קטרת - Ketoret
By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
The
Significance Of The Amounts
Mizbayach
HaKetoret (Incense Altar).
Ketoret is the transliteration of the Hebrew word קטרת, which is translated, in English, as incense. The word ketoret means bonding. This bonding, as we shall see, is necessary to build the unity of the bosy of Mashiach. Ketoret is a substance which is associated with joy, prayer, and protection. Clearly, ketoret is a most unusual substance!
In this study I would like to take an in-depth look at a substance which is so powerfull that it can halt a plague. Because it can halt a plague, those who compound it incorrectly will incur the death penalty. Lets start this study by examining what the Torah teaches us about ketoret, by examing the first use of ketoret:
Shemot
(Exodus) 25:1 And HaShem spake
unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of
From this first verse we see that incense is an offering which is associated with HaShem dwelling in us.
The Ketoret, offered up twice a day, symbolized Israel's desire to serve HaShem in a pleasing way. This offering was brought twice daily, once as part of the Shacharit (morning) service and once as part of the Mincha / Musaf (afternoon) service. This happened seven days a week, every day of the year, including Shabbat and Yom HaKippurim. Five pounds of ketoret was burnt daily, half in the morning and half in the afternoon.
Shemot
(Exodus) 30:7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense
every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. 8 And
when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a
perpetual incense before HaShem throughout your generations.
In our morning prayers we read about the specifics of the ketoret:
It is You, HaShem, our God, before Whom our
forefathers burned the ketoret
(incense spices) in the time when the
Exodus 30:34-36, 7-8 HaShem said to Moses: Take yourself spices — balsam,
onycha, and galbanum — spices and pure frankincense; they are all to be of
equal weight. You are to make it into Ketoret (incense), a spice-compound, the handiwork of an expert
spice-compounder, thoroughly mixed, pure and holy. You are to grind some of it
finely and place some of it before the Testimony in the Tent
of Appointment, where I shall designate a time to meet you; it shall be a
holy of holies for you.
It is also written: Aaron shall burn upon it
the incense-spices every morning; when he cleans the lamps he is to burn it.
And when Aaron ignites the lamps in the afternoon, he is to burn it, as
continual incense before HaShem throughout your generations.
The Hakhamim taught: How is the incense
mixture formulated? Three hundred sixty-eight maneh were in it: three hundred sixty-five corresponding to the days of the
solar year — a maneh for each day, half in the morning and half in the
afternoon; and three extra maneh, from which the Kohen
Gadol would bring both his handfuls [into the Holy of Holies] on Yom HaKippurim. He would return them to the mortar on
the day before Yom Kippur, and grind them very thoroughly so that it would be
exceptionally fine. Eleven kinds of spices were in it, as follows:
(1) balsam,
(2) onycha,
(3) galbanum [chelbena],
(4) frankincense — each weighing seventy
maneh[1];
(5) myrrh,
(6) cassia,
(7) spikenard,
(8) saffron — each weighing sixteen maneh;
(9) costus — twelve maneh;
(10) aromatic bark — three; and
(11) cinnamon — nine.
[Additionally] Carshina lye, nine kav[2];
Cyprus wine, three se’ah[3] and
three kav, if he has no Cyprus wine, he brings old white wine; Sodom salt, a
quarter[-kav]; and a minute amount of a smoke-raising herb. Rabbi Nassan the
Babylonian says: Also a minute amount of
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: The balsam is
simply the sap that drips from balsam trees. Why is Carshina lye used? To
bleach the onycha, to make it pleasing. Why is
It is taught, Rabbi Nassan says: As one would
grind [the incense] another would say:
‘Grind
thoroughly, thoroughly grind,’
because the sound is beneficial for the
spices. If one mixed it in half-quantities, it was fit for use, but as to a
third or a quarter — we have not heard the law. Rabbi
Yehudah said: This is the general rule — In its proper proportion, it is fit
for use in half the full amount; but if he left out any one of its spices, he
is liable to the death penalty.
