Komentarz do Wyjścia 30:23

בשמים ראש PRINCIPAL SPICES — i. e. excellent ones.

MOR DROR’ (FLOWING MYRRH) FIVE HUNDRED SHEKELS. The commentators⁹⁵Ibn Ezra quoting Rabbeinu Saadia Gaon. — including Harav Rabbi Moshe [ben Maimon]⁹⁶Mishneh Torah, Hilchoth Klei Hamikdash, 1:3: “Mor is the blood gathered up [in the abdomen] of a certain animal in the land of India known to all, which is used in perfumery.” — have agreed that mor is that perfume which is called musk [an animal perfume].⁹⁷See Jastrow: muskin and mor. But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra objected to this interpretation, since [musk] is not a spice [as are the sweet cinnamon and the sweet calamus mentioned here in the same verse], even though it has a pleasing odor. Perhaps this is why Scripture separated it from the spices.” And then [Ibn Ezra] asked: “But is it not written, I have gathered ‘mori’ (my myrrh),⁹⁸Song of Songs 5:1. which shows that mor is something gathered [like spices], while those who bring musk say that it is a substance gathered in a glandular sac under the skin of the neck of the deer?⁹⁹In other words, this proves that mor is not musk as Saadia Gaon said, for the verse speaks of mor being gathered while musk is not “gathered.” Moreover, the verse states, and my hands dropped with myrrh,¹⁰⁰Song of Songs 5:5. [and musk does not drop]. But perhaps it does do so, due to its moistness.” [Thus far are Ibn Ezra’s words].
It is possible that we say that Scripture states I have gathered ‘mori’⁹⁸Song of Songs 5:1. because mor is the blood gathered up in the abdomen of an animal of the hind species known in the land of India; when it walks between the shrubs on very hot days it scratches against the sac and the blood comes out in thickened mass, which is then gathered from the reed-grass. It states and my hands dropped ‘mor,’¹⁰⁰Song of Songs 5:5. because Scripture imagines its odor to be such that one’s hands drop globules of water because of it.
Others¹⁰¹Reference is to Rabbi Abraham ben David [Rabad] who commented on Rambam’s language (see Note 96): “My opinion does not accept this, that there should enter into sacred things the blood of any animal in the world, and all the more the blood of an unclean animal.” have argued: how could there be included in the incense¹⁰²Among the eleven components of the incense was ‘mor’ (myrrh, cassia, spikenard etc.) (Kerithoth 6 a). and the sacred oil the blood of an unclean animal? This too is no question, for that moisture gathered up in the animal because of its abundant blood, which drops from [the animal] whilst still alive, is not susceptible to uncleanness, nor is it repulsive.
The word dror they¹⁰³R’dak, in his Book of Roots, under the root of dror. have explained to be of the expression, and ye shall proclaim ‘dror’ (liberty),¹⁰⁴Leviticus 25:10. here meaning that it should be free from any imitation or adulteration. Perhaps we might say that Scripture requires it to be gathered when free, meaning that it should be taken from that deer whilst it is free, wandering between the beds of spices and enjoying itself at will, because once it is captured and held in the possession of man, it produces but little mor (musk) and it does not have such a pleasant odor. This is clear.
Yet despite all this [that we have written to justify the opinion of Rabbeinu Saadia Gaon and Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, that mor mentioned here is musk], it appears to me from the words of our Rabbis that mor is not musk, for they have said in Midrash Chazita:¹⁰⁵Shir Hashirim Rabbah 4:29. See Vol. I, p. 292, Note 73, for explanation of the name “Chazita.” “Mor¹⁰⁶Song of Songs 4:14. means inmirinon” [an unguent scented with Arabian myrtle], while musk is so called even in the language of the Sages, just as it is said in Tractate Berachoth:¹⁰⁷Berachoth 43a. [“Over all spices put on coals one recites the Benediction: ‘Blessed… Who createst diverse kinds of spices’], except over musk, because it is derived from an animal.” In the Yerushalmi there¹⁰⁸Yerushalmi Berachoth VI, 6. they likewise say, [with respect to this Benediction]: “excepting muskin,” and the author of the Aruch¹⁰⁹Rabbi Nathan ben Yechiel of Rome [flourished in the middle of the eleventh century] was a contemporary of Rashi. His work the “Aruch” is not only a complete dictionary of Talmudic and Midrashic language but is also a veritable storehouse of explanations of Rabbinic texts. It is thus both a dictionary and commentary. It has had a lasting influence on Jewish learning. — The particular reference here is to the Aruch, under the term: mushk. wrote that it is also so called in Greek. In Midrash Chazita it furthermore says:¹¹⁰Shir Hashirim Rabbah 1:58. “My beloved is unto me a bag of ‘hamor’¹¹¹Song of Songs 1:13. — this refers to Abraham. Just as the mor is the chief of all kinds of spices,¹¹²Ramban will further on explain that the intent thereof is, that in the verse before us where the spices [for the making of the Oil of Anointment] are listed, the myrrh heads the list, or it may mean that for aromatic purposes it is the best of all spices. so was Abraham the chief of all righteous people. Just as this mor exudes only through the fire, so Abraham’s deeds were not known until he was thrown in the fiery furnace.