The Temple Institute: Crimson Worms from Istanbul
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RECENTLY THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE organized a harvest of the tola'at shani worm used in producing the crimson dye essential for making the avnet - the sixteen meter long belt of the common priests, as part of our goal to manufacture 120 sets of lay priest garments ready for use in the Holy Temple. However, the quantity of dye needed to produce the 120 belts was simply more than could be provided for by the local harvest. So the Temple Institute sent an emissary to Istanbul, Turkey, where he purchased in the open market one kilo (2.2 lbs) of tola'at shani worms harvested from the mountains of Turkey. He asked the merchant to package the worms in two separate half-kilo vacuum packs. The merchant happily complied and the result can be seen in the photograph above.

WHEN WE TAKE THE TERSELY WRITTEN scriptual descriptions of the sundry details of each of the various Temple service vessels and priestly garments and begin to apply these instructions on a practical level, as has not been done for nearly 2000 years, doors fly open onto worlds of sensations and experiences, some profound, some subtle, some sublime, and some simply of great anecdotal interest. The adventures entailed in gathering the required the crimson worms necessary for the dying of the priestly belts is a case in point.

BLESSED WITH THE OPPORTUNITY to pursue these commandments, we feel privileged and delighted to share with you our experiences and impressions along the way. Even the vacuum packed tola'at shani worms from Istanbul, Turkey.

 

Click here to learn more about the tola'at shani, and to see pictures from the crimson worm harvest.

Click here to learn more about the sacred garments of the High Priest and lay priests.

Click here to see photographs of prototypes of the priestly garments being created.

To view a short video documentary of the inauguration ceremony of the new workshop for priestly garments, please click here.

If you are a kohen and would like to reserve a set of bigdei kehuna, please contact us.

 

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