On Rosh HaShanah all humanity is judged, “all who came into the world (i.e., all peoples) pass before Him like “b’nei maron” (Rosh HaShanah 16a). B’nei maron either are “lambs,” which when counted for tithing pass through a door too narrow to allow for two lambs to exit simultaneously, or are “soldiers in the House of David,” who were counted individually as they went to war (Rosh HaShanah 18a).

Using the vernacular, we all want to “smell good” before G-d, especially during this time when all humanity is judged for the upcoming year. The focus of this article is on aromas, particularly those emanating from frankincense, myrrh, and balsam, all constituents of the ketores. Aromas, apparently, were an important aspect of the burnt offerings in the Beis HaMikdash (the Temple), with the phrase “satisfying aroma” to HaShem repeatedly mentioned (e.g., Bamidbar 28:13, 24, 27; 29:2, 6, 8, 13, 36). Conversely, G-d objected to burnt offerings given without piety and sincerity. Speaking to those who did not obey His commandments, HaShem said, “Why do I need frankincense that comes from Sheba or fragrant cane from distant countries? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable and your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me” (Jeremiah 6:20).

An aroma or a smell (re’ach) is a gas that can be perceived by the olfactory senses located in the nasal cavities (i.e., the nostrils of the nose). The ability to detect odors is mediated by 100 to 1,000 proteins located on the surfaces of cells in the nose and sinuses. These surface proteins are under genetic control and many combinations of genes coding for several surface cellular proteins allow for each individual to detect his/her own unique odors. The genetic sensory abilities of humans can differ so greatly that some people cannot detect the odor released by skunks (NIH, PubMed; OMIM 270350).

Once absorbed in the nasal mucosa, the volatiles (i.e., actually, chemicals in gaseous form) trigger olfactory neurons to transmit messages through the olfactory nerves leading to the brain. The smell center is located in the frontal lobe of the brain (termed, the rhinencephalon), in which specific smells are identified and interpreted. Before purposely smelling a fragrant aroma, the appropriate blessing is recited. For odoriferous substances from wood, the blessing is, “Who created fragrant tress;” from herbs, “Who created fragrant herbs;” and from something neither wood or herb, “Who created diverse kinds of fragrant species” (Steinberg, 2003). (Berachos 44b). A pleasant odor is beneficial to the soul (Berachos 43b). As compared to the intake of drinks and foods which enter the body in a tangible form, odors, being intangible, are considered a spiritual type of pleasure. Fragrances do not require an “after blessing” (“borei nefashos rabbos”), possibly because the pleasure of the fragrance is not retained after one finishes smelling it (Aruch HaShulcan, Orach Chaim, 216:1).

Rabbi Yisroel Reisman, Rav, Agudath Yisroel of Madison in Brooklyn, NY, cited a Zohar that suggested a rationale for the sequence of blessings in havdalah. The first beracha is recited over wine, a tangible substance which is sensed by chemical taste buds on the tongue. The second beracha is on spices, representing aromas, or volatile “non-tangible” chemicals that are sensed by chemical receptors in the nose and sinuses. The third beracha, on the ability to detect light emanating from a candle, is recited over photons of light energy that strike the retina of the eye. The fourth beracha focuses on intellectual distinctions between holy from mundane, between light from darkness, and between B’nei Yisroel and the gentile nations and is the most abstract of the four berachos.

For ancient peoples, fragrant spices had many functions, including to deodorize latrines, to eliminate unpleasant odors from a diner’s hands after a meal, to perfume clothing (Berachos 53a; Shabbos 18a; Tehillim 45:9) and beds (Metzudos to Mishlei 7:17), to deodorize a corpse (e.g., King Assa’s burial place was filled with perfumes (II Divrei HaYamin 16:14)), and to restore composure to a distressed individual (Berachos 57b). Rav Chavel (1980) noted that it was an ancient custom to burn incense at the meal, so that Birchas HaMazon was recited amid the pleasant scent of spices. In today’s terminology, these last two beneficial aspects of fragrances are aspects of aroma therapy, a type of alternative medicine that uses volatile plant materials for altering a person’s mind, mood, cognitive function, and overall health. Rava noted that fragrant scents contributed to him being wise (Yoma 76b).

The passages in Shir HaShirim (e.g., 1:13; 3:6, 4:6, 4:14, 5:1, 5:5; 5:13, 6:2) referring to fragrances and perfumes are to be interpreted on various levels. On the simplest level, the focus is on passions and interactions between lovers. On a deeper level, these passages have many other explanations. Passage (4:6) reads, “Until the sun spreads and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense.” “Until the sun spreads” refers to the reign of Dovid; “and the shadows flee” refers to when Dovid removed the abominations from Eretz Yisrael. “I will go to the mountain of myrrh” refers to the threshing floor of Aravnah, the Jebusite; and “and to the hill of frankincense” refers to the Har Ha-Bayis (Temple Mount) in the days of Solomon. Myrrh is interpreted homiletically as referring to Avraham, who offered his son, Yitzchak, on Mt. Moriah (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 3:6, no. 2). In Hebrew mor (myrrh) means bitter. The passage (5:13), “his lips are like roses, dripping with myrrh” is interpreted as  referring to when a Torah scholar sits before his teacher, his lips should drip with bitter dread, as he should study Torah in a mood of seriousness and awe, and not in levity (Shabbos 30b).

