, sometimes more academic, while at other times it reads like a popular magazine. The fact that the author is personally invested in a related business also knocks down his trustworthiness as a narrator a bit. So, if you are particularly interested in the history of Tekhelet, it is probably a must-read. And it's not like the writing is horrible, it's just not as good as it could be. But if you are generally looking for a book on history, or even the history of colors specifically, there are better options out there.

I'm not sure if this book was more about the story of Tekhelet, the sky blue strings attached to the corners of the Jewish prayer shawl, or the Murex trunculus, the marine snail that allows us to dye this beautiful, colorfast blue. Both are interesting topics, however, and I enjoyed reading through the book.By reading this book, you'll learn a lot about the dyeing process itself and the use of it throughout history, the physics of light and color, the Bible's requirement of a single thread of tekhelet tied to the fringes or corners of the Jewish tzitzit or prayer shawl, and the author's very thorough explanation of the shawl and the meaning of these colorful blue strings.It was not what I was expecting, but the book came through in a lot of good ways. You have to like reading to finish this book, but I recommend sticking with it because you'll come away with a lot of new information and understanding about blue and about this apparently small but very important factor of Jewish tradition.

I always enjoy reading books about color, like Mauve or A Perfect Red, so when a friend gave me a copy of The Rarest Blue I had a general idea of what to expect. My expectations were more than met. It is a history of the ancient art of shellfish dyeing that produced the famous Tyrian blue and Biblical blue. It also contains surprisingly readable descriptions of the weird biology of murex snails, the chemistry of dyeing, and the physics of color. The book is crammed with all kinds of historical and psychological information, as well as some intriguing characters who played a role in the cultivation of blue as a usable color. Blue, it turns out, is really a very rare color in nature, though it is now found everywhere. The modern rediscovery of the ancient techniques of dyeing and their current application to Jewish religious practices is a fascinating story in its own right. Altogether a rich and rewarding book.

This is a very informative book on the discovery of the shell fish that the beautiful blue dye comes from and how it was discovered and rediscovered.

A first class history of the search and an amazing report of the eventual discovery