A Smell of Gan Eden – Chayei Sarah
וְיִתֶּן לִי אֶת מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה אֲשֶׁר לוֹ אֲשֶׁר בִּקְצֵה שָׂדֵהוּ בְּכֶסֶף מָלֵא יִתְּנֶנָּה לִי בְּתוֹכְכֶם לַאֲחֻזַּת קָבֶר (בראשית כג, ט).
The story of Me'arat HaMachpeila does not begin in this week's parsha, it begins 40 years prior to the death of Sarah Imeinu, in parshat Vayeira. The Midrash describes how, during preparation of the lavish meal of three calf tongues in mustard sauce for the visiting angels, one of the calves ran away and Avraham chased after it, into a cave.
וּבָרַח מִלְּפָנָיו בֶּן הַבָּקָר וְנִכְנַס לִמְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה וְנִכְנַס אַבְרָהָם אַחֲרָיו וּמָצָא שָׁם אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן וְעוֹזְרוֹ שׁוֹכְבִים עַל הַמִּטּוֹת וִישֵׁנִים וְנֵרוֹת דּוֹלְקוֹת עֲלֵיהֶן וְרֵיחַ טוֹב עֲלֵיהֶם כְּרֵיחַ נִיחוֹחַ לְפִיכָךְ חָמַד הַמְּעָרָה לַאֲחֻזַּת קֶבֶר (פרקי דרבי אליעזר, לו).
In the cave Avraham discovered Adam Harishon and Chava lying sleeping on their burial beds, with candles lit above them and a good smell permeated the cave, כְּרֵיחַ נִיחוֹחַ.
Avraham knew that it was Adam HaRishon because the person was 100 amot long (50m). After Adam sinned, HKB"H "diminished" Adam's stature to 100 amot (Sanhedrin 38b). According to the Midrash (Breishit Rabba 58, 8), R' Abahu says that HKB"H "folded" Adam in half and buried him there and that is why it is called Me'arat HaMachpeila from the root of the word כפל.
When Avraham told Sarah of his discovery, she requested that he purchase the land as a burial place for the two of them. The Midrash (Tanchuma, Chayei Sarah, 3) says that Avraham's eulogy for Sarah were the words of Eshet Chayil. The verse זָמְמָה שָׂדֶה וַתִּקָּחֵהוּ (משלי לא, טז) refers to this request.
How did Adam and Chava come to be buried there? The Zohar explains –
רַבִּי קִיסְמָא אָמַר: מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה סָמוּךְ לְפֶתַח גַּן עֵדֶן. בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁמֵּתָה חַוָּה בָּא אָדָם לְקָבְרָהּ שָׁם וְשָׁם הֵרִיחַ מֵרֵיחוֹת גַּן עֵדֶן בְּאוֹתוֹ הָרֵיחַ שֶׁהָיָה שָׁם. רָצָה לַחֲצֹב יוֹתֵר יָצְתָה בַּת קוֹל וְאָמְרָה דַּיְּךָ. בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה עָמַד וְלֹא חָצַב יוֹתֵר וְשָׁם נִקְבַּר (זהר חדש,מגילת רות כה, ע"ב).
R' Kisma says that Me'Arat HaMachpeila is a kind of a "portal" to Gan Eden, the connecting point between this world and the next. When Chava died, Adam came to bury her there and he smelled the smell of Gan Eden, the same smell that he remembered from Gan Eden.
In next week's parsha, Toldot, we read about Yaakov entering Yitzchak's tent, dressed in Eisav's clothes, to receive his father's blessing. The passuk says וַיִּגַּשׁ וַיִּשַּׁק לוֹ וַיָּרַח אֶת רֵיחַ בְּגָדָיו וַיְבָרֲכֵהוּ וַיֹּאמֶר רְאֵה רֵיחַ בְּנִי כְּרֵיחַ שָׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר בֵּרֲכוֹ ה' (בראשית כז, כז). Yaakov approached and Yitzchak kissed him. Yitzchak smelled the smell of the clothes and they were כְּרֵיחַ שָׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר בֵּרֲכוֹ ה'. Rashi, quoting a Midrash (Breishit Rabba 65, 22), says that the smell was like the smell of Gan Eden. Rashi continues quoting a Gemara (Taanit 22b) and says that it smelled like שְׂדֵה תַּפּוּחִים.
