INCENSE From the Negev desert

By purchasing the original incense of the Negev Desert you not only get the highest quality product, but also support the aid program “Fight the Homelessness”.

Incense

The incense had various meanings in the liturgy of the Temple. In addition to the aesthetic valor (scent, color) the smoke was primarily a symbol of the prayer that rising toward the sky was a "soothing aroma, pleasing to the Lord" (Exodus 29,18). In the Book of Exodus there is a passage in which God says to Moses: "Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each. With it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. You shall beat some of it very fine, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you". (Ex 30,34-36). Jewish commentaries specify the composition of incense, speaking of ingredients such as: dried flowers of lavender, spikenard (known as muskroot, that today occurs in the coat of arms of Pope Francis), saffron (crocus) and chaste tree (called also Abraham’s balm), powdered onyx (mineral, kind of chalcedony), cassia (oil made of young twigs of cinnamon), cloves (soaked previously in wine), cinnamon bark, resin of camphor trees and bosswellia (three types: myrrh, olibanum and bdellium) and the salt from the Dead Sea.

Father Piotr Zelazko SSD, (graduate of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, lecturer at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome Studium Theologicum Salesianum and the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem, pastor of the Hebrew Speaking Parish in Beer Sheva) invites you to purchase a genuine incense made in the heart of the Negev Desert.

“Fight the Homelessness” Project

Hebrew-speaking Catholic parish of St. Abraham in Beer Sheva (Israel) is the initiator of an unusual campaign to help the homeless. Nowadays, in a small apartment, near the parish church live two women: Colette and Tigisti.


The first one comes from Benin and is blind, the second one in dramatic circumstances broke through the Sinai Peninsula from the overcame by war Eritrea to Israel. Production and sale of incense is for Colette and Tigisti a great chance to return to life in society: to pay rent for the apartment, to buy food, etc. A couple of hours a day during preparation and packing of incense is also very important spiritually: it allows the women to feel valuable and necessary members of the human community.

By purchasing the original incense of the Negev Desert you not only get the highest quality product, but also support the aid program “Fight the Homelessness”.

WE OFFER THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF INCENSE FROM THE NEGEV DESERT

Ashkelon

Classic incense with a delicate, sweetish scent, perfect for the celebrations of penance and purification.

Avraham

The incense with some smell reinforcing insertions, such as cinnamon bark. It has an expressive, deep fragrance that is recommended for joyful celebrations and adorations.

Kadesh Barnea

Absolutely exclusive product, carefully selected incense with the salt from the Dead Sea, ideal for major events andbig feasts in cathedrals, basilicas, meaningful churches.

Detailed information can be obtained by sending an e-mail to: incensefromthenegevdesert@gmail.com

INCENSE From the Negev desert

  • Gives an unique character to the liturgical celebrations.
  • Moves the deepest strings of human sensuality, allowing for contemplative worship, both in large gatherings andprayer meetings in small groups.
  • Combines prayer (worship of God in the temple) with the act of charity (support for the homeless).
  • Ideal for large temples and small monastic churches as well as home chapels.
  • May be a remarkable gift for a priest or nun.