How Blue And White Became Synonymous With Judaism

Scholars believe the story begins with mention, at a key moment in the Hebrew Bible, of an indigo blue dye called t’chelet. ...The word t’chelet appears in the Book of Numbers, the fourth of five books that comprise the sacred Jewish text called the Torah. It describes “a cord of blue” that ancient Israelites were instructed to attach to a fringed garment they were commanded to wear as a sign of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. To this day, Jewish people wear a fringed shawl, called a tallit, when praying or in daily life. Though a tallit can be adorned with designs or colors, typical shawls are white with blue or black stripes; some include a single blue fringe at each corner, as described in the Torah.