Yitzchak knew what Gan Eden smelled like, because he was there! R' Avraham Palacci ('שמו אברהם' לר' אברהם פאלאג'י, מערכת ע', ערך עקדה, דף קפה ע"א) says that Yitzchak was 37-years-old at the Akeida, and 40 when he married Rivka (who was born immediately after the Akeida and was 3 years old when she married Yitzchak).
R' Avraham Palacci says that in these three years, between the Akeida and Yitzchak marrying Rivka, Yitzchak was in Gan Eden. When Rivka first encountered Yitzchak, he was returning from Gan Eden after his 3-year stint there, and Rivka saw him descending upside-down, feet up and arms down. This strange sight caused her to fall off the camel (ברטנורא, בראשית כד, סד).
In this shiur I would like to try to understand what the smell of Gan Eden is like, the smell that Adam HaRishon and Chava knew first hand, the smell that Avraham smelled in Me'arat HaMachpeila and the smell that Yitzchak smelled on Yaakov, dressed in Eisav's clothes.
It is impossible to fully quantify the smell of Gan Eden, we will all discover it ourselves after 120 b"H, but meanwhile we have some strong hints that give us a good idea.
Let us begin by trying to picture the "ambience" in Gan Eden on the 6th day of Creation, when HKB"H created Adam and Chava.
The Midrash (בראשית רבה ג, ו) says that in the first seven days, Gan Eden was constantly illuminated with the אוֹר הַגָּנוּז, a Heavenly light so radiant that the sun is dull in comparison. Although HKB"H created both light and darkness on the first day, darkness only emerged for the first time on Motzei Shabbat (בראשית רבה יא, ב).
On the sixth day, just prior to creating Adam HaRishon, the passuk says וְאֵד יַעֲלֶה מִן הָאָרֶץ וְהִשְׁקָה אֶת כָּל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה (בראשית ב, ו). The first rain. The rain moistened the earth and HKB"H used the resulting "clay" to create Adam. This is our first hint of what Gan Eden smelled like – the invigorating sweet, earthy scent of fresh rain upon the earth, washing it clean.
In addition, on the sixth day, all plant life began to grow. Although HKB"H created botany on the third day, it did not emerge from the earth until the sixth day, after the first rain (Rashi, Breishit 2, 5). This added a "herbal" dimension to the aroma in the air.
These elements that made up the smell of Gan Eden, were provided by HKB"H. There were, however, two additional elements, that were provided by Adam and Chava that are related to the sin of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת.
Sefer Meir Panim (פרק טו), goes into great detail regarding the sequence of events that led up to, that were the essence of and that followed the sin of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת.
It began with Chava giving Adam HaRishon wine to drink. הָא תַּנִּינָן סָחֲטָה עֲנָבִים וִיהַבְתְּ לֵהּ (זהר חלק א, לו א). When Chava saw that Adam was not diligent in performing the mitzva of פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ, she tried to improve his mood by giving him wine to drink. This put Adam to sleep and in the interim, the נָחָשׁ tempted Chava.
Meir Panim, following the shita of R' Yehuda in the Gemara (Brachot 40a), describes how Chava, prompted by the נָחָשׁ, baked a loaf of risen (chametz) bread made from wheat, the forbidden fruit of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת. Chava ate this bread and later, when Adam woke up from his drunken stupor, she also gave him a similar bread to eat.
Following this, Adam and Chava were banished from Gan Eden on erev Shabbat וּבֵין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת גֹּרַשׁ וְיָצָא (פרקי דרבי אליעזר יט).
When Adam buried Chava in Me'arat HaMachpeila, he smelled the smell of Gan Eden there and it reminded him of the last smell he smelled before he was banished from Gan Eden.
Based on the above sequence of events, we can begin to compile a "composite" of the aroma that Adam HaRishon last smelled as he was leaving Gan Eden.
It was an intermingling of –
· The sweet, earthy scent of fresh rain
· A potpourri of herbs, plants, blossoms and flowers
· The smell of wine lingering on his breath
· The aroma of freshly baked bread
Immediately after Adam and Chava were banished, Shabbat came in. Pirkei De'Rebi Eliezer (יח) says that the enormous zchut of Shabbat prevented HKB"H from immediately sentencing Adam to death as He had warned, if Adam ate from the עֵץ הַדַּעַת.
