"a double handful of incense, finely ground perfumes." Then the Torah should say, "He should place it on a fire before HaShem," and we would know that the Torah is speaking about incense. However, the expression, "the incense" (ha-Ketoret) teaches us that the incense must be complete without anything missing. Even a single dram of weight of any of the ingredients cannot be left out.
The Torah also teaches us that the smoke of the incense must cover the ark cover. This is why the maaleh ashan is placed in it. The Torah says:
Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:13 And he shall not die.
From this we learn the opposite. If any of the ingredients are left out, or if the maaleh ashan was not placed in the incense, the High Priest was worthy of death. It did not matter how small an amount of the maaleh ashan was placed there as long as there was some.
One should read the section of the Ketoret out of a Siddur. Saying it verbally is the same as actually burning this incense in the Temple, as is explained earlier. If one says it by heart it is possible that he will leave out one of the ingredients. This is the same as burning incense lacking ingredients for which one is worthy of death. Therefore it should be read from the written page. For the same reason it is good to count the eleven perfumes with one's fingers, so as not to skip any of them.
End of Meam Loez.
Ketoret has the power to nullify any evil decree, even that of death. It is for this reason that when a plague broke out among the Bne Israel in the wilderness Moshe ordered Aaron to go through the camp with the ketoret.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 17:12-13 Aaron took the incense pan as Moses had commanded him... He offered the incense to atone for the people... and the plague was checked.
Thus we see the healing properties of ketoret, especially to alleviate the plague. If the ketoret had not been formulated correctly it would not have ended the plague, thus condemning the people to death. This is why the death penalty is proper for those who leave out any ingredient while compounding the ketoret.
Ketoret Symbolizes Unity
Ketoret was a unique substance whose eleven ingredients had the ability to symbolize unity.
In other words, the incense used in the Bais HaMikdash, the House of the Holy One, consisted of fragrant spices as well as the foul-smelling galbanum, which itself acquired a pleasant aroma when combined with the other spices of the ketoret. The Gemara derives from this composition of the incense a similar phenomenon in the social, religious makeup of the Jewish people: when the wicked and righteous join together, the latter can positively impact upon the former to produce a single, "fragrant" unified community.
Rav Kook explained that the ketoret was a link between the material and spiritual realms. The word ketoret comes from the root kesher, a tie or knot. The incense rose straight up, connecting our divided physical world to the unified divine realm. From the sublime standpoint of overall holiness, it is impossible to distinguish between the separate, distinct fragrances. Each fragrance represents a particular quality, but at that elevated level, they are revealed only within the attribute of absolute unity. Only in our divided world do they acquire separate identities.
Ketoret as a Protection
Bamidbar (Numbers) 17:11-13 "And Moshe said to Aharon. Take a censer, and put fire in it from off the altar, and put on incense, and take it quickly... and ran... and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed".
We learn from the Yom HaKippurim service that the cloud of ketoret facilitates a vision of the Shekhina: For in the cloud I shall appear above the kaporet. Like a sort of veil which serves to dull the dazzling revelation. Perhaps, this is indeed the function of the Mizbayach HaKetoret (incense altar) throughout the year: it is meant to allow the Shekhina to dwell in the Mishkan by "screening" the revelation therein!
Ketoret is brought by men to recognize the fact that HaShem is present amongst us. Furthermore, ketoret has the unique property of protection, which is necessary since as mortals we cannot handle the direct presence of HaShem, so we need the incense and the incense altar to protect us from the glory of HaShem.
Not only the actual offering of the ketoret, but even studying and reciting the parsha of ketoret yields remarkable power as the Zohar writes:
Zohar 2:218 This matter is a decree issued by the Almighty, that whoever studies and reads the topic of the constitution of the ketoret every day is saved from all evil things and witchcraft in the world, and from all serious injury, from evil thoughts, from harsh judgment, and from death, and will not be harmed that entire day, for the evil force has no control over him. One must concentrate during this recitation. Rabbi Shimon said, if people would know how exalted the concept of the ketoret is before the Almighty, they would take every single word in it and wear it as a crown on their head like a golden crown. Whoever involves himself in it must delve into the concept of the ketoret. If he concentrates on it every day, he earns a portion both in this world and in the next world, and death will be eliminated from him and from the world, and he will be saved from all prosecution in this world, from impurity, from the judgment of Gehinnom and from subjugation to foreign rule.
The Yalkut Meam Loez cites a story from the Midrash Haneelam. Rav Aha once arrived in a certain town that had been ravaged by a plague for seven days. The townspeople came to him and told him of their troubles. The plague was only intensifying, and they did not know what to do. He said, "Let us go to the Bet Kenesset (House of the Congregation) and pray that it stops." As they made their way towards the Bet Kenesset, people came and told them that the plague had claimed even more victims; others are about to die. He said, "Since the calamity is so severe and time is running out, we will not go to the Bet Kenesset. Rather, bring me forty G-d-fearing people and they will divide into groups of ten, each of which should go to one direction of the city and recite 'pitum haketoret' (the Talmudic discussion of the ingredients of the ketoret) three times. They should then add, 'Moshe said to Aharon: Take the firepan and place fire upon it from the altar and place ketoret, and quickly bring it to the nation and atone on their behalf... 'until' and the plague ended." They did as he told, and the plague stopped. All those who had been stricken were cured. A heavenly voice called out to the harmful spirits, "Do no more damage in this town, for the attribute of justice no longer has any control over them!"
