We often focus on the architecture, the rituals, the sheer scale of it all. But sometimes, the most fascinating stories lie in the details, in the dedication of the people behind the scenes. Today, let’s talk about incense.
Specifically, the incense prepared by the House of Avtinas.
According to Shir HaShirim Rabbah, this priestly family held a closely guarded secret: the precise blend of spices that created the Temple's unique incense. Rabbi Yoḥanan interprets the verse, “Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, and with all the powders of the merchant” (Song of Songs 3:6) as a hint toward the complex mixture of this special incense.
Rav Huna, drawing on (Exodus 30:34) ("Take spices for you..."), meticulously counts the ingredients. "Spices," being plural, implies at least two. Then come "stacte, onycha, and galbanum" – that makes five. The repetition of "spices" suggests another five, making ten. And finally, "pure frankincense" brings the total to eleven. The Sages, it says here, examined the matter and found that only these eleven spices were ideal for incense.
But it wasn't just the ingredients; it was the preparation. The House of Avtinas were masters of their craft. The text tells us they were experts in the preparation and blending of the incense, so expert that it would generate a perfect column of smoke rising straight up to the heavens. Imagine that for a moment – a fragrant pillar reaching towards the Divine.
And here’s where the story takes a turn. The Avtinas family, for reasons we'll explore, refused to share their secrets. The Sages, wanting to replicate their success, brought in incense makers from Alexandria, who were skilled but lacked that crucial ability to make the smoke rise properly. The Avtinas’ incense would ascend like a rod until it reached the rafters, then spread out and descend like a cluster. But the Alexandrians' incense? It just spread downward immediately.
Why was this a problem? Well, the Sages believed that everything created by God should be for His glory. As (Isaiah 43:7) states, "Everything that is called by My name, for My glory I created it." The smoke that didn't rise straight up simply wasn't befitting that glory.
So, they restored the House of Avtinas to their position. But getting them back wasn't easy. They demanded double their wages! Rabbi Meir says they went from twelve maneh (a unit of currency) a day to twenty-four. Rabbi Yuda claims it was even more – from twenty-four to forty-eight!
The Sages, of course, had to ask: why the secrecy? Why wouldn't they teach others their methods? The Avtinas family revealed a profound reason: they had a tradition that the Temple would eventually be destroyed. They feared that if they shared their knowledge, it would be used to create incense for idol worship, mimicking the sacred rituals performed for the Holy One.
For this, they were commended. But the story doesn't end there. To maintain the integrity of their service, the women of the House of Avtinas never wore perfume. When marrying someone from outside the family, they made sure the bride agreed to abstain from perfume as well. They didn't want anyone to think they were using the Temple incense for personal benefit, fulfilling the verse "You shall be vindicated before God and before Israel" (Numbers 32:22) and striving to "find grace and good favor in the eyes of God and man" (Proverbs 3:4).
Rabbi Akiva shares a story he heard from Shimon ben Loga: Once, while gathering herbs with a child from the House of Avtinas, Shimon saw the child cry and then laugh. When asked why, the child explained that he cried for the diminished honor of his family but laughed because he knew their legacy was preserved for the righteous and that God would ultimately bring joy to His children. The child then pointed out a substance that produced a rising column of smoke, but refused to show it, citing a family tradition. Tragically, the text says that not many days elapsed before that child died, perhaps as a consequence for divulging the secret.
Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri also recounts an encounter with an elder from the House of Avtinas who possessed a scroll listing the spices. The elder, feeling he had no worthy successor, passed the scroll to Rabbi Yoḥanan, urging him to be careful with it. When Rabbi Yoḥanan told Rabbi Akiva about this, Rabbi Akiva wept, declaring that they could no longer denounce the House of Avtinas, as the elder's actions proved their devotion to heaven.
What does this all mean? It's more than just a recipe for incense. It's a story about dedication, about protecting sacred knowledge, and about the profound responsibility that comes with serving something greater than oneself. The House of Avtinas understood that their craft was not just about creating a pleasant aroma; it was about connecting the earthly and the divine, about upholding the glory of God even in the face of potential destruction.
And perhaps, in our own lives, we can find ways to honor that same spirit of dedication, to protect the things that are truly sacred, and to strive for a connection to something beyond ourselves.