At the end of Shabbat, the sun set for the first time and darkness appeared (בראשית רבה יא, ב). Adam was afraid of the dark, so HKB"H showed him two stones, which he struck together and for the first time, created fire, upon which Adam recited the bracha בּוֹרֵא מְאוֹרֵי הָאֵשׁ, the origin of the halacha of lighting a candle for Havdala on Motzei Shabbat. Adam was not sure if the light would ever appear again.
The following morning, the sun rose in the east and illuminated the world once more. Avot de'Rabi Natan (א, ח) says that Adam was so overjoyed that he built a mizbeach and brought a special korban of a one horned שׁוֹר, as it says (Tehilim 69, 32) וְתִיטַב לה' מִשּׁוֹר פָּר מַקְרִן מַפְרִיס.
In other words, immediately after being banished from Gan Eden, Adam HaRishon was introduced to two additional fragrances – fire smoke and roasting meat.
Let us now examine the episode (above) of Yitzchak giving Yaakov Eisav's blessing. Let us try to picture the smell that Yitzchak smelled that reminded him of Gan Eden. Chazal say that this episode took place on Pesach and that Yitzchak was partaking of a Pesach Seder (Targum Yonatan, Breishit 27, 9, Pirkei de'Rebi Eliezer, 32, Rashi, ibid.).
When Yaakov (dressed in Eisav's clothes) entered his father's tent, he was carrying the following –
· Two roasted goats that Rivka had prepared (בראשית כז, ט) with herbs and spices, one for the Korban Pesach and the second for the Korban Chagiga (Targum Yonatan, ibid.).
· Freshly baked bread (בראשית כז, יז) which were in fact matzot (מגלה עמוקות, פרשת וישלח).
· Wine (for the four cups) (בראשית כז, כה)
What did Yitzchak smell? A sweet, earthy scent from Eisav's clothes, the smell of wine, the smell of freshly baked bread, the smell of herbs, the smell of roasted meat … the same smell that Adam remembered from Gan Eden.
When Yitzchak smelled Yaakov, the passuk says וַיָּרַח אֶת רֵיחַ בְּגָדָיו (בראשית כז, כז). The Yalkut Shimoni (ibid.) says "do not read it בְּגָדָיו, his 'clothes', but rather בּוֹגְדָיו, his 'traitors'" and goes on to explain that Yitzchak saw with Ruach HaKodesh that among Yaakov's descendants, many centuries later, would be traitors, like יוֹסֵף מְשִׁיתָא and יָקוּם אִישׁ צְרוֹרוֹת who would sin against HKB"H, but deep down, at their core they remained loyal to HKB"H (see shiur on Acharei Mot 2024).
Perhaps the "traitors" that Yitzchak was thinking of were not centuries later, as the Yalkut Shimoni says, but rather centuries earlier - Adam and Chava, who betrayed HKB"H when they made a risen (chametz) bread from the fruit of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת in Gan Eden (מאיר פנים, פרק טו). The Gemara (Taanit 22b), brought by Rashi, describes the smell that Yitzchak smelled as a שְׂדֵה תַּפּוּחִים, which has nothing to do with "apples", but is in fact referring to לְחָמִים תְּפוּחִים, risen breads.
From the above analysis, we have a pretty good idea what Gan Eden smelled like and it may not be the aroma you first imagined. It was not one single fragrance, but a "composite".
What else does the following mixture of fragrances, all together in close proximity, remind you of?
· Water on earth
· Herbs and spices
· Wine
· Freshly baked bread
· Roasting meat
· Smoke
You've got it - the Beit HaMikdash (perhaps the last item was the "giveaway").
On the passuk where Yitzchak smells Gan Eden (בראשית כז, כז), the Targum Yonatan says - כְּרֵיחָא דִקְטוֹרֶת בּוּסְמַנְיָא דַעֲתִידָא מִתְקַרְבָא בְּטַוַור בֵּי מַקְדְשָׁא.
I have always tried to imagine what the Beit HaMikdash smelled like. It was a complex potpourri of fragrances.
The sweet, earthy scent of (rain) water on the earth, from the Kohanim washing their hands and feet with the Kiyor and the Nisuch HaMayim during Sukkot.
The smell of wine from the Nesachim brought together with Korbanot Olah and Shelamim.