Rav Aha was exhausted and fell asleep. He dreamt that it was told to him, "Just as you eliminated the plague from the city, so must you bring them back in teshuva, for one cannot endure without the other, because it was on account of their sins that the plague was decreed." He told this to the townspeople and they repented. They changed the name of the town to "Mahsiya," which means "town of compassion." They kept the town's name in their minds at all times so as to ensure that they would not return to their sinful ways.
Ketoret for Simcha (Joy)
The Midrash says:
Tanhuma, Tesaveh 15 The Almighty said: Of all the sacrifices you offer, there is none dearer to Me than the ketoret [incense], for it comes not for any sin or transgression or guilt, but rather for joy, as it says, 'Oil and incense gladden the heart' (Mishlei 27). See how beloved the ketoret is, for through it the plague ended. Aharon found the angel [of death] standing and destroying. He stayed opposite it and did not let it go. He said to Aharon: Let me go and carry out my mission. Aharon stopped it with the power of the ketoret.
The Ketoret was also an intrinsic part of the Mishkan (the Tabernacle in the wilderness), since it is the proper thing to place incense in the King's Palace, prior to his entry, all the more so, HaShem. Indeed, on a number of occasions in the desert, it was through the Ketoret that the Shechinah rested in Israel.
Ketoret was offered to bring joy and happiness to the world. For this reason, it was the most beloved to HaShem of all the offerings. And, it was the life-preserving qualities of the Ketoret that the Angel of Death taught Moshe on Mt. Sinai, which worked to save lives in the disagreement with Korach. See Bamidbar (Numbers) 17:11-13
Our Sages taught that the righteous are compared to pleasant smelling spices (Megilla 13a). That is why Esther was also named Hadassah which means myrtle, while Mordechai is comprised of 'mar dachia', pure myhrr, one of the main ingredients of the incense. We have seen in the teaching of our Sages that sound is good for the incense. For this reason Mordechai, whose righteous deeds were pleasing to HaShem as incense, cried aloud in the midst of the city. Through his intense prayer and beseeching on behalf of the Jews, Mordechai saw that, as incense offered before HaShem, he was able to nullify the harsh decree against the Jewish people. In this way, he 'stood between the dead and the living' much as Aaron used the incense to stay the plague of HaShem's wrath.
Lashon HaRa
The offering of the "ketoret" was carried out in complete seclusion. The Torah tells us:
Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:17 any person shall not be in the Tent of Meeting when he comes to provide atonement in the Sanctuary until his departure.
Although this pasuk is found in the section of the Torah dealing with the Yom HaKippurim service, this halacha is not limited to Yom HaKippurim. It was forbidden for any other Kohen to be present in the Bais HaMikdash while the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, was offering his ketoret, whether it was Yom HaKippurim when it was offered in the Kodesh HaKodoshim, or any other day that it was brought on the inner altar. This offering that was always done in private serves to atone for lashon hara that is spoken privately.
The Gemara (Erachin 16) teaches: Because of lashon hara, tzaraat befalls a person. Yet [the Gemara asks] doesn't Rav Anani bar Sason teach that when the kohen gadol wears the garment known as the me'il, this atones for the nation's lashon hara?
The Gemara (as explained by Rashi) answers: If the lashon hara caused a fight, tzara'at results. Otherwise, the wearing of the me'il atones.
Yet does not Rav Shimon teach that the ketoret atones for lashon hara, for we read in this parasha that Aharon atoned for the people with ketoret? Yes, the ketoret, which is usually burnt privately in the inner sanctum of the Mishkan, atones for lashon hara spoken in private, while the me'il atones for lashon hara spoken in public. [Until here from the Gemara.]
The Chafetz Chaim writes: It follows from this that lashon hara which causes a fight is punished by tzara'at even when spoken privately. Ketoret atones for lashon hara spoken privately which causes no harm.
Why then did the ketoret provide atonement, in Bamidbar (Numbers) 16:46, where the lashon hara was very public? Because Aharon took the ketoret out of the privacy of the Mishkan and burnt it in the midst of the camp.
The Gemara records that offering of the ketoret is done privately (Yoma 43b-44a, Zevachim 88b, Mishna Kelim 1:9, Rambam Hilkhot Temidin u-Musafin 3:3); that is, when the ketoret is offered, no one is allowed to be in the heikhal, the inner sanctum, other than the kohen offering the ketoret. While the Torah mentions this exclusion specifically regarding the special service of the kohen gadol on Yom HaKippurim (Vayikra 16:17), the Gemara understands that it applies to the ketoret generally (Yoma 44b).
Given its very private nature, the ketoret symbolizes the mysterious, the unknown. However, the Torah explicitly connects both offerings of the ketoret to the lighting of the menora. The menora is symbolic of the light of the Torah, the revealed Torah, while the ketoret is symbolic of the hidden aspects of Torah, of those parts that lie beyond human comprehension. The Torah links these two commands, highlighting the significance of striving to understand the Torah while recognizing that some aspects of Torah will remain difficult.
Holy Deodorizer
Maimonides describes the function of the ketoret as the vanquishing of the unpleasant odors that might otherwise have pervaded the Temple. HaShem commanded that the ketoret be burned twice a day, each morning and afternoon, to lend a pleasing fragrance to the Temple and to the garments of those who served in it:
Guide for the Perplexed, part III, ch. 45 “Since many animals were slaughtered in the sacred place each day, their flesh butchered and burnt and their intestines cleaned, its smell would doubtless have been like the smell of a slaughterhouse... Therefore G-d commanded that the ketoret be burned twice a day, each morning and afternoon, to lend a pleasing fragrance to [the Holy Temple] and to the garments of those who served in it.”
But Maimonides’ words carry a significance that extends beyond their superficial sense