Frankincense, an aromatic resin from tress in the genus, Boswellia, was used by ancient peoples as an incense and as a perfume. The resin was tapped by slashing the bark of the tree with a knife, thereby allowing the resins to exude as milky droplets, eventually to dry and to harden in the sun. These hardened resins are termed tears. In Hebrew, frankincense is termed “lebonah,” signifying “white” and referring to the milky appearance of the fresh resin as it oozed from the tree. Tapping was done two to three times per year, with the final taps producing resins with higher contents of aromatic terpenes, sesquiterpenes, and diterpenes (Hillson, 1988; Wikipedia). Frankincense was usually burnt as an aromatic, with its powerful scent employed to mask the smell of cremations and mummification processes. Ancient medical uses of frankincense included as a chewing gum to alleviate sore gums and as a cure for gastric disturbances (Hillson, 1988).

Frankincense was in great demand by ancient peoples, with the highest quality resins obtained from Boswellia trees in southern Arabia and in northern Somalia. The demand for frankincense led to considerable trade, with the Arabians accumulating much wealth from its sale. Camel caravans using overland routes linked Arabia with the mercantile centers of the world, with early records indicating contacts of the Arabians with the Egyptians to the west and the Assyrians and Babylonians to the north. Sea routes connected the incense ports of the southern part of Arabia and Somalia with the east and west (Miller and Goodell, 1968).     

Frankincense was a component of the meal-offering burned upon the mizbe’ach (alter) (Vayikra  2:1-3, 6:7-8), was placed upon the twelve loaves of show bread (Yayikra 24:7), and was one of  
the four ingredients in the ketores (incense) used in the Mishkan (Tabernacle),which was not permitted to be prepared for secular use (Shemos 30:34-38). After the incident of Korach, B’nei Yisrael complained to Moshe and Aaron, infuriating HaShem, Who sent a plague leading to the death of 14,700 individuals. Aaron stopped the plague by burning ketores to atone for the people (Bamidbar 16:6-9). Rashi, citing Shabbos 89a, noted that when Moshe received the Torah on Mt. Sinai, angels revealed various secrets to him; the angel of death revealed that ketores could prevent death. Rabbi Elie Munk (1993), citing the Zohar, noted that the ketores was more effective than prayer, which subsequently was instituted to replace the sacrifices. Today, ketores is no longer offered and in its place, the passage “the incense mixture” (pitum haketores) was incorporated into our daily davening. 

The ketores burned in the Beis HaMikdash consisted of eleven ingredients, including frankincense, balsam, onycha, galbanum (each in an amount of 70 maneh; each 13% of the total composition), myrrh, cassia, spikenard, saffron (each at 16 maneh; each at 3% of the total), costus (at 12 maneh; at 2.2% of the total), cinnamon (at 9 maneh; 1.7% of the total), and aromatic bark (3 maneh; at 0.6% of the total) (Macht, 1928). Although the leve’im were charged with taking care of the spices for the ketores, it was the cohanim who were involved with the actual blending of the spices (I Divrei HaYamin 9:29). The family of Avtinas was expert in preparing the ketores, but they closely guarded their secret and, so as not to be suspected of using it for personal use, they forbade their women from using any perfume (Yoma 38a).

In April, 1992,Vendyl Jones, a biblical archeologist, uncovered 600 kilos of a “reddish-brown organic substance” in a rock silo at Qumran, near the Dead Sea. Chemical analyses showed that the organic material contained traces of all eleven spices used in the manufacture of ketores. Jones received permission to burn the ketores (with hydrochloric acid, but not with fire) from Rabbi Yehudah Getz, the late chief rabbi of the Western Wall, and Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef. Jones noted that the fragrance was very strong, lasted for several days, clung to the hair and clothes of those individuals present at the burning, and eradicated insects within the immediate area. These observations are reminiscent of phenomena mentioned in the Mishnah and Talmud. For example, Jericho was a distance of 10 parsaos from Yerushalayim, yet the aroma of the ketores was so intense that goats in Jericho would sneeze from the fragrance of the ketores offered in the Beis HaMikdash. The women in Jericho had no need to perfume themselves because the fragrance of the ketores wafted over them and a bride in Yerushalayim did not need to adorn herself with perfumes because of the aroma of the ketores clung to her (Yoma 39b). Where the meat was butchered in the Bet HaMikdash, there were no flies.(Avos 5:7).

Frankincense has a heady and a somewhat hypnotic scent (Hillson, 1988), explaining its administration to those condemned to death (Rosner, 2000). A convict led to execution was given frankincense mixed into a cup of wine, numbing his senses so as not to suffer pain. . Prominent women of Yerushalayim donated the frankincense and wine, bringing them to the court for use in the execution. When not donated, frankincense and wine were purchased from public funds (Sanhedrin 43a). A recent study conducted at Hebrew University using laboratory mice as the test system noted frankincense smoke contained the psychoactive drug, incensole acetate, that relieved depression and anxiety (Moussaieff et al., 2008).