Rabbi Yoḥanan interpreted the verse: “Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, and with all the powders of the merchant” regarding the incense of the house of Avtinas,58The incense in the Temple was prepared by the priestly house of Avtinas; see, e.g., Mishna Shekalim 5:1; Yoma 3:11. and this is one of the eleven spices that they would place in it.59The reference is to myrrh, although frankincense, which is also mentioned in the verse here, was also an ingredient in the incense. Rav Huna interpreted it: “The Lord said to Moses: Take spices for you” (Exodus 30:34), that is two;60The word spices is plural, indicating at least two spices. “stacte, onycha, and galbanum” (Exodus 30:34), that is five; “spices” (Exodus 30:34), if you say that this is two, but did it not already say “spices”? “Each part shall be equal” (Exodus 30:34), these are five corresponding to the five, that is ten.61Based on the phrase “each part shall be equal,” the midrash interprets the second mention of “spices” to refer to an additional five types of spices. “And pure frankincense” (Exodus 30:34), these are eleven spices. From here the Sages examined and found that only these eleven spices are ideal for incense. It is taught: The house of Avtinas were experts in the preparation of the incense, in the blending of the incense, and it would generate a column of smoke, but they were unwilling to teach it.62They were unwilling to teach others how to prepare the incense such that it would rise in a straight column of smoke. The Sages sent and brought craftsmen from Alexandria who were expert in the preparation of the incense, but were not expert in generating a column of smoke. That of the house of Avtinas would rise and ascend like a cluster until the rafters, and would then spread and descend like a rod.63The text should be reversed to read: It rose like a rod to the rafters and would then spread and descended like a cluster (Etz Yosef). That of [the craftsmen from] Alexandria would spread and descend downward immediately. When the matter became known to the Sages, they said: ‘Everything that the Holy One blessed be He created, He created only for His glory, as it is stated: “Everything that is called by My name, for My glory I created it”’ (Isaiah 43:7),64It was not befitting the glory of God for the smoke of the incense to spread out rather than rising straight up. and they restored the house of Avtinas to its position. They sent for them, but they did not want to come until they doubled their wages. They had been receiving twelve maneh each day and they then received twenty-four maneh, in accordance with the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yuda says: They had been receiving twenty-four maneh each day and they then received forty-eight maneh.65Some interpret this passage to mean that the sums mentioned were paid per year, on behalf of their preparation of the incense to be offered each day (Rashash, Yoma 38a). They said to them: ‘Why did you see fit not to teach?’ They said: ‘We have a tradition from our ancestors that the Temple is destined to be destroyed, and we did not wish to teach so that they would not become accustomed to offering it before their idols in the manner that we do so before the Holy One blessed be He.’ Regarding this matter, they are commended; moreover, no woman from among them or child from among them ever went out perfumed. And when they would marry a woman from another place they would make an agreement with her that she would never perfume herself, so that Israel would not say that they were perfuming themselves from the blending of the incense, to fulfill what is stated: “You shall be vindicated before God and before Israel” (Numbers 32:22), and it says: “you will find grace and good favor in the eyes of God and man” (Proverbs 3:4). Rabbi Akiva said: Shimon ben Loga related to me: I and a child from the descendants of the house of Avtinas were gathering herbs in the field, and I saw that he cried and laughed. I said to him: ‘My son, why did you cry?’ He said to me: ‘Due to the honor of my patrilineal home that has been diminished.’ ‘Why did you laugh?’ He said to me: ‘Because it is preserved and designated for the righteous, and ultimately, the Holy One blessed be He is destined to bring joy to His children in the near future.’ What did you see?’66What did you see that reminded you of the incense that your family would prepare in the days of the Temple? He said to me: ‘Is this not a substance that generates a column of smoke before me?’ I said to him: ‘Show me.’ He said to me: ‘We have a tradition to never show it to any person.’ They said: Not many days elapsed in the world until that child died.67This was a punishment for having divulged the little that he divulged. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri said: One time I was walking along the way and I found a certain elder of the house of Avtinas who had in his hand a scroll [containing a list] of spices. I said to him: ‘What is that in your hand?’ He said to me: ‘When they were discreet, the members of my patrilineal house would pass the scrolls one to another, but now, here it is for you, but be careful with it, as it is a scroll of spices.’ When I came and related the matters before Rabbi Akiva, his tears flowed. He said to me: ‘From now on, we are no longer permitted to denounce them.’68Since the elder did not find anyone in his family worthy of these secrets, he had passed them on to Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri. This made it clear that all along they had acted for the sake of heaven (Etz Yosef).
