Torah Portion: Ki Sisa

You shall not duplicate it in its formulation (Shemos 30:32).

It is a negative commandment that the Anointing Oil not be prepared for private use, as it is written, You shall not duplicate it in its formulation (Shemos30:32).

Among the roots of the commandment is the idea that we wrote above, with regard to the prohibition against smearing it [on ordinary people (Mitzvah 108): to elevate the Temple and everything that it contains. By withholding it from the masses it will make it more valuable in their eyes, for such is the nature of people; the scarcer something is the more valuable it is.] Our Sages say that, in fact, it was never prepared after the initial quantity that Moshe Rabbeinu prepared in the Wilderness, and that miraculously it was used many times without losing any of its quantity, and that it is all there to be used in the Future to Come.

The prohibition only applies if the person prepared it using the exact quantities of the ingredients listed in the Torah.

This prohibition against preparing the Oil applies in all places and at all times, to both men and women. One who transgressed this and purposely prepared it is liable for excision, and if it was done inadvertently, he is must bring a burnt-offering for atonement.