Moshe said to Aharon, "Get the pan, put fire from the altar on it, and put Ketoret [= incense] in it. Take it quickly to the congregation and atone for them, for the anger of Hashem has begun to take effect; the plague has begun!" Aharon took what Moshe had told him to take and ran into the middle of the congregation, and he saw that the plague had begun among the people. He placed the Ketoret [in the pan] and atoned for the people. He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was halted.

(Bamidbar 17:11-13)

"And atone for them" - When Moshe ascended to the heavens (to receive the Torah), the Angel of Death revealed to him the secret that Ketoret is capable of stopping a plague.

(Rashi to v. 11)

Another interesting Midrash regarding Ketoret is cited by Rashi elsewhere:

"[On the second day of the dedication of the Mishkan, the leader of Yissachar brought as his offering] one golden spoon weighing ten (units), full of Ketoret." (Bamidbar 7:18). "One golden spoon ("Kaf")" - This represents the Torah, which was given to us by the hand ("Kaf") of Hashem. "Weighing ten (units)" - Representing the Ten Commandments. "Full of Ketoret" - The Gematria [= numerical value of the letters] of the word Ketoret is 613, which is the number of Mitzvot in the Torah -- provided that the letter "Kuf" (the first letter of the word Ketoret) is replaced by the letter "Dalet," using the At-Bash system (whereby the first and last letters of the Alef-Bet are interchanged, and so too the second with the second to last, etc.).

(Rashi to Bamidbar 7:20, based on Bamidbar Rabba, 13:15-16)

Rebbi Elazar said: Why are the prayers of the Tzaddik [= righteous person] compared to a pitchfork? (i.e. the root of the word used for "prayer" [ATaR] in connection with the prayers of numerous righteous people, c.f. Bereishit 25:21, is the same as the word for "pitchfork" [ATaR] - Rashi.) It is in order to teach you that just as a pitchfork is used to turn over bushels of grain and move them from place to place, so does the prayer of a righteous person "turn over" ("Hofech") the disposition of Hashem from the attribute of strictness to the attribute of kindness.

(Sukah 14a)

It is interesting to note that in Yechezkel 8:11 the root ATaR is again used, but this time it is describing Ketoret: "A thick cloud ("Atar") of Ketoret rose up." Apparently Ketoret too has the power to "reverse" the anger of Hashem and transform it into mercy and kindness. In fact, a comparison is clearly drawn between Ketoret and prayer in Tehillim 141:2, "May my prayer be accepted like Ketoret before You."

Of course, the Ketoret is only effective when it is brought by someone who is righteous, just as prayer can only bring about a change in Hashem's administration of the world when it is offered by the truly righteous. Indeed, as Rashi points out in his commentary to Bamidbar 17:13, the very same Ketoret which brought death and destruction when it was offered in an inappropriate situation (in the case of Nadav and Avihu and in the case of Korach and his band of rebels), effected atonement and granted life when it was offered by Aharon.

How does the offering of Ketoret cause Hashem to change His attitude towards us? The good deeds of the righteous are often metaphorically compared to the scent of incense. For instance, Rashi to Bereshit 25:1 tells us that Hagar is referred to as "Keturah," because "her actions were as pleasant as Ketoret" (see also Bamidbar Rabba 13:14: "The deeds [of the sons of Yehudah] were as pleasant as the scent of Ketoret"). In Shir Hashirim Rabba 1:3:3 Avraham is compared to a barrel of perfume because of his deeds of kindness. The basis for this comparison is that just as a scent brings benefit to all those in its vicinity without those people taking away from the substance of the scent, so too the people in the vicinity of a righteous person benefit and learn from his good deeds without detracting from his merit. Thus, when a righteous person offers Ketoret to Hashem it serves to recall before Hashem that person's kindness and mercy. This is what prompts Hashem to reconsider His attitude of strictness toward the world and to arouse His Own attributes of kindness and mercy.

Perhaps this too is why Chazal saw fit to analyze the Gematria of the word Ketoret the way they did -- by inverting the first letter of the word via the At-Bash system into a Dalet. This hints at the hidden secret of the Ketoret's power -- it causes an "inversion," or reversal, of Hashem's attitude towards us.

Of course, the sins that have been committed cannot be made to disappear, just as the good actions of the righteous cannot be annulled. When Hashem treats someone with mercy, He simply takes note of the person's good deeds and delays punishing the person for his evil deeds until some future date. This allows the sinner to repent and mend his evil ways in the interim. It is for this reason that only one of the letters of the word "Ketoret" is inverted to its At-Bash equivalent. The inverted first letter is combined with the other, normal letters, to equal 613. This suggests that due to the *reversal* of Hashem's attitude towards a person which is brought about by the Ketoret, Hashem looks at the positive side of a person's actions, (i.e. He notes those of the 613 Mitzvot that *have been* kept), and He relaxes His Rod of Justice for the while.

How does one put an end to such a plague? By breaking up the letters of "Met" with the insertion of the letter "Tzaddik," which is accomplished through acts of charity, or "Tzeddakah." When acts of selflessness and righteousness are wrought, says the Gaon, Hashem's wrath recedes. The reversal of the attribute of "Chamati" through Tzeddakah is depicted by the word "Machatzit" (meaning "half"). This five-letter word has the two letters of "Met" (Mem and Tav) as its *outermost* letters, while the letters of "Chai" (Chet and Yud), which are in close proximity to each other, prevent the Mem and Tav from joining together to spell death. The letters of "Chai" are joined to each other by the central "Tzaddik."

This, he explains, is hinted at in a verse in Shmot 30:12 -- "They shall give half a shekel... so that there will be no plague among them when they are counted." The Tzeddakah [= charitable donation] of *Machatzit* Hashekel (a half-shekel) is the antidote to a plague. Tzeddakah alters the "Chamati" which causes a plague by bringing the letters of "Chai" together, while driving the letters of "Met" far apart.

This may be explained as a reflection of the same principle that we have described in regards to the Ketoret and the prayers of the Tzaddik. The righteous deeds of the Tzaddik have the power to cause a *reversal* in the disposition of Hashem, just as the letter Tzaddik causes the reversal of the words "Met" and "Chai." It is interesting to note that the quantity of Ketoret which was burned in the twice-daily Ketoret service in the Bet Hamikdash was a "Pras," or "*half* of a measure" (Yoma 43b). Perhaps this arrangement hinted that the power of the Ketoret lay in its ability to transform Chamati into *Machatzit*, meaning "half."

This may be the key to understanding the events which took place in this week's Parasha. We are told that Aharon took the Ketoret and ran into the middle of the congregation. This selfless act of heroism -- placing himself right in the middle of a raging plague in order to effect an atonement on behalf of his people -- checked the anger of Hashem. Aharon added the Tzaddik to "Chamati," bringing about atonement by forming the word "Machatzit." As the Torah describes it, "He (i.e. Aharon, the Tzaddik) stood between the dead and the living (i.e. between the letters Mem-Tav which spell "Met" or death, and the letters Chet-Yud which spell "Chai" or life), and the plague was halted!"

May the righteous deeds of the Tzaddikim of our generation protect us in our times of need today as well!