Preparing the sacred anointing oil used to sanctify the Tabernacle, its vessels, and its ministers was a task of profound significance. God directs this command personally to Moses, instructing him to gather the ingredients himself rather than delegating the task to a messenger [אור החיים, עמק דבר]. While some consider this direct phrasing to be a standard linguistic expression [אבן עזרא], others perceive a deeper historical and spiritual resonance. The oil Moses crafted miraculously endured for generations, later used to anoint kings and high priests. Because Moses represents the foundational source of all authority, prophecy, and royalty in Israel, God requires him to prepare the oil personally. Through this act, all future leaders would symbolically draw their strength and legitimacy from his original power [אברבנאל, כלי יקר].
The ingredients for this sacred blend had to be the absolute finest and highest quality spices available [רשב״ם, אבן עזרא, רלב״ג]. The primary ingredient, myrrh, sparks a fascinating debate regarding its exact identity. One perspective identifies it as musk, a fragrant substance derived from the accumulated blood or sweat in the neck of a deer-like animal native to India [רמב״ם, רבנו בחיי]. However, other scholars strongly reject the idea of incorporating a byproduct of an impure animal into the holy oil. Instead, they identify this myrrh as a fragrant resin that naturally drips from a tree [ראב״ד, רמב״ן, קאסוטו]. The myrrh was also required to possess a quality of absolute freedom and purity. Most commentators understand this to mean the spice must be entirely unadulterated and free from any foreign mixtures. Alternatively, this quality of freedom may describe the natural state of the spice's extraction: either musk from an animal roaming freely in nature and feeding on fragrant spice beds, which enhances its scent, or resin that drips organically from a tree without any human intervention or cutting [רמב״ן, ביאור יש״ר]. The required weight for this pure myrrh was established at five hundred shekels.
The second ingredient, cinnamon, is identified by some as a fragrant grass or straw also used for pasture [רמב״ן, מלבי״ם], while others describe it as tree bark, similar to the cinnamon known today [רש״י, רלב״ג]. Because certain varieties of cinnamon are dry and lack any scent, the instructions emphasize selecting only the highly fragrant and superior type. A unique instruction regarding the measurement of the cinnamon has led to differing interpretations. A straightforward reading suggests the cinnamon weighed two hundred and fifty shekels, exactly half the weight of the myrrh [אבן עזרא, קאסוטו]. Conversely, the primary approach among commentators, rooted in ancient tradition, maintains that the total weight of the cinnamon was actually five hundred shekels, matching the myrrh. According to this view, the command to measure it in halves dictates that the cinnamon be weighed in two separate batches of two hundred and fifty shekels each. This deliberate division was intended to capitalize on the slight surplus created each time the scale tipped downward, ultimately yielding a slightly larger quantity of the precious spice [רש״י, מזרחי, רלב״ג].
The third ingredient was a fragrant cane, understood to be a scented reed or grain. Just as with the cinnamon, the emphasis on its fragrance serves to exclude ordinary, scentless reeds [רש״י, מזרחי]. Commentators agree that the total weight of this cane was two hundred and fifty shekels, and the requirement to weigh in halves did not apply to it. Once gathered, all these spices were ground, soaked in pure water, and topped with olive oil. The mixture was then boiled until the water completely evaporated, allowing the oil to fully absorb the rich fragrances. This entire preparation was accompanied by a revealed miracle. A remarkably small quantity of olive oil was sufficient to absorb the massive volume of spices and anoint all the vessels of the Tabernacle as well as the priests, yet the oil itself was never depleted [אברבנאל, מלבי״ם].