Smoke from the perpetual wood fire on the outer Mizbeach, which was miraculously never doused by the rain.
Roasting meat from the Korbanot on the Mizbeach and as they were cooked/roasted to be eaten by the Kohanim, or the rest of Am Yisrael in Yerushalayim (Pesach, Toda, etc.).
Freshly baked bread from the Menachot on the Mizbeach and the Shtei HaLechem on Shavuot. On Fridays, the delicious aroma of 12 new loaves of Lechem HaPanim, baked by Beit Garmu, in Lishkat Osei Lechem HaPanim.
As you enter the Heichal (only the Levi'im and Kohanim were allowed in – the Levi'im to open the main doors from within and the Kohanim to perform the Avodah), two dominant smells hit you.
The first is the smell of freshly baked bread from the Lechem HaPanim on the Shulchan, that remained fresh (and warm?) the entire week. This smell was enjoyed daily by the Kohanim and on Shabbatot of the Shloshet HaRegalim by the rest of Am Yisrael when they brought the Shulchan with the Lechem HaPanim and the Menorah out of the Heichal to show everyone.
If the smell of bread is reminiscent of the sin of Adam and Chava, then what is it doing in the Beit HaMikdash? There is nothing inherently wrong with the smell of bread. According to Ari z"l, if Adam HaRishon had waited until Shabbat, HKB"H would have allowed him to eat from the עֵץ הַדַּעַת.
The עֵץ הַדַּעַת symbolizes עוֹלַם הָעֲשִׂיָּה, things that are man-made, that man contributes to the world. Nothing more typifies this than bread. Bread is the "prototype" for all things man-made. If the עוֹלַם הָעֲשִׂיָּה would follow after Shabbat and not precede it, then it would be permissible, because it is acknowledgement that all things are essentially from HKB"H.
All things are blessed by the Kedusha of Shabbat, כָּל בִּרְכָּאן דִּלְעֵילָא וּתְתָא בְּיוֹמָא שְׁבִיעָאָה תַּלְיָן (זהר, ח"ב פ"ח ע"א). By not waiting for Shabbat and preparing and eating this bread on the sixth day, Chava was guilty of כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי עָשָׂה לִי אֶת הַחַיִל הַזֶּה (דברים ח, יז).
Lechem HaPanim, which is prepared on Friday, but is not eaten until Shabbat, is the atonement for the sin of Adam and Chava, who did not wait until Shabbat.
The second is the Ketoret, a mixture of eleven herbs and spices which pervades not only the Heichal, but the entire city of Yerushalayim, all the way down to Yericho. Such a fragrant smell that women (and men) in the city of Yerushalayim never needed perfume (or deodorant).
The trio of the Menorah, Shulchan and Mizbeach HaKetoret were a microcosm of Gan Eden. The perpetual אוֹר הַגָּנוּז of the Menorah (the light of the Torah, the עֵץ הַחַיִּים). The aroma of the ever-fresh Lechem HaPanim on the Shulchan (a כַּפָּרָה for the עֵץ הַדַּעַת, the element of the smell of Gan Eden made by man). The fragrance of the Ketoret, (the elements of the smell of Gan Eden made by HKB"H). Above all these resides the ever-present Shechina (over the Aron HaBrit, between the Kruvim), like in Gan Eden קוֹל ה' אֱ-לֹקִים מִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּגָּן לְרוּחַ הַיּוֹם (בראשית ג, ח).
These three keilim are umbilically and symbiotically connected to each other, through the Shulchan.
The פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה (במדבר ח, ב), the "face" of the Menorah is the Shulchan with the Lechem HaPanim (Rashbam, ibid.).
The rashei teivot of the 4 primary spices of the Ketoret specifically mentioned in the passuk טָף שְׁחֵלֶת חֶלְבְּנָה לְבֹנָה (שמות ל, לד)נָ make up the word שֻׁלְחָן (חידושי הגר"א על הש"ס, ברכות נה, ע"א). The Vilna Gaon says that these four are the main סַמְמָנִים of the Ketoret – צֳרִי (נָטָף), צִפֹּרֶן (שְׁחֵלֶת), חֶלְבְּנָה, לְבוֹנָה. The other seven (eight – some say מַעֲלֶה עָשָׁן was the twelfth) ingredients, referred to in the passuk (twice) as סַמִּים, (2X4=8) are not the spiritual ikar, they are just enhancements to give the Ketoret a nice smell and to make the smoke rise in a straight, columnar form.
