Video není dostupné.
Omlouváme se.
New Study Reveals: Tefillin (Phylacteries) Were Not Colored Black 2,000 Years Ago
Vložit
- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- A new scientific study has found that ancient tefillin, or phylacteries, were not colored black, as is mandated by Jewish law. The findings, published tonight in the prestigious journal PLOS ONE, challenge long-held assumptions about the practice of tefillin observance.
Tefillin are small leather cases containing miniscule parchment scrolls inscribed with biblical verses. They are worn until today by observant Jews as part of their morning prayers, one on the head and one on the arm. According to Jewish law, the tefillin cases should be colored black. However, a team of researchers from Israel and Great Britain has conducted a battery of scientific tests which showed that ancient tefillin were not blackened. The research was led by Prof. Yonatan Adler, of Ariel University, together with Dr. Ilit Cohen-Ofri and Dr. Yonah Maor of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Dr. Theresa Emmerich Kamper of the University of Exeter, and Dr. Iddo Pinkas of the Weizmann Institute of Science.
In 1949, archaeologists discovered several leather tefillin cases in a cave near Qumran, where the first Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Subsequently, additional tefillin cases were unearthed in other caves near Qumran, in Wadi Murabba‘at and in Nahal Se’elim-all in the Judean Desert. These findings are dated to the same time as the Dead Sea Scrolls, from around the end of the Second Temple period-or about 2,000 years ago. The arid desert climate allowed these artifacts to survive for millennia until their discovery. Today, the tefillin cases are preserved in the storeroom of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Dead Sea Scrolls Unit in Jerusalem, where the climatic conditions of the caves are replicated.
“This is a very important discovery,” explained Professor Yonatan Adler of Ariel University, who led the study. “This is the first time that tefillin have been scientifically examined to determine their color. In some of the ancient tefillin, the leather has a natural brown color. However, in others, the very dark color of the leather was previously thought to be the result of artificial dyeing, which was done to comply with the law that requires the leather of tefillin cases to be black. Our tests have shown that where the leather appears dark, it is the result of a natural process and not intentional dyeing.”
According to Dr. Ilit Cohen-Ofri, head of the conservation laboratory at the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Dead Sea Scrolls Unit: “In ancient times, there were two main methods for dyeing leather black. The first method used carbon-based materials-soot or charcoal-to give the leather a black color. The second method was based on a chemical reaction between tannin, a complex organic compound found in many plants, and iron oxides. In our tests, we ruled out the possibility that the tefillin cases were dyed black using either of these methods.”
The researchers used a variety of techniques, including multispectral imaging, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR-ATR, and SEM/EDX, to examine the leather of the tefillin cases for traces of black dye or paint. The results of the analyses showed no evidence of black colorants on any of the tefillin cases.
“In the dark fragments we examined,” says Dr. Yonah Maor of the Israel Antiquities Authority's analytical laboratory, “the color appears to be the result of natural leather aging rather than intentional dyeing. Minor water leakage into the caves over the 2,000 years the artifacts have been there could have accelerated the leather aging process. In the past, we have found that some of the Dead Sea Scrolls have also undergone a similar process, which unfortunately has caused the parchment to darken.”
The researchers believe that the practice of coloring tefillin cases black is likely due to a later tradition. They suggest that the law requiring tefillin to be made black may not have been in place in the Second Temple period, when the ancient tefillin examined in the study were in use.
“It is likely that in the beginning, there was no halakhic significance to the color of tefillin,” explained Professor Adler. “Only at a later period did the rabbis rule that tefillin should be colored black. However, even after this, the halakhic authorities continued to debate whether the requirement to color tefillin cases black was an absolute obligation or merely preferable for aesthetic reasons. It is commonly thought that Jewish law is static and does not develop. Our ongoing research on ancient tefillin shows that the exact opposite is true; Jewish law has always been dynamic. In my view, it is this vibrancy that makes halakhah so beautiful.”
Photographer-Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority
We know that the sect in Qumran was fringe, even extreme. Whether their tefillin were painted black or not proves nothing - certainly pertaining to the Pharisaic interpretation of the law.
It would be nice if the scholars would stick to their field of expertise, and not make conclusions that reach into other fields they are unfamiliar with. Dr. Adler concludes: "It is commonly thought that Jewish law is static and does not develop. Our ongoing research on ancient tefillin shows that the exact opposite is true; Jewish law has always been dynamic. In my view, it is this vibrancy that makes halakhah so beautiful.” Unfortunately, he is mixing apples and oranges. When Orthodox Jews say that Halacha is non-negotiable, they are referring to Torah law. Any law that is explicit in the Torah, or whose meaning was agreed upon by the rabbis of the Talmud, is static and non-negotiable ever since. Regarding the need for tefillin cases to be dyed black, it is not stated clearly in the Talmud, and most early halachic sages from the post-Talmudic eras held that this is not a requirement, but merely a preference. They even noted that many people in their times did not have black cases. Hence, finding non-black cases is no revolutionary discovery, and it does not prove that halacha may be changed over time as we see fit.
Can it be proven these were actual tefillin and not kameot (charms)? Kameot do not have to follow the same customs as the tefillin.
Thanks for sharing, and thanks for the English sub titles. Shalom from the USA!!!
Thank you for sharing. Thanks for English. I love this channel.
These Tefillin are not finished. They are in the middle of being processed. Obviously, they were not painted black. They are only painted at the end.This study proves nothing. Finished Tefillin don't look like that.
0:19, looks black to me!
Also, the dead scrolls group were not part of main stream Judaism, didn't believe in freedom of choice and had other differences.
This is mad cool, keep trying!
Is there a way to guesstimate how large they these Tefilin were 2000 years ago?
Here's the proper summary of the video and comments:
In short,
this video basically says nothing.
Long answer,
the Tefillin in the video appear black, but it seems the woman says it's due to grease on them. These Tefillin also were clearly not yet made into Tefillin and are just the skins used for it, so one can argue it was not finished yet, which is why it wasn't painted with black paint. One can also argue the Qumran cave sect of Jews weren't pharisees, so this means nothing. One can argue Jews stored ruined ritual items in caves and containers, so these could be improper or not yet finished Tefillin as it does seem.
Additionally, the fact the woman says it appears black from grease, this could mean the original way they'd darken the leather is from grease, and we moved onto a more permanent black paint as time moved on. Or perhaps the Qumran sect used grease to darken the leather while pharisees used a true paint to darken it.
זה לא תפילין. זה עורות שעוד לא עובדו אותם להיות תפילין אז ברור שהם לא נצבעו.
There was no tefilin in tanakh. Its development of Farisees
In Mishnah Gemara Talmud
@@ezsyt so?! You think I don't know shema?! Where is says it's tefilin?
I'm a Christian. it is obviously a literalization of the words of the Shema. Tefillin may have started a little before the Pharisees if the Essenes were also using them. Both Pharisees and Essenes came from the devout hasidim at the time of the Maccabee war. Maybe the maccabees already had tefillin. Did you know the Talmud says God puts on Tefillin? They probably weren't thinking about Jesus but it makes me think of Jesus!
It was found at Qumram 200 BCE .
Ignorance
ולטוטפות בין עיניך.
בארמית טוטפות זה תפילין.@@Sara-gc8nn