¹¹³See Vol. I, p. 160. And just as with this mor [we see that] whoever gathers it with his hands develops bad sores, so did Abraham cause himself to be distressed and afflicted with suffering” [for the sake of his love of G-d.] Now the musk exudes its odor [spontaneously], without being put upon the flame! Moreover, we have been taught [in a Mishnah]:¹¹⁴Mikvaoth 9:5. “These interpose in vessels:¹¹⁵When immersing an unclean vessel in an Immersion-pool to be cleansed, for the immersion to be valid there must be nothing interposing between the body’s surface and the water of the pool. pitch and mor etc. on a packsaddle. Rabban¹¹⁶The title “Rabban” [instead of “Rabbi”] signifies that he was the Nasi (Prince) of the Sanhedrin. Shimon ben Gamaliel says: [They interpose only] if they are as big as an Italian issar [a Roman coin].” And it further teaches there:¹¹⁷Mikvaoth 9:7. “This is the general principle: Anything about which a person is particular, interposes [and invalidates the immersion]; anything about which he is not particular that does not interpose.” Now musk is not something which sticks [to a vessel or to a garment] so that it should interpose [and invalidate the immersion, and so, if mor is musk, why does the Mishnah state that it does interpose]! And even if perhaps they fix it in such a way that it does attach to vessels, a person is not particular about it, so that it should interpose even on a packsaddle! Moreover, the verse ‘mor va’aholoth k’tzioth’ are all thy garments¹¹⁸Psalms 45:9. [Yonathan ben Uziel] translated: ‘mura,’ aloe-wood and cassia. [Thus it is clear that mor is not musk, for mura is myrrh.]
It is likely that mor is so called in Arabic as there are diverse kinds of it — mur achmar ve’abitz. It is used for incense, and when burned produces a sweet odor. Thus all languages — Hebrew, Aramaic, and also Arabic — are alike in the usage of this term. And in the language of the Agadah [quoted above]¹¹⁹See the text from the Midrash Chazita, at Note 105. — be it Persian or Greek¹²⁰In Kohut’s Aruch Hashalem [and in Jastrow’s Dictionary] inmirinon is explained as a word of Greek origin. — it is a similar expression: inmirinon. In Latin as well it is called myrrha. The consensus of the languages on this term would thus indicate that [the mor of the Torah] is indeed that substance [called myrrh or its equivalent in the above-mentioned languages — and not the musk mentioned by Saadia Gaon], and it is counted among the spices.
And as to that which the Rabbis said above,¹²¹See the text from Midrash Chazita mentioned above at Note 110. that “the mor is the chief of all kinds of spices,” they mean that [in the verse before us where the spices are listed] the Torah mentioned it first, or it may mean that for aromatic purposes it is the best of all spices. Possibly amongst its diverse kinds there may be a still more aromatic one, and that is called dror, and the one who gathers it [as the Midrash quoted above said], develops bad sores on his hands, because it is bitter as wormwood. And the Rabbis have taught in the Sifra:¹²²Sifra, Vayikra Chova 22:7. “Things which cannot be recognized, such as a mixture of water into wine, or of gum in myrrh,” for this is how they falsify the myrrh, by putting into it a certain gum which resembles it, called tzemeg in Arabic. This is why He said mor dror, meaning that it be clear of any of these usual adulterations. It is possible that the term dror always indicates “clean” (or “pure”). Similarly, and ye shall proclaim ‘dror’ throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof,¹⁰⁴Leviticus 25:10. means that all people of the land be “clean” from servitude, and from all subjection attaching to their persons or lands, similar to the expression, and the owner of the ox shall be quit.¹²³Above, 21:18. And as to that which Scripture says, And my hands dropped with ‘mor’, and my fingers with flowing ‘mor,’¹⁰⁰Song of Songs 5:5. it is possible that the meaning is as follows: “and my hands dropped with oil of myrrh,” for it is customary to apply it also to the hands in order to make them gentle and soft, as it is written, six months with oil of myrrh,¹²⁴Esther 2:12. which our Rabbis have explained to be: “the oil of olives that have not reached a third of their growth, because that makes the hair fall out and improves the complexion.” And the purport thereof is that that oil was prepared with myrrh and therefore it was so called [“oil of myrrh”]. This then is the meaning of ‘natphu’ (dropped with) ‘mor’,¹⁰⁰Song of Songs 5:5. [the dropping being not from the myrrh but from the oil put in it]. I hold this to be the inmirinon mentioned in the Midrash [quoted above,¹⁰⁵Shir Hashirim Rabbah 4:29. See Vol. I, p. 292, Note 73, for explanation of the name “Chazita.” namely that it is identical with the oil of myrrh mentioned in the Scroll of Esther], for similarly the Rabbis in the Yerushalmi¹²⁵Yerushalmi Demai I, 3. call “oil of v’rad” (roses): vardinun [and in the same way they called “the oil of mor” — inmirinon]. Such is the customary usage for names of oils in the various languages of the nations. [Finally,] it is also possible that they extract oil from the myrrh, as is done with gum mastic and other kinds of gums. Thus it is correct to call it “myrrh,” and “oil of myrrh.”