The smells of Gan Eden and the Beit HaMikdash are not random. They are genetically encoded into our DNA. If you check out Google for the best loved smells by humanity, you will see that fresh rain on the earth, flowers, freshly baked bread and barbeque consistently feature in the top ten. Humans are genetically programmed to love the smells of Gan Eden and the Beit HaMikdash.
An interesting anecdote is that the chemical compound that gives rise to fragrance is called an Ester. Although Wikipedia doesn't concur, to my mind it is too much of a coincidence that the passuk in Megilat Ester says שִׁשָּׁה חֳדָשִׁים בְּשֶׁמֶן הַמֹּר וְשִׁשָּׁה חֳדָשִׁים בַּבְּשָׂמִים (אסתר ב, יב).
Why does the Beit HaMikdash have to smell like Gan Eden and what is the connection to Me'arat HaMachpeila?
Both Me'arat HaMachpeila and the Beit HaMikdash are portals to Gan Eden. We discussed the "portal" connection between Me'arat HaMachpeila and Gan Eden already (re: רַבִּי קִיסְמָא אָמַר: מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה סָמוּךְ לְפֶתַח גַּן עֵדֶן).
Similarly, the Beit HaMikdash is a portal between this world and Olam Habah. There are 50 levels of טָהֳרָה. This is why Am Yisrael had to count 49 days of Sfirat Ha'Omer after leaving Egypt to raise themselves to the 50th level on Shavuot to receive the Torah. Zero is the lowest level and 50 is the highest.
The Beit HaMikdash is the midpoint, at level 25. Another name for the Beit HaMikdash is כֹּה, as it says in the parsha of the Akeida וַאֲנִי וְהַנַּעַר נֵלְכָה עַד כֹּה (בראשית כב, ה). כֹּה in gematriya is 25. A person takes an earthly object, which is low on the level of purity (zero) - an animal, a log of wood, wine, oil, flour, salt, levonah – to the Beit HaMikdash (level 25). This zero-level object is then raised to the highest level (50) by being offered on the Mizbeach. The is the reason that a Kohen is called a כֹּהֵ-ן, because he is the person who elevates the object from כה (25) to ן (50).
The Beit HaMikdash is a bidirectional portal through which Olam Hazeh communicates with Gan Eden - korbanot go up, blessings come down (for example through the Lechem HaPanim).
They both have the same smells.
Me'arat HaMachpeila is a similar portal. It is the direct link between Am Yisrael to Gan Eden, through the Avot and Imahot, and Adam and Chava, who are all buried there.
The passuk in which Yitzchak smells the smell of Gan Eden is perek כז, passuk כז, in gematriya 27 - which is אֲחוּזָּה, another name for Me'arat HaMachpeila (בראשית כג, ד) and also זַךְ, like all those who are buried there. חֶבְרוֹן is so named because it is a point of חִבּוּר, a portal.
The Gemara (Brachot 55a) says –
כָּל זְמַן שֶׁבֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קַיָּם מִזְבֵּחַ מְכַפֵּר עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַכְשָׁיו שֻׁלְחָנוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם מְכַפֵּר עָלָיו.
Now that we do not (yet) have the Beit HaMikdash, our Shulchan serves as the portal, it is like the Mizbeach. The question is which Mizbeach? The outer one where korbanot are sacrificed, or the inner one where the Ketoret is offered?
We have already seen (above) the connection between the Shulchan and the Mizbeach HaKetoret, (as brought by the Vilna Gaon). The Shulchan is also intricately connected with the outer Mizbeach, on which animal sacrifices (food) is brought.
Therefore, when the Gemara speaks about our Shulchan, today, in our homes, where we eat - it is referring to both Mizbachot. Our food and the way we eat our food, incorporating Torah at our Shulchan, reciting blessings before and after eating, etc.
It is also referring to the "fragrances" at our tables, the aroma of our food, and more importantly our "middot" at the table - that they should be like the smell of Gan Eden, like the middot of the Avot and Imahot who are buried in Me'arat HaMachpeila.
Bizchut zeh, we will b"H elevate this world to the highest level and merit receiving the brachot back down, in return and b"H HKB"H will restore our true portal, the Beit HaMikdash to its rightful place, בבי"א.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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