Every day we read in the beginning of our prayers (and in Israel at the end of our prayers as well) we read the formula for the making of the incense that was burned in the Temple. This formula begins with the words “P’tum hak’toret keitzad….”- “How was the incense prepared…”
The incense of the Temple figures prominently in many parts of the Torah. Unlike the other offerings brought in the Tabernacle it was brought on a special golden altar which was located within the Tabernacle and not in the copper altar which stood in the courtyard of the Tabernacle. The incense figures tragically in the story of Aaron’s sons , Nadav and Avihu. And it was the incense that brought an end to the plague which struck the Jews after the rebellion of Korach.
Today we will learn a bit about the prayer Ein K’Elokeinu which we say before we read the P’tum Hak’toret passage and then we will learn about the K’toret –incense- itself.