Just a few more posts, out of order, before we say goodbye to Masechet Shabbat for this cycle.
.jpg)
The Sweet Smell of Afarsemon
Shabbat 62
In today’s daf we have a few mentions of perfume,
specifically the “balsama” as Rashi calls it, or the Apharsemon Oil. We learn
that one of the things that a woman cannot carry on Shabbat is a צלוחית של פלייטון, a small perfume vial. Later on, we have a
statement by Rabbi Ami that the women of Jerusalem
would go out with אפרסמון in their shoes and
when they would meet boys in the market, they would step on the apharsemon and
release a scent so strong that it would make the evil inclination enter them
“like a poisonous snake.”
Powerful stuff! What was it? The Gemara and other sources of
the time are familiar with the apharsemon plant (not the persimmon of today)
that was grown in the Ein Gedi region and was used to make perfume. It was a
valuable item that made those who grew it rich. Apharsemon is usually
translated as “balsam” and some say that is the origin of the Hebrew word
“bosem,” perfume.
Apharsemon was valuable but the perfume was difficult to
make and its production was a closely guarded trade secret. So closely guarded
that written into the inscription of the synagogue mosaic from Ein Gedi, a
center of apharsemon production, is a curse on those who give away the “secret
of the town,” i.e., how to make apharsemon perfume.
Professor Zohar Amar identifies the apharsemon as Commiphora
gileadensis and has succeeded in planting it in Ein Gedi. The next
challenge is to figure out “the secret of the town” and make some Eau de Balsam
from it.
Balsam also had some more, shall we say, volatile qualities.
One is not supposed to light Shabbat candles from it. (Shabbat 26a) One of the
reasons given is that it catches fire very quickly. This is illustrated by the
ultimate evil mother-in-law story. A mother-in-law told her daughter-in-law to
adorn herself with balsam. Then she told her to go light the candles. You can
figure out the ending for yourself . . .
And what about the container for the perfume, a decoration
that a woman cannot carry outside on Shabbat? A recent excavation of the Second Temple
period town of Migdal
on the shores of the Kinneret may shed some light on that. The archaeologists
found a small perfume vial with a greasy substance inside. Ancient apharsemon?
Only the lab results will reveal the truth!
For further reading:
Comments
Post a Comment