The Spices of משיח

The sensory event of the Tent of Meeting and service therein continues in this week’s parsha, Ki Tisa. From the fashion and ringing sounds of the priestly garments (as well as the fabric, metal, wood, and other material descriptions for the structure and elements of worship within), we are brought into an aromatic experience. Since I studied messiahs – including the first appearance of the word משח in this parsha – the recipe for the anointing oil always sticks out to me in Exodus 30: 22-31.

Then G!d spoke to Moshe, saying –

“Then you will take (for yourself) choice spices – five hundred [weight] of flowing myrrh and of cinnamon spice, half as much (of it), two hundred fifty [weight], and of [cane] reed spice, two hundred fifty [weight],

and of cassia, five hundred in [the measure of] the sanctified shekel [weight], and of olive oil, a hin [measure].

And make (of) this a sanctified oil for anointing, an ointment mixture, the mixing done by (expert) mixers,  (which) will be a sanctified oil for anointing.

Then anoint with (the sanctified oil) the Tent of Meeting and the Ark of the Testimony,

and the table and all its implements, and the menorah and its implements, and the altar of incense,

And the alter of the (whole) burnt offering and all its implements, and the laver and its pedestal.

So you will sanctify them and they will be most holy – everything which touches them will be(come) holy.

Then you will smear with (sanctified anointing oil) Aaron and his sons and you will sanctify them as priest(s) for me.

And speak to the Israelites, saying, ” This will be a sanctified anointing oil for me through your generations.”

The official role as “messiah,” first described in the moment of anointing the high priest(s), stands out as special. The priests wore intricate garments, full of symbolic and practical elements. They went into parts of the Tent of Meeting set aside for only their entrance, and barred for anyone else. However, the anointing oil used for them also covered other important structures in the Tent of Meeting. As special as the priests were as people, they appeared within the Tent of Meeting as one element of the structures which served the purpose of worshiping G!d – through burning, smells, offerings, water and washing, and intercession.

Setting aside our places, implements, services, and thoughts creates a space for approaching G!d. During the time of the Tent of Meeting, offerings and intercession were key elements of worship. Today, prayer creates an approach whereby we set aside time and space – physically, spiritually, mentally – to remember our relationship with G!d. What if we created a similar space through the senses and physical environments we inhabit?

Just after the anointing oil formula, Moshe receives instructions to make incense, another, arguably more, aromatic description in the text. The Tent of Meeting, service and ritual therein, can feel so removed from our experience that even the detailed and radiant descriptions seem far away. Thinking about the smells that would have filled the Tent draw me a little closer to the ancient practices of reaching out to deities and creating a culture for the Jewish people, as well as other faiths that have followed.

Beach at the end of the Coney Island boardwalk