The Secret of the Incense: Yoma 38a

Our Rabbis taught that the Avtinos family was very skilled in making incense [for the Temple in Jerusalem] and did not want to teach anyone else how to do it. The sages imported skilled tradesmen from Alexandria, Egypt, who knew how to mix the spices for incense, but these tradesmen were unable to make the incense smoke like when the Avtinos family manufactured it. When the Avtinos family would make it, the smoke would rise up like a date tree, while the Egyptians' incense would spread out everywhere.

When the sages heard of the situation, they said, "Anything that the Holy One Praised be G-d created was created for G-d's glory, as it is written (Proverbs 16:4) 'G-d did everything for G-ds own sake.'" [I would translate this more loosely as, "Dudes, what can we do, we are stuck! Let's go with the flow."]

The sages summoned [the Avtinos family back to their work with the incense], but the family refused to come. The sages doubled [the Avtinos'] wages, and the family agreed to come back to work...

The sages asked the family, "Why do you refuse to to teach [others how to make the incense]? The Avtinos family replied, "We have a tradition from our fathers that this house [the Temple] will be destroyed in the future. Our fathers worried that an unworthy person would learn how to make the incense, and go perform idolatry with it."

The sages praised the Avtinos family for this: a bride never left their house for her wedding day perfumed, and when someone from the Avtinos family married a woman from elsewhere the groom stipulated that the bride must not perfume herself, lest people say that the family was misappropriating Temple incense for such a purpose...

It was taught by a Tanna [one of the early sages]: Rabbi Ishmael said that he was once walking on the road, and saw one of the descendants of the Avtinous family, and told him, "Your fathers [the Avtinos family] wanted to increase their own glory and reduce G-d's glory. G-ds glory is still there [on the Temple mount, even though the Temple is destroyed] but your family's honor is reduced [because there is no need for the incense.]

Rabbi Akiva taught, once Rabbi Ishmael Ben Loga told me, "Once I and one of the descendants of the Avtinos family went out to gather herbs. , and I saw [the Avtinos' descendant] laugh and cry. I asked him, 'Why do you cry?' [The descendent of Avtinos responded], 'I am remembering my ancestors' glory.' I asked him, 'Why do you laugh?' [The descendent of Avtinos responded],'Because the Holy One Praised be G-d will return us [to our former glory!]' I asked him, 'What made you think of all of this now?' [The descendent of Avtinos responded],'The herb that make the incense rise up in a column is before me.' Rabbi Ishmael said 'Show me it!' [The descendent of Avtinos responded], 'We have made an oath to never show this herb to anyone.' "

Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri said, "Once I found an old man holding a scroll containing incense recipes. I said to him, 'Where are you from?' The old man replied, 'I am from the house of Avtinos.' I asked him, 'What is that in your hand?' The old man replied, 'Formulas for incense.' I said, 'Show me them!' The old man replied, 'As long as my family continued, we never shared this scroll with anyone. Now, take it, it is yours and safeguard it!' When I came and told my tale to Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Akiva said to me, 'From now on, it is forbidden to criticize the house of Avtinos.':

Premonitions of Death: Yoma 39B

Only on the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, could the High Priest enter the most sacred spot in Judaism, the 'Holy of Holies' in Jerusalem's temple. Here is a tale of an eerie moment related to this most sacred of rituals.

Our rabbis taught that on the year that Shimon the Righteous [the High Priest] died, he foretold, "I will die this year." His companions asked Shimon, "How do you know?" Shimon replied to them, "Every Yom Kippur an old man in white garments and a white turban would appear [in a vision] and enter with me [to the Holy of Holies] and come out of [the Holy of Holies] with me. Today instead an old man appeared dressed in black garments with a black turban. The old man entered [the Holy of Holies] with me, but did not come out with me."

After Sukkot [a Jewish festival that immediately follows Yom Kippur] Shimon fell ill for seven days and died.