Myrrh, possibly the most important perfume in ancient times, was derived from the bark of the shrub-like tree, Commiphora myrrha, which grows in North East Africa and Arabia. As noted for frankincense, myrrh was obtained after the purposeful wounding the bark of the tree. A waxy, brittle resin oozed from the wound, was collected into large bales, and dried. The Hebrew mor refers to its bitter taste of the resin. Mor deror (myrrh congealed to form granules) is one of the ingredients in the anointing oil in the Mishkan (Shemos 30:23-25) and is a biblical allusion to Mordechai (Chullin 139b). Myrrh resin was used by women as a depilatory and as a skin softener (Shabbos 80b; Pesachim 43a). Oil of myrrh is one of the cosmetics that was applied for 6 months to those young women who were potential candidates to marry King Ahasuerus (Megillas Esther 2:12-13),

Balsam (balm of Gilead), derived from the tree, Commiphora opobalsamum, is a very fragrant resinous substance, dark red in color and turning yellowish as it solidifies. When the brothers sold Yosef, their sale was to a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead and carrying, among other items, fragrant balsam, instead of their usual cargo of ill-smelling petroleum products (Bereshis 37:25). Later, Yaakov advises his sons to go back to Egypt to purchase food, because they had run out of wheat, and in exchange to bring gifts to the man: “a little balsam, a little honey, gum tragacanth, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds” (Bereshis 43, 11, 12). Balsam oil was much used by women (Shabbos 62b) and was the choice of the perfumes, as noted in Amos (6:6), “And they anoint themselves with the finest of oils,” which, according to Shmuel referred to balsam (Shabbos 62b). Here, the prophet rebuked the people for ignoring prophesies and, instead, focusing on indulging in luxuries, i.e., anointing with balsam oil. Balsam wood was particularly fragrant, being common in the households of kings, noblemen, and the rich (e.g., Yehudah Ha-Nasi) (Berachos 43a). Because of its extremely pleasant aroma, balsam oil was invalidated for use to kindle lights for shabbos, as a person may be tempted to remove some of the oil for his/her own personal use (Shabbos 25b, 26a).

Balsam was used to treat wounds (Jeremiah 8:22, 51:8) and was an ingredient in a concoction to relieve ear pain (Avodah Zarah 28b). The Queen of Sheba is credited with bringing many spices to Eretz Yisrael. “She (i.e., the queen) arrived at Yerushalayim with a large retinue, with camels bearing spices and huge amounts of gold and precious stones” (I Melachim 10:2); “She gave the king (i.e., King Solomon) 120 talents of gold and large amounts of spices and precious stones. Never again did so many spices arrive as the Queen of Sheba gave King Solomon” (10:10). As with anything, perfumes and fragrances can have positive or negative applications. Mention is made that young women took myrrh and balsam and placed them in their shoes between the heel and the sandal. When they saw a group of young men, they would step on the spices and splash them on the young men. The aroma of the perfume would penetrate the psyche of the young men and arouse their passions (Yoma 9b; Shabbos 62b).   

In earlier times, balsam orchards were maintained near the Dead Sea. When their struggles with the Romans were not going well, the Jews tried unsuccessfully to destroy their balsam orchards to prevent them from falling into Roman hands. The Romans succeeded in seizing the balsam orchards in Jericho and Ein Gedi and derived much financial benefit. Pliny estimated that over a 5-year period, these orchards provided an income of 80,000,000 sesterces. Titus, when returning to Rome, displayed balsam twigs seized from Eretz Yisrael. Fast forwarding to more current times, Dr. Yehuda Feliks (Bar Ilan University; recently deceased) tried to cultivate balsam trees in the University’s hot house, but was unsuccessful. However, when planted at Ein Gedi, the tress grew “amazing quickly.” He concluded that the high air pressure, the warm temperature, and the nearby fresh water springs of the Dean Sea valley, created the ideal environment for this plant, thereby explaining the choice by earlier peoples of this site to cultivate balsam orchards (Feliks, 1982).

Current research on frankincense, myrrh, and balsam is directed to their potential anticarcinogenicity. Such studies were conducted in vitro, i.e., the effects of extracts of these herbs were studied on human cancer cells maintained in Petri dishes. In these studies, extracts from frankincense, myrrh, and balsam inhibited cell proliferation and induced programmed cell death (i.e., apoptosis) of cancer cells (Mazzio and Soliman, 2009). Frankincense oil was shown to be preferentially toxic to human bladder cancer cells, but not to immortalized normal bladder cells (Frank et al., 2009), further strengthening the anticarcinogenic activity of this herb.

Appreciation is expressed to Rabbi Eli Babich, program director of the Jewish Enrichment Center, New York, NY, for reviewing this article.

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