The color of the tefillin wasn’t an issue

The Talmud states that tefillin must be square and black, and this commandment is considered a law given to Moses at Sinai (i.e no reason but still a law). However, new research (published today at PLOS One) proves that the tefillin found at Qumran were not dyed at all, and certainly not black. Although some of them were found to be black in color, this blackness was not the result of intentional dyeing but rather the opposite—natural weathering and decay of the leather, likely due to moisture that seeped into the caves. That is, chemical examination of the tefillin eliminates the possibility that they were originally dyed black. Dyeing can be identified in one of two ways: using carbon-like materials such as charcoal or using tannin and iron oxides. Neither of these was found on the tefillin. Professor Yonatan Adler concludes from this that the color of the tefillin was not originally significant in Jewish law, and it is likely that the tradition of black tefillin developed at a later period.

The Flora of Qumran: The Blasam tree in the Thanksgiving Scroll

The following post has no point other than to describe the flora of Qumran as reflected in the Thanksgiving Scroll, beautifully illustrating the concept of hidden knowledge as a spring of living waters, and why those who drink from this spring are ultimately expected to survive Judgment Day.

The texts, according to Elisha Qimron, “Hebrew Writings from Qumran A, p. 82, reconstructed from Column XVI lQHb fragments 1 and 2, 4QHb fragment 10, and 4QHf fragment 13,” lines 5-29.

In the Thanksgiving Scroll from Qumran, the sect members compare themselves to the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden and their opponents to “water trees”. These Trees of Life are hidden among the multitude of water trees and draw their waters from the river flowing from Eden, “Yuval”, compared to the other trees that draw their waters from the “underworld”. While the water trees draw from sewage, the Trees of Life draw from “holy waters” and a “spring of life”, protected by “holy spirits and a flaming sword”. The advantage of these Trees of Life is that their roots can penetrate the rock, making them stronger than the other trees. They are also more resistant to flash floods, survive in hot environments, and most importantly, thrive in the harsh, salty soil of the Judean Desert.

Most of the Judean Desert is covered with soft chalk rocks, which are relatively impermeable, so water does not infiltrate but rather becomes runoff during heavy rain, flowing down the mountains and gathering in channels to form flash floods. Specifically, in the Dead Sea area, streams flow from East Jerusalem, and the city’s sewage is discharged outside the city. During rains, the chalk runoff mixes with the sewage, creating brown mud streams that carry all the dirt down. This is well described in Isaiah 57:20, “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt”, and also in the Thanksgiving Scroll, “In the rushing streams of rivers, for they cast their dirt upon me”.

Since the desert is covered with chalk and water does not infiltrate, most of the soil above it has been washed away, leaving a very thin layer that barely covers the underlying rock. This soil, already soaked with sewage, is salty and thus unsuitable for most plants, except those with roots close to the surface or those adapted to high salinity.

However, since the chalk ground is very friable, it can be easily dug. The desert inhabitants exploited this and built water reservoirs, small pits capable of efficiently collecting runoff water. These reservoirs store water channeled into them via small artificial channels, and since the water does not infiltrate, they serve as accessible water reservoirs. But these reservoirs must be hidden because if not, the floods will destroy them. In the Qumran Valley, there are several such reservoirs, the most famous being called “Bir Abu Sha’ala”. Some claim the place is connected to the prophet Elijah. “Sha’ala” means flame; Elijah ascended to heaven in a whirlwind of fire.

The Qumran Valley descends from “Mount Azazel”, the place where the scapegoat was sent to Azazel on Yom Kippur. This can be compared to casting sins into the depths of the sea, as described in the Book of Micah. Once the waste is thrown from the mountain top, it will eventually be washed to the bottom of the mountain during flash floods, already mixed with sewage. Whether or not related, the area where the Qumran caves are located, between Wadi Og and Wadi Kidron, is characterized by streams originating from the same place described in the Book of Zechariah, where the Mount of Olives will split in half eastward and westward (Zechariah 14:4), symbolizing the waters flowing from Jerusalem, especially from the “Foundation Stone” (i.e the dome of the rock. this rock).

Indeed, as mentioned, the Qumran sect describes themselves as trees drawing from the Yuval. It is stated in Midrash Rabbah (Leviticus Rabbah 22:10, and also Numbers Rabbah 21:18): “Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai taught, ‘A river goes out of Eden’, called Yuval, and from there it drinks. And why? ‘It shall send its roots by the Yuval’ (Jeremiah 17:8)”. A well-known river goes out from the Garden of Eden and is said to split into four heads. Considering the Foundation Stone as the place from which the world was created, Jerusalem is the Garden of Eden, from which many rivers flow, including all the streams surrounding Qumran: Wadi Og, Wadi Qumran, Wadi Kidron, Wadi Darga, etc. And where do all these flow? To the region where the balsam tree grows, known collectively as “Ein Gedi,” considered an oasis. However, it is possible that the oasis described in the Thanksgiving Scroll, “And a holy fruit orchard will be an eternal source to Eden with glory and fruit of splendor, and by its side will open their source with all their streams flowing on a straight path,” is actually Enot Tsukim, located in the same Qumran area. It is likely that those trees of life that are described as living on the streams of water, are nothing but the persimmon/balsam trees, the Commiphora.

BTW: “Nahal Secacah,” the place where “Bir Abu Sha’ala” is located, is one of the central places where John Marco Allegro searched for the treasure that he claimed is mentioned in the Copper Scroll. The scroll states, “A tomb in Nahal Kepha as you come from Jericho to Secacah, concealed seven cubits deep,” and also “In the ruin that is in the Valley of Achor, under the steps going east, forty cubits of silver coins.” The Valley of Achor is supposedly Hyrcania, near Nahal Secacah.