White (Lavan) & Blue (Tcheiles) - blue Tzitzis

Question

There are some people that wear Tcheiles - blue Tzitzis. What is the reason that the majority of Klal Yisroel still does not wear it if the Tcheilas has been rediscovered?

Answer 1

Here are short and long versions of an excellent class on the topic that goes through many arguments pro and con (with the speaker having an overall pro bias).

Answer 2

The Gemara (Bava Metzia 61b) speaks pretty harshly about "one who attaches kala ilan [indigo] to his garment and claims that it's techeiles." Since, as Shalom noted, the identity of techeiles is in fact uncertain (I've heard of at least three different opinions what creature it comes from), that may be reason enough to avoid using what might be the wrong stuff.

There is also a Kabbalistic idea (from the Arizal) that techeiles is not needed after the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, and that it will be restored only when Moshiach comes.

Answer 3

http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=31622&pgnum=403

Thhe Rebbe Rashab wrote to R' Leiner (The original re-discoverer of techeiles [even though he was found to have been fooled by the scientists of his day, yet the reasons of the Rebbe Rashab still apply to the modern day tcheiles.]).

The Rebbe Rashab writes that it cannot be the real tcheiles because the Alter Rebbe writes in Likkutei Torah (in the name of the Pri Aitz Chaim) that there is no tcheiles in the time of exile because it represents a high spiritual level that we cannot reach in the time of exile.

This is similar to the rule that we do not blow Shofar on Rosh Hashana that falls out on Shabbos because of the Gzeira of Rava (we are afraid one will carry it in the street to learn how to blow it.) However, in Kabbalah it's explained that we don't blow shofar on shabbos because we can't reach the level of Shofar (whatever the shofar would accomplish shabbos already does). It is explained in Chassidus that the real reason for not blowing the shofar is because of the Kabbalistic reason, but in order not to make rulings based on only kabbalah, the gemarah gives a reason (although seemingly forced) of the gzeirah of Rava.

So too here, we can't reach what Tcheiles represents in exile, therefore, we shouldn't wear it, and the simple reason is because people may put it on a linen garment (tzitzis with tcheichles (wool) can be put on a linen garment) but we are not sure that it is real tcheiles, so we don't wear tcheiles at all.

The Rebbe Rashabs also asks that if the only reason nobody wore tcheiles was because of expenses, why were there no exceptionally pious people who would try to get a hold of it at all costs, like people tried getting Esrogim at all costs even when there were wars, etc.

Answer 4

Many believe that once the mesora (tradition) was lost, it was lost; modern scientific methods can't restore mesora. (The fact that there are different forms of tcheiles today doesn't help.)