Ask the Rabbi
- Torah and Jewish Thought
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- Torah Teachings
Question
1) Can you identify what spice Ahaloth is from Tehillim 45:8?
2) What percentage of each of the three ingredients went into the Shemen Sasson?
3) Are there any Gmaorot referring to Shemen Sasson?
Answer
1. The Artscroll Tanach translates it to be Aloes, I am not sure what that is.
2. The term Shemen Sason appears twice in Tanach (Tehilim 45: 8; Yeshaya 61: 3) and not once in the Talmud, in both places it is translated as oil of joy and that's the standard approach of the classic commentators; Sason is an adjective not a noun.

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