ואתה קח לך, "And as for you, take for yourself, etc." The plain meaning of the verse is that Moses was to pay for the anointing oil out of his own pocket. This is why the Torah prefaced the directive with the word ואתה. Moses was to perform this particular commandment personally, as opposed to the other commandments concerning which G'd had also addressed him in direct speech, commanding him to perform the respective directive. Even though the Torah included the oil and the various spices in the list of items to be donated by the general public (25,3), the Torah here revealed its intention that these items be contributed by Moses personally.

בשמים ראש, valuable fragrances, spices. We know this also from Song of Songs 4,14 עם כל ראשי בשמים. “with all the choice perfumes.” I believe that the word בשמים by itself refers to perfumes and fragrances derived from trees as we also know from Song of Songs 4,16 הפיחי גני ידלו בשמיו, “blow upon my garden that its perfume may spread.” בשמים ראש on the other hand, refers to the sap, or resin from such trees, or to other fragrant plants derived from the soil directly.

מור דרור, “pure myrrh, etc.” according to Nachmanides all the scholars are agreed that the myrrh described here originates with a certain musk ox found in India, the animal is a variety of the family of deers. Near the neck of that animal a concentration of this musk is found, the reason it is accumulated there is the extremely hot climate in the regions where these animals abound. It oozes out of the pores of that animal. The meaning of the word דרור in our verse is that it is pure, not contaminated by other materials which would render it unfit for use as part of the spices prescribed by the Torah for the oil of anointing. Ibn Ezra disagrees with this explanation claiming that מור is not a spice even though it does exude a pleasant fragrance. Perhaps this is the reason why מור was mentioned separately from other spices listed.

Half of what is brought shall be two hundred fifty. . . [Rashi knows] it is not half its measure, because then Scripture should simply write, “Five hundred,” [stating its full measure]. And since it is required to be brought twice, we may infer that it has tippings of the scale. But you cannot say that מחציתו refers back to the myrrh, conveying that the cinnamon is half the measure of the myrrh, i.e., two hundred and fifty. For if so, Scripture should simply write, “The fragrant cinnamon is two hundred and fifty,” without the word מחציתו . Perforce, מחציתו refers to the cinnamon [as Rashi explained].

