Temple Incense, Part 5

Golden Coal Shovel

THE KETORET INCENSE OFFERING

 

From Mishnah Tamid, 5:5:

"The kohen who won the right to bring the coal pan with the coals from the outer altar to the incense altar in the Sanctuary took the silver coal pan, ascended to the top of the outer altar, and cleared the extinguished coals from the perimeter of the flame to here and to there. Then he shoveled four kav from the consumed inner coals, which were burned in the depths of the flame, into the coal pan. He descended from the altar and emptied the coals into the coal pan made of gold. Approximately one kav of coals from it was spilled and scattered on the courtyard floor, as the capacity of the gold pan was only three kav. And a kohen would sweep the scattered coals into the Temple courtyard drain that passed through the courtyard to drain the waste outside the Temple... "

 

Levites Rushing

Levites carrying their instruments, rushing to take their places on the raised platform from which they will perform.

 

From Mishnah Tamid, 5:6:

"The kohen with the spoonful of incense and the kohen with the gold coal pan filled with coals reached the place between the Entrance Hall to the Sanctuary and the outer altar, on their way to the Sanctuary. One of them took the shovel and threw it between the Entrance Hall and the outer altar. No person could hear the voice of another speaking to him in Jerusalem, due to the sound generated by the shovel. And that sound would serve three purposes: Any kohen who hears its sound knows that his brethren the kohanim are entering to prostrate themselves in the Sanctuary at that time, and he would run and come to prostrate himself with them. And any Levite who hears its sound knows that his brethren the Levites are entering the courtyard to stand on their platform to recite the psalm accompanying the libation, and he would run and come to sing with them. And the head of the non-priestly watch, which stands in the courtyard as the agents of the Jewish people, would position the ritually impure kohanim and singers at the eastern gate of the courtyard, to make it clear that those kohanim were not performing the Temple service due to their ritual impurity."

 

 

Carrying the Coal Pan

Kohen carrying coals for the incense offering up the 12 steps leading to the Temple Entrance Hall (Ulam).

 

From Mishna Tamid, 6:1:

"The kohen with the panful of incense and the kohen with the gold coal pan filled with coals began ascending the twelve stairs of the Entrance Hall. The kohanim who won the rights of the removal of ash from the inner altar and the removal of ash from the Menorah would precede them, to remove the vessels that remained in the Sanctuary. The kohen who won the right of the removal of ash from the inner altar entered the Sanctuary and took the basket that he had left there after removing the ashes from the altar. And when he completed his tasks, he prostrated himself with his hands and feet spread and emerged from the Sanctuary. The kohen who won the right of the removal of ash from the Menorah entered the Sanctuary, and if he found the two western lamps, i.e., the easternmost and the one immediately to its west, of the Menorah burning, he would remove the ash from the easternmost lamp and prepare it anew. But he would leave burning the lamp immediately west of the easternmost lamp, as from that lamp he would kindle the lamps of the Menorah in the afternoon. If he found that the lamp west of the easternmost lamp was extinguished, he would remove the ashes and kindle it from the fire on the altar of the burnt offering. He then took the jug in which he had placed the ashes and wicks of the Menorah from the second stair of the stone before the Menorah and prostrated himself and emerged from the Sanctuary."

Spreading the Ketoret

From Mishnah Tamid, 6:2-3:

"The kohen who won the right to bring the coal pan filled with coals to the inner altar for the burning of the incense first piled the coals on the inner altar and then flattened them, distributing them evenly on the altar with the bottom of the coal pan. And when he finished distributing the coals, he prostrated himself and emerged from the Sanctuary.

The kohen who won the right to burn the incense would take the smaller vessel containing the incense from within the spoon, and would give it to a kohen who is his friend or his relative, whom he designated to assist him, and enter the Sanctuary with him. If the incense was scattered from the smaller vessel into the spoon, the kohen accompanying him would give the incense to the kohen burning the incense in his handfuls. And the experienced kohanim would teach the kohen burning the incense: Be careful, because if you are not careful you might begin scattering the incense on the side of the altar that is before you; rather, start scattering on the far side of the altar, so that you will not be burned by the burning incense when you are scattering it. The kohen began flattening it, distributing the incense evenly on the coals on the altar, and when the Sanctuary would become filled with the smoke of the incense, he would emerge from the Sanctuary. The kohen burning the incense would not burn it until the appointed kohen would say to him: Burn the incense. And if it was the High kohen who was burning the incense, the appointed kohen would say to him deferentially: My master, the Kohen Gadol, burn the incense. It is derived from the verse: “And there shall be no man in the Tent of Meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Sanctuary, until he comes out” (Leviticus 16:17), that no one may be standing between the Entrance Hall and the outer altar when the kohen burns the incense. Therefore, the people, i.e., the kohanim, left that area. And the kohen burned the incense on the inner altar and prostrated himself and emerged from the Sanctuary."

Kohanim Prostrating

Kohanim prostrating themselves in the Temple Sanctuary.

