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using items now that were used in offerings during Temple era

Question:

BH
Hello,
Thank you for your help.
My question deals with using ingredients now that were used in offerings during Temple times. For example sacred frankincense and cinnamon. We have food dishes that utilize cinnamon now, so it would seem that it would be ok to consume, however the Torah in Exodus describes that misusing the ingredients of the Incense to smell them and use them(all or some?) results in cut off…my question is: is it ok to use sacred frankincense as a skin treatment (to be applied to the skin for health reasons…not to be used as perfume per say, but of course I will be smelling it if I apply it…), just as we use cinnamon in food today? Is the prohibition only using all of the ingredients together? What exactly is the prohibition resulting in cut off?
Thanks again.

Answer:

The only issue is if the frankincense is made with all of the proper ingredients, and with its proper proportions. Therefore, using plain cinnamon is not an issue at all. Enjoy. Regarding using sacred frankincense, I don’t know what it is, nor how it is made so I can’t comment on it.

Best wishes

 

Sources:

Rambam Hilchos Kli Hamikdash 2-9, Tzofnas Pa’aneach 2 57.

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