It is taught, Bar Kappara says: Once every
sixty or seventy years, the accumulated leftovers reached half the yearly
quantity. Bar Kappara taught further: Had one put a kortov of fruit-honey into
it, no person could have resisted its scent. Why did they not mix fruit-honey
into it? — because the Torah says: ‘For any leaven or any fruit-honey, you are
not to burn from them a fire-offering to HaShem.”
End of the morning prayers that speak about ketoret.
The Torah does not give the exact recipe for the ketoret that was burned daily in the
The ketoret contained eleven spices. There were seventy maneh each of
(1) balsam,
(2) onycha,
(3) galbanum, and
(4) frankincense.
There were sixteen maneh each of
(5) myrrh,
(6) cassia,
(7) spikenard, and
(8) saffron.
There were twelve maneh of
(9) costus,
three measures of
(10) aromatic bark,
and nine measures of
(11) cinnamon.
Each maneh weighed five pounds. The total weight
was 368 maneh - one measure for each day, plus 3 extra for Yom Kippur, or 1,840
pounds (836.36 kg).
Midrash Rabbah - The Song of Songs I:62. R. Johanan applied the verse to the incense
of the House of Abtinus. THE BAG OF MYRRH: this is one of the eleven spices
which composed it. R. Huna explained [why there were eleven]. It says And the
Lord said unto Moses: Take unto thee sweet spices (Ex.XXX, 34)-this is two: balsam,
and onycha and galbanam--this makes five; sweet
spices--if you say this means only two more, we have
already had this; [therefore take it in conjunction with the next words], of
each shall there be a like weight; add five to the previous five, making ten. With pure frankincense --this makes eleven. On the
basis of this verse the Sages investigated and found that nothing is better for
the incense than just these eleven spices.
The Acharit Shalom observes that whereas the eleven above-mentioned ingredients are listed in Hebrew, the remaining ingredients are listed in Aramaic. He presumes that Chazal did this deliberately in order to differentiate between the actual spices and the remaining ingredients that are merely (to enhance the quality of the main ingredients).
The incense was compounded from eleven ingredients: balsam, onycha, galbanum, frankincense (in quantities of seventy manehs each in weight), myrrh, cassia, spikenard, saffron (sixteen manehs each), costus (twelve manehs), aromatic bark (three manehs), and cinnamon (nine manehs), altogether 368 manehs, one for each day of the year, half offered in the morning, and half in the evening, and three extra manehs for the Day of Atonement. But in an ordinary lunar year there were 11 manehs over (the lunar year being 354 days); and though these 11 manehs were necessary for supplementing the incense in intercalary years (see calendar study), they had to be bought from the new donations given on the first of Nisan. Some method had to be devised, therefore, of making the remainder of the old incense valid for the new year.
The lye obtained from a species of leek and the Cyprus wine which are mentioned in connection with the incense, were nor actual ingredients, but were used simply for whitening the onycha, and also for making its odour more pungent, as we shall see.
Rabbi Moshe Sofer (Chatam Sofer, Derashot 18; quoted
in Siddur Chatam Sofer ad. loc.) explains the symbolic meaning of the
names of the four main incense spices, as well as the Karshina lye and
The
four spices that are written explicitly in the Torah
are tzori-balsam, tziporen-onycha, chelbenah-galbanum, and levonah zakah-pure frankincense.
Tzori alludes to the Torah which is a tzori-balsam
and healing for the entire body.
Levonah zakah alludes to God's love for His people
through which He me'laven-whitens
and bleaches their sins. Between these two are placed the tziporen and chelbenah.
As
known, chelbenah alludes to
complete sinners.
