Blue is a significant color in Judaism. The Talmud speaks about the mitzvah of tzitzit and the blue string, the ptil techelet. It says that the color resembles the ocean, which resembles the sky, which resembles the Seat of Glory, aka Hashem’s “chair.” It is for this reason, the Talmud explains, that the specific color of blue was chosen for this Torah commandment.
There is clearly something deeper going on here and this isn’t just a color matching game. So what’s the message we are to learn from the color techelet?
What is it about blue? Well, think about the color blue in nature. It barely exists. Even blueberries are not really blue. Blue is the rarest of colors. That is the lesson of techelet, the uniqueness of Hashem and His children, the Jewish nation.
There is only one Hashem and there is only one Jewish nation.
And because it is rare, the blue was used by royalty. In fact, that’s likely where the color royal blue comes from. Blue is unique and blue is royalty.
We are supposed to look at the blue string and be reminded of the uniqueness of Hashem. When it comes to the actual blue string, it is colored with dye taken from a snail. That dye is incredibly rare, which makes it that much more expensive.
Blue symbolizes unique, rare, valuable, and oneness. That’s Hashem.
