Debate Responses
The surface of the Murex Trunculus snail is aquamarine – exactly as Chazal describe.
מנחות )מד א( “ת”ר חלזון זה גופו דומה לים… ובדמו צובעין תכלת לפיכך דמיו יקרים”
“The Rabbis taught: This חלזון , its body is similar to the sea … and with its blood they dye תכלת ; hence it is expensive.”
The words גופו דומה לים are explained by Rashi to refer to – מראה גופו “the appearance of its body”. The surface of the Murex is indeed aquamarine (blue-green), which is the color of the Mediteranean sea, where the חלזון is found. It is often partially covered by reddish sea moss that can be brushed off with relative ease, whereas the greenblue surface does not just brush off. (We attempted to brush off the greenish layer of the shell without success. It is very much a part of the shell itself and not just an external coating.) The surface of the shell is precisely as Chazal describe59. (See Fig. on page 105)
Furthermore, after personal investigation, it was found that the Murex Trunculus is unique in this aspect. Other snails found in the vicinity of the Murex snail did not have this appearance at all. Only the חלזון was !דומה לים ממש
Additionally, the חלזון for תכלת is the only snail in its vicinity that was extremely similar to the rocks around it on the seabed.
It is extremely difficult to discern between the Murex and ordinary rocks [60]. Other snails in that area have a smooth surface and as such appear clean and white/brown. These other snails are easily spotted on the seabed. (The reason that some have claimed that the חלזון is not green-blue, rather it is brown or white is simply because after being out of the water for some time, the organisms that give the shell this color die, and the shell becomes white or brown. Of course, Chazal were describing the חלזון in its natural state and not after being completely dried out.)
Footnotes
59.
“And see Mishkenos Hamishneh in his Chazon Nachum on Berachos 1:2, following R’ Shirelly z”l, who maintains that the very body of the chilazon yields a green dye. Likewise, the Yerushalmi (Berachos 1:5) and Midrash Tehillim (90) liken techeiles, the sea, and the firmament to green. As it was taught in R’ Meir’s name: ‘“And you shall see it”—the pasuk uses masculine “it” to hint that anyone who fulfills tzitzis merits the Shechinah’s presence. For they say: techeiles resembles the sea; the sea resembles grass; grass resembles the sky; the sky resembles the Throne of Glory; and the Throne resembles the sapir.’”
60.
“And we sometimes find that ‘yam’ (sea) refers to the sea’s very bottom. The Radak (on Yeshaya 11:9) explains: ‘“As waters cover the sea”—the term “yam hamayim” (sea of waters) is used because the waters fill it right up to the bottom so that the sea‑bed is hidden.’ Likewise, Ramban (Bereishis 1:10) says: ‘He called the gathering of waters “yamim” (seas), as if “sea of waters,” since the melted waters’ ground is termed “yam,” as Scripture states, “As waters cover the sea.”’ We see the same in Chavakuk 2:14, “‘For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Hashem, as the waters cover the sea,’” and in the Mechilta (Mishpatim 16:17), “‘And He brought down the sea below the dry land… because since it is a great reservoir of waters, it is called “yam.”’” Also see Rabbenu Bachya there, and Sha’arei Ora (Sha’ar Alech).