The
tziporen, on the other hand,
alludes to the majority of the Jewish people. Like a
tziporen-fingernail, they are
smooth and unblemished on the inside, and only darkened on the outside... It is
for this reason that we are required to rub the tziporen with Karshina lye, to beautify it and remove its
external blackness. This alludes to teshuvah-repentance
and good deeds... Soaking the tziporen
in
|
COUNT |
NAME |
WEIGHT |
|
1 |
balsam |
70 maneh |
|
2 |
onycha |
70 maneh |
|
3 |
galbanum |
70 maneh |
|
4 |
frankincense |
70 maneh |
|
5 |
myrrh |
16 maneh |
|
6 |
cassia |
16 maneh |
|
7 |
spikenard |
16 maneh |
|
8 |
saffron |
16 maneh |
|
9 |
costus |
12 maneh |
|
10 |
aromatic bark |
3 maneh |
|
11 |
cinnamon |
9 maneh |
|
|
|
368 maneh |
What is the
significance of the various amounts of each fragrance?
Each of the major four fragrances explicitly mentioned in the Torah
contributed seventy maneh. The number seven represents
the natural universe, created in seven days. Seven corresponds to the framework
of the physical universe, especially the boundaries of time with its seven-day week.
Seventy is the number
seven in tens. The number ten represents both plurality
and unity, so seventy conveys the
idea of unifying the multitude of
forces in the natural world. This is the underlying message of the ketoret. These holy fragrances
illuminate and uplift the plurality of natural forces.
After the first level of
four fragrances sanctified the dimension of time, the second tier of four
fragrances sanctified the dimension of space.
The number six corresponds to space, as any location is made up of six vectors
(the four directions, up and down). It can also be visualized as a cube,
representing all physical objects, which has six faces.
Time is a less physical
aspect, and more receptive to spiritual elevation.
Thus, for the first four fragrances representing the dimension of time, the
number seven was multiplied by ten. Space, on the other hand, is only
influenced by its closeness to holiness. Therefore, the unifying quality of ten
is only added to the six, so
that 16 maneh were used of each of these fragrances.
The final amounts of twelve, nine, and three represent the limitations of the
divided physical realm. Three is the first number to
demonstrate multitude, and nine is the last number, before the multitude
is once again combined into a unit of ten[4].
Rashi, in Shemot 30:34, explains that the Ketoret was comprised of eleven ingredients. Often, we find that the number ten is used to represent a spiritual full set. Eleven refers to the conveyance of the Divine light which transcends the limits of the world within the limits of the world.
Pirke Avot 5:1 The world was created with ten utterances.
Eleven, thus, refers to a level above the limits of the set of ten. Nevertheless, since it is also a number which follows in sequence to ten, we can understand that it refers to the fusion between the transcendent Divine light and the framework of limited worldly existence.
There were ten fragrant spices in the ketoret, the incense, and one foul smelling spice (Chelbena -galbanum). There were ten tzaddiks in the synagogue yet no prayers on a fast day were heard without a sinner’s prayer.
Keritot
6b Every communal fast that does not include sinners of
There is an interesting story regarding who can count to a minyan attributed by some to the Noda Biyehudah and others to Rav Chaim Brisk. Once he was on a journey and it was getting late in the afternoon so he asked his talmidim to make a minyan. With difficulty, they assembled ten men but the rav noticed that one of them was not particularly frum and asked them to find another. The talmidim explained the difficulty and suggested that, in the extenuating circumstances, they should allow him to count that one time. The rav insisted so one of them said that the Gemara rules that the prayers on a taanit tzibbur must include such a sinner to be effective just as the ketoret (incense) had to contain chelbenah, an evil smelling spice. The rav responded to point out that the ketoret had to have eleven spices!
The number eleven, which is how many spices there were in the Ketoret, at first seems rather odd. However, Kabbalistically it is a number of tremendous importance for it alludes to one of the most prized possessions in all of history: Daat Elohim, G-dly knowledge.
Why was the number eleven selected for the production of the Ketoret? In order to answer this question, let us consider some other appearances of the number eleven in the Torah:
In Bereshit 36:40-43, the Torah enumerates the eleven chieftains that were born to Esav. In:
Bereshit (Genesis) 33:11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is
brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have
all (kol). And he urged him, and he took it.