V. 23. ואחה קח לך. Nur beim שמן המשחה steht diese Formel, durch welche die Herstellung des Gegenstandes ganz speziell auf Mosche bezogen wird. Durch שמן המשחה ward ja dem Heiligtum und allen seinen Teilen im Namen Gottes die heiligende Bestimmung und Weihe erteilt. Es war daher nur durch Mosche, das Organ des göttlichen Willens, herzustellen, und blieb auch das von Mosche Hergestellte das einzige Salböl, auch für die Salbung der Davidischen Könige und der Hohepriester für alle Zeit.

בשמים ראש, “chief spices;” seeing that previously the Torah had written: בשמים לשמן המשחה, “spices for the oil of anointing,” (Exodus 25,6) without specifying those spices, now both the spices and their respective amounts are being spelled out. The word ראש occurs here as number, i.e. “first in rank,” just as it does in verse 12, כי תשא את ראש בני ישראל, “when you count the number, i.e. sum total, of the Children of Israel,” or in ראש חודש, “first of the month.” Compare also Amos 6,6: וראשית שמנים ימשחו, “and anoint themselves with the choicest oils.” Compare also Song of Songs 4,14: עם כל ראשי בשמים, “with all the choicest spices.”

בשמים ראש, “choice spices;” the expression ראש, usually translated as “head,” is linguistically related to חשבון, an account, itself related to חשוב, important, significant. It has been used at the beginning of our portion i.e. כי תשא את ראש בני ישראל, “when you count, i.e. elevate the sum total of the Children of Israel.” Each person counted individually, attains a higher social rank merely by his name being recorded. Seeing that previously the Torah had only summarised the oil for anointing in chapters 28 and 29 without informing us of the ingredients making up this oil, it now gives us the relevant details including the quantities to be used of each in the mixture.

וקנמן בשם AND OF CINNAMON SPICE — Because cinnamon is the bark of a tree there is some of good quality, having fragrance and a pleasant taste and there is some which is merely like wood; Scripture therefore felt itself compelled to state, “Cinnamon בשם — with sweet scent”: of the good species.

V’KINMON BESEM’ (AND OF CINNAMON SPICE) HALF SO MUCH. “Since cinnamon is the bark of a tree [and it is of two kinds], one which has a good taste and fragrance, whilst the other is just like [any other] wood, therefore Scripture had to say: kinmon besem — of the good kind.” This is Rashi’s language. And Harav Rabbi Moshe [ben Maimon] said¹²⁶In his commentary to the Mishnah, at the beginning of Tractate Kerithoth. See, however, in my Hebrew commentary p. 497, Note 8, that this definition that Ramban quotes in the name of Rambam on kinmon besem, is in our texts of Rambam’s commentary found on a different name altogether. The term mentioned here is in Arabic since Rambam wrote his commentary to the Mishnah in Arabic. See also following note. that it is “kesher salichah.”¹²⁷In Joseph Kapach’s new Hebrew translation of Rambam’s commentary in Arabic, he comments on this term that it is “Cinnamonum Zeylanicum” (Kerithoth, p. 229, Note 49). Other scholars¹²⁸Mentioned by Ibn Ezra [in his short commentary on Exodus] in the name of Rabbeinu Saadia Gaon. hold that it is that precious tree called itib. But none of these interpretations is correct, for the Rabbis have said in Bereshith Rabbah¹²⁹Bereshith Rabbah 65:13. and in Midrash Chazita:¹³⁰Shir Hashirim Rabbah 4:29. See Vol. I, p. 277. “‘kinmon’ grew in the Land of Israel, and goat and deer ate of it.” Thus it is like the grass of the field from which the sheep pasture. In my opinion kinmon besem is the aromatic grass called in Arabic adbar, and in Latin ascinant,¹³¹See Dictionary under “ascidium.” which is an important spice, called in the vernacular, saika domika, and where it grows it is used as fodder for camels. Our Rabbi [Yitzchak Alfasi] wrote in [his Halachoth on Tractate] Pesachim,¹³²In the Chapter Arbei Pesachim. [in connection with the spices put into charoseth in memory of the straw from which the Israelites in Egypt made the bricks]: “such as kinmon and sanbal, which are similar to straw.”
Kidah¹³³Mentioned in Verse 24. is known from the Aramaic language, [as Onkelos rendered it] k’tziah (cassia). It is also so in Arabic.

