Daf Yomi, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Torah and Psychology, Marriage Counseling, Psychotherapy
The daily incense offering in the Temple consisted of a combination of herbs and aromatic plants as described in the famous Pitum HaKetores beraisa that we recite daily before Pesukei DeZimra. Each day a maneh’s weight was brought (100 dinar or 25 selah), half in the morning and half in the afternoon.
Rashi on Amud Beis (“Amar Rabbah”) has a famous and unusual position: this amount was rabbinic, and according to Torah law, a kzayis (olive volume) would be sufficient.
Mishna Lemelech (Hilchos Temidim 3:2) asks on Rashi’s position: When the rabbis create some additional safeguard or minimum amount, it is based on something. For example, to be required to recite Grace After Meals one needs to eat until a state of satisfaction, but the rabbis required bentching even after eating only a kzayis (Berachos 20b). However, what is the significance of this rabbinic requirement of a daily maneh, or half with each offering?
It occurs to me that even if maneh is arbitrary, the idea of half is not. There is something about offering a half of something twice a day to complete the project that is a compelling lesson. Anytime two halves meet to combine into a whole, it is reminiscent of a basic archetype: masculine joining feminine, man connecting to God, body and soul, spiritual and physical.
The ketores itself is symbolic of attachment to God, both by the line of smoke that snakes heavenward, as well as linguistically: ketores is reminiscent of kitra in Aramaic and kesher in Hebrew—to bind. Additionally, Rashi (Shemos 30:34) notes that one of the herbs, chelbenah, has a foul odor and is still included. This connotes that the totality of Am Yisrael, even those who on the surface and through their deeds are obnoxious, contribute to proper service of God.
Therefore, the rabbis wanted to emphasize the joining of pieces, and if they had stuck with kzayis, it would not feel like a joining of two halves, because it’s a minimum and required one kzayis in the morning and one in the afternoon. That would not feel like joining two halves.
There also could be significance in the maneh itself, which is 25 selah. The number 25 has mystical significance, as its Gematria (“kaf” + “hey”) spells “koh,” meaning “this,” representing the physical world at its highest state prior to attachment to God. The Tetragrammaton totals 26, which is beyond physicality. The ketores is the striving of the physical world to rise upward toward God (25 to 26).
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com