Ketoret Tanchumah

INNER MEANING OF THE KETORET INCENSE OFFERING

 

The following appears in Midrash Tanchuma Tetzaveh 14:

"And you shall make an altar to burn incense." (Exod. 30:1). What do the letters in the word קטרת (ketoret - incense) stand for? The kuf ( ק) stands for kedushah (“sanctification”), tet ( ט) for taharah (“purity”),  resh ( ר)  for rachamim (“mercy”), and taf ( ת) for tikvah (“hope”). A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; and two cubits shall be the height thereof (ibid.). What was the purpose of this altar? After they committed the act of erecting the golden calf, the Holy One, blessed be He, complied with his (Moshe’s) request, as is said: 'And HaShem repented of the evil... ' (ibid., v. 14). Whereupon Moshe said: Master of the Universe, You have already agreed with me (to forgive them), but who will make known to those who come unto the world that You are reconciled with Israel? He replied: 'Let them make Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell among them,' (Exod. 25:8), and let them make offerings within it, and I will accept their offerings.

 

Vendyl Jones

DID VENDYL JONES DISCOVER THE TEMPLE KETORET INCENSE COMPOUND?

 

Rabbi Ori Bergman writes:

"In April 1992, Vendyl Jones and his team discovered 600 kilos of “reddish-brown organic substance” in a carefully sealed rock silo in another part of the Qumran cave complex. Subsequent analysis determined that this substance contained traces of at least eight of the eleven spices that were used in the manufacture of the ketoret. In 1994, the incense spices were presented to the now late Rav Yehudah Getz, late Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Places in Israel. A sample was also given to Hakham Ovadiah Yosef. Hakham Ovadiah had his own chemist analyze the mixture to confirm its organic nature. Then both Hakhamim requested that Vendyl Jones “burn” some of the incense for scientific purposes (not with fire but with hydrochloric acid). At their suggestion, he had the spices combined together with the sodom salt and karshina lye that was also found stored separately in the cave in Qumran.The results were astonishing according to all accounts. Although the spices had lost some of their potency over the two millennia since their burial, it was still powerful. The residue of its fragrance lingered in the vicinity for several days following the experiment. Several people present reported that their hair and clothing retained the aroma. One account of the incident states: 'The aroma released from the spice compound during its processing was profuse and almost immediate. It initially saturated my hands as well as the clothes that I was wearing. Within a matter of minutes my laboratory and the surrounding area (for an area of several meters) was affected by the scent released from the spices... On the first day of processing, the aroma was so intense that I could almost taste it... Upon my return home that evening, the scent that had attached itself on my body and clothes was really apparent to both my wife and daughter. During the course of the week, the odor lessened slightly but was still noticeable in and around my lab. Within a few weeks the distinct aroma of the spices diminished to a freshness or cleanness of the air in my lab and the surrounding area. This aroma was in evidence, if even so slightly, for approximately two months.'”

Is this proof that Vendyl Jones discovered a remnant of the Temple incense? Not necessarily. Professor Zohar Amar, of Bar Ilan University, who is an expert in any number of Temple related disciplines, (identifying the incense components, dying fabrics with techelet, argaman and tola'at sheni, the type of timber used in that altar fires, the baking of the showbread loaves, etc.) is highly skeptical of Vendyl Jones' claim that he discovered the Temple incense.

In an in-depth article, titled "The Ash And The Red Material From Qumran" Professor Amar begins by criticizing the sub-standard quality of Vendyl Jones' Qumran excavation, which he describes as making it "hard for us to analyze the finding independently". Organic testing of Vendly Jones' performed by Rabbi-Dr. Marvin Antelman and Dr. Teny Hutter finds showed evidence of eight different elements which could be identified with ingredients used in the Ketoret incense. Two of the organic substances identified were Sodom Salt and Karshina lye, two elements used in the Ketoret but also found in a wide number of ancient products manufactured in the area. Following much criticism of Jones and his fellow researchers methodology and conclusions, Pofessor Amar adds the following:

"Jones proposed that the cave served as a storehouse for the Temple incense and apparently belonged to the Avtinas family. This is a strange hypothesis, for why would Qumran have been selected of all places for this purpose? Insofar as we know, the Avtinas family lived in a special office in the Temple, which was known as 'the upper chamber of the House of Avtinas.' Moreover, we have proof positive that at that period the Temple incense was stored in the city of Jerusalem itself. Yosef Ben-Matityahu (Josephus) recounts that when Titus laid siege to Jerusalem, the guard of the Temple Treasury revealed to him the location where the Temple incense was stored and where there was much Cinnamon and Cassia [War 6:390]."

Professor Amar then proposes an alternative explanation of what Vendly Jones discovered in the Qumran cave:

"The writer of this article suggests that the structure of the silo served for the storage of "borit" (lye) and might have been part of an industrial complex devoted to the extraction of "borit" and thus bears no connection to the "Pitum ha-Qetoret [Temple Incense]." Amar proceeds to describe in detail local industries which 2000 years ago were using Borit Karshina, Sodom Salt and other organic materials in the production of an array of products. Borit Karshina, which is a type of lye was used as an agent in many different cleaning products, including soaps. Many of these soaps were scented in order to make them more pleasant to use. One of the ingredients used in perfuming ancient soaps was frankincense, also one of the elements used in the Temple Incense. This could explain the intense aroma that was released when Vendyl Jones' find was burned. Professor Amar suggests that the Essene community, which was living in the Qumran caves, and which practiced very strict rules of purity and hygiene, would likely be producers of soaps whose contents would closely resemble the contents incorporated in the Temple Incense. Professor Amar concludes this to be the more likely explanation of Vendyl Jones' discovery.

The above synopsis of Zohar Amar's article, in its brevity, does not do justice to his critique or research. The entire article can be found here.