Shmos 30:1 “G-d forbid that the great principle and mystery of the ketores should be reduced to this mundane purpose.”
As with all aspects of Torah, this is understood on many different levels. It is explained in the Zohar that the kohanim were not merely interested in converting unpleasant smells to pleasant ones; the inner purpose of the ketores was to dispel the foulness of the Evil Inclination:
Chassidic teaching explains that the animal sacrifices offered in the Temple represent the person's offering of his own animal soul to HaShem, the subjugation of his natural instincts and desires to the divine will. This is the deeper significance of the foul odor emitted by the sacrifices which the ketores came to dispel: the animal soul of man, which is the basic drive, common to every living creature, for self-preservation and self-enhancement, possesses many positive traits which can be directed toward gainful and holy ends; but it is also the source of many negative and destructive traits. When a person brings his animal self to the Temple of HaShem and offers what is best and finest in it upon the altar, there is still the foul odor, the selfishness, the brutality, and the materiality of the animal in man, that accompanies the process. Hence, the ketores, which possessed the unique capability to sublimate the evil odor of the animal soul within its heavenly fragrance, was burnt.
Like the incense that burned in the Temple, the manifest function of teshuva is to deal with negative and undesirable things. On the practical level, teshuva is repentance, a returning to HaShem, a healing for the soul. But teshuva is also the dominant quality of Yom HaKippurim, the holiest day of the year. On the day before Yom HaKippurim we grind the spices a second time to ensure that they are the absolute finest. Thus, the ketores that burned in the Holy of Holies was the manifestation of the function of teshuva; to deal with sin and its ability to disrupt the unity of the body and the soul of the nation.
Shmos 32:15 “And Moshe turn and descended from the mountain”
When you examine this verse together with the verse following it you will find a total of 108 letters, corresponding to the 108 handbreadths of the combined length, width, and depth of one of the Tablets. The two Tablets combined comprised 216 such handbreadths corresponding to the number of letters in the great name (based on the three verses in Exodus 14,19-21 being written one above the other giving 72 three-lettered “words.” Compare our comments on that verse). When these Tablets rested inside the Holy Ark they symbolized the fact that the great name of the Lord in all its permutations was contained in the Holy Ark. When you consider the number of letters between the beginning of Exodus 34,4-6 where the making of the second set of the Tablets is described, you will also find a total of 108 letters followed by the words: ויעבור ה’ על פניו, “Hashem passed before him (Moshe).” This is all a clear hint that the presence of these measurements and letters symbolized the presence of the Shechinah. Moreover, the remarkable number of letters on both occasions in connection with the Torah describing the Tablets is a powerful proof for the way the Kabbalists have determined that there are actually a total of 216 letters which form the complete great name of the Lord. Moshe had been taught all this explicitly while he was on Mount Sinai.
Shmos 32:17 “And when Yehoshua heard the noise of the camp”
Yehoshua had not ascended the mountain with Moshe, neither had he remained in the camp during the entire 40 days Moshe had been on the mountain. The word וישמע, “he heard,” rather than “he saw,” is clear proof of that. While waiting for Moshe at the base of Mount Sinai, a special portion of manna descended for his benefit, as basically, no manna fell on the mountain. Our sages in Yuma 76 have explained the expression לחם אבירים אכל איש, (Psalms 78,25) as applying to the special portion of manna G-d made it rain around the site where Yehoshua had positioned himself. The Torah (G-d) refers to Joshua as איש in Numbers 27,18 where He responds to Moshe’ request to appoint a successor for him by mentioning that Joshua was suitable, that he was - in the words of Moshe- a man with the right kind of spirit.
