Incense

Within the Holy Temple stood an altar of Acacia Wood overlaid with beaten gold. Upon it was burned an incense made up of 11 different spices, known in Hebrew as the Qetoret Bisamim (mentioned in Exodus XXX 34-38). The names of the spices are enumerated in Tractate Keritot (folio 6a) of the Talmud Bavli and were repeated daily in the morning and afternoon services.

During the days of the Temple, the Qetoret was burned every evening and morning on the golden Incense Altar by the Cohanim (Priests), in front of the Holy Ark in the Temple's Sanctuary.

According to the Kabbalah, the Incense Offering is the most precious part of the Temple service in the eyes of God.

During the days of the Temple, the exact method of Qetoret preparation by the Master Perfumer was a closely guarded secret. Today we are still unraveling the mystery of exactly which ingredients and processes were used to formulate the finely ground mixture. Although there are still varying opinions and speculation about some aspects of the Qetoret, some scholars have been able to identify the botanical sources of the main ingredients.

Although there are strict prohibitions against experimentation with the various plant materials in powder form, it has been advised by highly-respected teachers in Jerusalem that there is no prohibition whatsoever against enjoyment of the essential oil extracts of these same botanicals.

The Talmud relates that women, as far away from Jerusalem as Jericho, did not wear perfumes because the fragrance emanating from the Qetoret so filled the air. The Talmud further relates that three things revive a person's soul: pleasant sights, pleasant sounds and pleasant smells.

These Qetoret spices may be purchased today and used in the Havdallah ceremony.

The Eleven Qetoret Spices as listed in the Talmud and Siddur:

Ingredient	Amount	%Comp

1) ha'tzori — balsamv	70 maneh	13.0%
2) ha'tziporen — onycha	70 maneh	13.0%
3) ha'chelbenah — galbanum	70 maneh	13.0%
4) ha'levonah — frankincense	70 maneh	13.0%
5) mor — myrrh	16 maneh	3.0%
6) ketzia — cassia	16 maneh	3.0%
7) shibolet nerd — spikenard	16 maneh	3.0%
8) kharkom — saffron	16 maneh	3.0%
9) ha'kosht — costus	12 maneh	2.2%
10) k'lufah — aromatic bark	3 maneh	0.6%
11) kinnamon — cinnamon	9 maneh	1.7%

A) Borit Karshina — lye	9 kab	14.3%
B) Yein Kafrisin — Cypress wine	3 se'in/3kabin	16.8%
C) Melach Sedomit — Sodom salt	1/4 kab	0.3%
D) Maaleh Ashan — Smoke producer	kol shehu	0.1%
E) Kipat HaYarden — Jordan amber	kol shehu	0.1%

Technical Note: According to Rabbi Avraham Chaim Naeh, a Mishnaic maneh equals 480 grams (slightly less than half a kilogram and slightly more than 1 pound). A second opinion is that of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan (The Living Torah, Exodus 30:34, p. 445; The Torah Anthology, Volume 11, p. 43), according to which a maneh equals 100 biblical shekels, or 5 pounds. Thus, according to the first opinion, 368 maneh, one year's supply of Qetoret, amounted to 368+ lbs. According to the second opinion, 368 maneh amounted to 2840 lbs.

Other ingredients used to prepare the eleven primary spices were: 9 kabin (9 quarts according to Kaplan) of Karshina-vetch lye, 3 se'in and 3 kabin (21 quarts) of Cyprus-caper wine or aged white wine, 1/4 kab (1 cup) of Sodom salt-nitrate, as well as small amounts of maaleh ashan ("smoke-producing herb" — probably leptadenia pyrotechnica which contains nitric acid), and Jordan amber (probably cyclomen).

For a fascinating tractate examining Qetoret from both a botanical, historical and mystical perspective, please click here.