מר דרוד, myrrh is globally considered as a valuable source of a fragrance, as is מר עובר, (Song of Songs 5,5) a spice well known and treasured by merchants throughout the world.

וקנמון בושם, “and fragrant cinnamon;” according to Rashi this was the bark of the cinnamon tree. Nachmanides, commenting on Maimonides, cites him as writing that the Torah refers to a tree that grows in India. [The fact is that there are conflicting statements as to what Maimonides thought, and his writings do not bear out what Nachmanides attributed to him. Ed.] Nachmanides himself holds that all the scholars up to then were wrong but that what is meant is what is described in Midrash Rabbah as a kind of grass which grows in the land of Israel, and which is known as something that sheep and deer feed on. I believe that it is the dried out version of that grass, known in Arabic as ad’brand, and in Latin as Ashkent, a potent fragrance.

For things cannot be weighed to their absolute exactness. . . Explanation: things cannot be weighed [on opposite arms of a scale] perfectly equally, without the scale tipping.

We have a Baraitha in Keritut 5 according to which Moses boiled the oil he took to anoint the priests with during the seven-day inaugural service of the Tabernacle. The remnants of the oil were preserved for future occasions. We have been taught that no such oil was ever again prepared at any time as the oil Moses had prepared was used again and again and it did not diminish in quantity. Maimonides rules in chapter in chapter 1 of his treatise Kley Hamishkan that apart from the quantity of anointing oil prepared by Moses, none was ever made again. This is the additional dimension of the words ואתה קח לך, indicating to Moses that only he would have the privilege to prepare this oil for anointing. Yalkut Shimoni item 764 sees in these words an allusion to the fact that in Messianic times it will be the resurrected Moses who will personally perform the Temple service. While it is true that the Torah also uses the expression: קח לך in connection with the fragrances for the frankincense in verse 34, the word ואתה does not appear in connection with that directive.

בשמים ראש, so auch ראשי בשמים (Hohel. 4, 14) Gewürze in bester Qualität. — מור ,קנמון וגו׳. Mit Sicherheit sind die hier genannten Gewürzarten nicht zu ermitteln. Wir folgen in der Übersetzung der gewöhnlichen Annahme. דרור findet sich nur noch in der Bedeutung wie וקראתם דרור. (Wajikra 25, 10 und sonst), und in dem Vogelnamen: דרור. In der ersten Bedeutung heißt es entweder Freiheit oder Heimkehr, unter dem Vogel דרור versteht man die Schwalbe, die nach Beza 24. a דרה בבית כבשדה, sich in den Häusern des Menschen so frei bewegt, wie im Felde. Man glaubt daher, dass es auch hier: frei, d. h. rein von allem Fremdartigen bedeute. — Auch der Unterschied der Form בֶשֶם und בשֶׁם wäre zu ermitteln. בֶשֶם als Singular von בשמים bezeichnet wohl den Gewürzstoff nach seiner aromatischen Eigenschaft, während die Form בֹשֶׂם, wie קֹדֶש usw. mehr die Verwendung, den Gebrauch der Gewürze bedeutet. — מחציתו חמשים וגו׳, kann nicht wohl heißen, dass vom Cinnemon nur die Hälfte des von Myrrhe zu verwendenden Quantums genommen werden soll; es wäre מחציתו dann völlig überflüssig. Vielmehr bezieht sich das Suffix. מחציתו ־ו auf קנמן בשם selbst. Cinnemon soll in Hälften genommen werden; nicht 500 Schekel zusammen, sondern in zwei Hälften von 250 (Keritot 5 a).

