Dvar Tefilah
HaKetoret (The Incense)

 

Based on Likutey Halakhot, Pru u'R'vu 3:5
From Likutey Moharan II, Lesson #23

The true simcha, to be always cheerful, to turn all worries and anxieties into happiness, requires the ability to accept all of life's happenings. You've got to force yourself to be cheerful. Happiness is the best protection for holiness, for maintaining the pact we have with God (aka, the brit).

HaKetoret

What was ketoret? The ketoret was a compound of eleven (11) different spices, which weighed approximately 1,840 pounds [836.36 kg]. From this compound an incense offering (also called ketoret) was brought in the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple). This offering was brought twice daily, once as part of the morning service and once as part of the afternoon service. This happened seven days a week, every day of the year, including Shabbat and Yom Kippur. (Five pounds of ketoret was burnt daily, half in the morning and half in the afternoon.)

The reading of the ketoret that is part of the Shacharit and Mincha prayers does not deal with the actual process of offering the ketoret, but rather with how it was made, i.e., its ingredients and preparation.

Now, it may not seem very important to recite a recipe as part of a prayer service. Obviously, though, if our Sages made it part of the service it must be special. The Arizal teaches that reciting the ketoret with care and devotion is very helpful for coming back to live a proper Jewish life, even for one who was in the black hole of sin.

The ingredient that makes this possible is chelbenah (galbanum). 'Galbanum? Isn't that a rather foul smelling gum resin?Ó As a matter of fact, yes. Nonetheless, it is essential for the ketoret. If you're thinking that only a wee bit of chelbenah was contained in the ketoret, think again. The ketoret contained 350 pounds (just over 159 kilograms) of chelbenah, 19% of its total weight! Why so much?

Because there is much in life that is not as sweet and desirous as we had hoped for. Much happens that we pray will go away. (Nothing wrong with that.) Much happens that we would prefer to deny or ignore. However, if this is our response to these events, whether they are mere unpleasantries or genuine hardships, then these events remain chelbenah and they make our life, pardon the expression, stink. Even happy occasions and our genuine good fortune get tinged by a trace of chelbenah odor.

Living life with such an approach, denying or ignoring the unpleasant, has a very serious drawback. In those moments or periods when we have to handle chelbenah our discontent pushes us away from Hashem (God). The times we should be cheerful, or even ecstatic, which are meant to be opportunities to come closer to Hashem (think of the chagim [holidays]), cannot be used to their full potential because of a cloud hanging overhead, bringing an unnecessary measure of reserve to our relation with Him.

There are other, greater unpleasantries in life to which denial is the wrong response. These are the difficult, bitter moments when we glimpse (or are confronted with) our own failings. Whether the failure was "just that one time" or has been with us as far back as we can remember, denying it or ignoring it, does not make it go away. Even if that were so, we cannot disown the parts of us that we do not like. Why? Because the shady side of our identity, of who we are, is also a part of creation that has to be used to bring honor to Hashem, like the chelbenah.

Someone may have been a drug addict. His addiction led him to lies, squandered opportunities, and reckless behavior, possibly crime. Wouldn't it be best if he just forgot that whole sorry chapter of his life and start anew? No. He has to try to determine what possible good could be had from his addiction. An addiction is certainly unpraiseworthy, but it shows potential. An addict is both creative and resourceful in indulging and hiding his addiction. Many a klutzy addict has overcome physical disability to gratify himself. These attributes–creativity, resourcefulness, and determination–need to be used to advance positive goals. That is working the chelbenah into the ketoret of his life.

Someone may have a propensity to shed blood. Wouldn't it be best if he just buried this part of his personality? No. If he does, it will surface in a negative way. He has to work this attribute into the ketoret so that his desire for blood leads him to mitzvot (see Shabbat 156a).

Preparing the ketoret was not easy. It had to be weighed out, rubbed, soaked and well ground. It required someone to supervise the grinding process with the constant reminder: "Grind well! Grind well!" On the other hand, it didn't have to be done all at once. As long as the spices were kept in proper proportion it was permitted to do enough for every day.

As we begin the Bein HaMitzarim (the three week mourning period for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash [Holy Temple] and our exile from the Land of ISRAEL) let us begin to incorporate the best and the worst of ourselves into giving Hashem the joy He created us to give Him, and may we see the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash soon, in our lifetime. Amen.