Rashi points out a very basic difference between Yaaqov and Esav's outlook on life. When Yaaqov described his material status, he exclaimed, "I have all that I need!" Esav, on the other hand, arrogantly stated, "I have much, much more than I need!" In contrast to Esav’s “much”, Yaaqov had kol, everything. Kol always refers to the spiritual world because in this world, even if you have the whole world it is simply “much”. It is only when we connect to the source that we can have everything!
The number ten represents a completeness; a full integer count. The number ten represents Yaaqov 's purposeful existence. The ideology of Esav, of seeing no limits or goals and amassing "much, much more" than one needs, is represented by the number eleven. It is indeed appropriate that his nation originated with 'eleven' chieftains. Yet for all his amassment of wealth, one who follows such an ideology will actually end up with less, not more. As our Sages put it,
Sanhedrin 29a one who adds, takes away.
Similarly, in the area of kashrut we are told that:
Chulin 58b an animal with an extra limb is likened to an animal missing that limb.
If an animal missing a leg is considered to be a Tereifah (unfit for food) and not kosher, one that has an extra leg is also a tereifah and not kosher.
Megilah 29a One who is arrogant is considered to be blemished.
This above Gemara follows the same principle. The arrogant person considers himself bigger, or more fit, than others, while in truth, his extra fitness is no more than a lack of fitness. He is blemished, or flawed.
In Sanhedrin 29a, the Gemara derives the rule that "one who adds, takes away" from a verse in Shemot 26:7. The verse states that the goat's hair covering on the Mishkan (the Tabernacle in the wilderness) consisted of eleven curtains of goat's hair, sewn together into one very long curtain which was draped over the Mishkan. The word the Torah uses for eleven is Ashtei Esreh. Had the Torah left out the letter Ayin from Ashtei, the Gemara explains, it would have meant twelve. Now that the Ayin is added to the word, it takes away from its meaning, such that it only means eleven.
Note that this rule is learned from the number eleven. Esav's attitude of "much, much more than I need" is summed up by the number eleven. All of his additional wealth just takes him farther from attaining the true goals in life.
Interestingly, according to Rashi on Tehillim 80:14, a letter Ayin which is raised above the rest of the word in which it appears is used to represent Esav's wickedness.
The following narrative is from Meam Loez[5]:
Also included in the incense was an herb known as maaleh ashan. This herb caused the smoke to go straight up like a pole and not to spread to the right or left. No one knew the identity of this herb except members of the family of the House of Avtinus mentioned earlier. These are the ones who were able to make the incense based on the tradition of their ancestors and they would not reveal it to any other person.
This herb had to be placed in the incense even though it did not have any fragrance. This is because it is written, "Speak to Aaron your brother and let him not come at all times to the sanctuary inside the veil which is before the ark." (Leviticus 16:2) Moses was told to go to Aaron the High Priest and tell him not to go into the Holy of Holies at any time other than Yom HaKippurim. Even on Yom HaKippurim he could not go into the Holy of Holies empty-handed. The Torah therefore continues:
Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:2 For in cloud I shall be seen on the ark
cover.
The only time the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies was when he brought incense and the cloud of smoke covered the ark cover. The cloud mentioned here is the smoke of the incense. As the Torah says later:
Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:13 The cloud of incense shall cover the ark
cover.
Since the Torah says, "In a cloud I shall be seen on the ark cover" and it does not say, "With incense I shall be seen on the ark cover," our sages taught that this herb known as maaleh ashan must be placed in the incense. If maaleh ashan was not placed there the incense would burn but there would not be this heavy smoke. Since the Torah speaks of a "cloud" of smoke we learn that there must be smoke. The only substance that makes this heavy smoke is the maaleh ashan, which made this smoke go up straight like a pole.
If a different type of herb were used, the smoke would not go directly up; rather, it would spread out to all sides of the Holy of Holies. It would then not be right over the ark cover and the Torah says explicitly, "The cloud of incense shall cover the ark cover." This cloud of smoke must cover the ark cover so the High Priest does not see the Divine Presence.
If the High Priest burned the incense and it did not contain this maaleh ashan he would be worthy of death.