The Hebrew term ''maaleh ashan'' is the traditional name of an herb which according to the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

was an ingredient of the ''

ketoret The incense offering ( he, ) in Judaism was related to perfumed offerings on the altar of incense in the time of the Tabernacle and the First and Second Temple period, and was an important component of priestly liturgy in the Temple in Jerusale ...

'', the incense offered in the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...

. It was said to cause the smoke from the incense-offering to rise straight up. According to the

, the

House of Avtinas According to the Talmud, the House of Avtinas was responsible for compounding the ''ketoret'', the incense offered on the Inner Altar in the Temple of Jerusalem.Pomegranates and golden bells: studies in biblical, Jewish, and ... - Page 143 Jacob Mi ...

, which compounded the incense, kept the identity of ''maaleh ashan'' a secret which became lost following the destruction of the

Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...

in 70 CE. According to the

Temple Institute The Temple Institute, known in Hebrew as Machon HaMikdash ( he, מכון המקדש), is an organization in Israel focusing on the endeavor of establishing the Third Temple. Its long-term aims are to build the third Jewish temple on the Temple Mo ...

, "In our own time, some have speculated that this may be the plant ''

Leptadenia pyrotechnica ''Leptadenia pyrotechnica'' ( hi, खींप; pa, ਖਿੱਪ) is the botanical name of a desert herb of the family Apocynaceae. It is widespread from Senegal to India. It is known as in Hindi and Urdu, and in Punjabi.L. R. Burdak (1982): R ...

'', which contains nitric acid."Incense http://www.templeinstitute.org/incense.htm

References

{{Judaism-stub Incense material Jewish sacrificial law Priesthood (Judaism)

See also

References