בשמים, “spices,” these are fragrances growing on trees, or roots, as we know from Song of Songs 4,16: הפיחי גני יזלו בשמיו, “that its perfume may spread throughout my garden.” סמים, by contrast, are a kind of resin, as opposed to roots, which drip from the trunks of the trees.

מחציתו חמשים ומאתים [AND OF CINNAMON SPICE] HALF SO MUCH, EVEN TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY [SHEKELS] — The half of what is to be brought shall be 250 shekels; consequently the whole weight of this species was 500 shekels exactly the same as that of the myrrh. But if this be so, why is it (the quantity to be brought) expressed in halves? It is the ordinance of Scripture that it should be brought in halves only, so that the quantity may be increased by two overweights, for there was no exact balancing of the scales in weighing the spices, but a little was always added. Thus it is stated in Keritot 5a.

ומחציתו, this has been explained in Rashi on Keritut 5

[in view of the obvious confusion and inability of our sages to agree on which of the fragrances can be matched to fragrances we are familiar with nowadays, I will not bother to translate the author’s comments on this subject any further. Ed.]

That contain no spices. They are only wood.

וקנמן בשם מחציתו, "and half as much sweet cinnamon, etc." According to the Talmud in Keritut 5 this means that Moses was to bring five hundred units of sweet cinnamon but was to use only half of it in preparing the oil for anointing. The Talmud wonders if perhaps the directive in the Torah meant that Moses was only to bring two hundred and fifty units, i.e. "half," just like the amount of Kneh bossem mentioned immediately afterwards. The answer given is that if this had been the Torah's intention the directive should have read: קנמן בשם וקנה בשם מחצה, ומחצה חמישים ומתאים. Thus far the Talmud on the subject.

וקנה בשם AND CALAMUS SPICE — i. e. cane of sweet spices. Because there are canes which do not bear sweet spices Scripture had to state (add the word) בֹשֶׂם‎

The amount of the total weight. I.e., we should not think that half the calamus is two hundred fifty, as it is with the cinnamon. [Rashi knows this] because otherwise Scripture should write קנמן בשם וקנה בשם מחצה ומחצה חמשים ומאתים . But now [that מחציתו is written only once, between cinnamon and calamus, it explains both the cinnamon and the calamus, as follows:] מחציתו as it relates to cinnamon refers to the cinnamon itself, [and conveys: “Half the cinnamon.” Thus] its whole measure is five hundred. But מחציתו as it relates to calamus refers back to what was mentioned above, [i.e., the cinnamon. Thus] it conveys: “The calamus is half the measure of the cinnamon,” as in total it is only two hundred and fifty.

Perhaps we can suggest an additional answer to the question raised by the Talmud. If the Torah had meant for Moses to contribute only a total of 250 units of sweet cinammon, the word "half of it," would have been totally superfluous; who does not know that 250 is half of 500? The Torah intended for two quantities of 250 units to be weighed [on opposite sides of the scale but that only one half was to be mixed in as an ingredient at that time. Ed.]

חמשים ומאתים TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY was the amount of its entire weight (not of the half of it as in the case of the preceding ingredient).

מחציתו חמשים ומאתים, “half its quantity, i.e. 250.” Who did not know that half of 500 is 250? Why did the Torah not merely say: “half the amount?” Our sages in Keritut 5 have had a tradition that the weight of the cinnamon was actually 500 just like the weight of the מור דרור. The Torah stipulated for reasons unknown to us that whereas the quantity of the former was mixed in all at once, the cinnamon was divided into two lots of 250 each and weighed separately each time before being mixed into the oil.

I have seen a comment by Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra who writes that it is not the custom of the Arabs to add even as much as the weight of a single grain of mustard to the recipe according to which they prepare such oils for incense. I do not think that this is correct. The process of weighing requires that one adds the quantities gradually in order to know when the correct weight has been achieved. I have seen that when the most experienced goldsmiths weigh gold they add another small weight to one side of the scales [and then presumably withdraw it, Ed.] in order to be certain that they have the correct weight. The reason that the Talmud did not mention our answer may be that according to the understanding of the Talmud the one unit of 250 remained separate at all times. The word מחציתו, "half of it," would then mean that Moses was to bring two amounts of 125 units each.