The Torah in Parashat Ki-Tisa discusses the Shemen Ha’mish’ha – the special oil that Moshe prepared for the purpose of anointing the Kohanim Gedolim and kings. In the context of this discussion, the Torah commands (Shemot 30:32), “U’be’matkunto Lo Ta’asu” – that one may not prepare oil with the same ingredients in the same proportions as in the Shemen Ha’mish’ha. The word “Matkunto” means “its measurement,” as in the expression “Matkonet Ha’lebenim” (Shemot 5:8), which refers to the prescribed amount of bricks which Beneh Yisrael were forced to produce as slaves in Egypt. The Torah here forbids making a replica of the Shemen Ha’mish’ha by using the precise same spices in the precise same amounts as those used for the Shemen Ha’mish’ha. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that the Torah forbids producing additional Shemen Ha’mish’ha because, quite simply, this was unnecessary. Tradition teaches that the initial supply of Shemen Ha’mish’ha which Moshe prepared at Mount Sinai miraculously endured and would endure forever. Even after being used for anointing many Kohanim Gedolim and kings, it was never and will never be depleted. The Torah therefore commands us to never prepare any additional Shemen Ha’mish’ha. This prohibition is binding upon both men and women, and applies in all places and at all times, even today. Somebody who produces a replica of the Shemen Ha’mish’ha, using the same ingredients in the same quantities as used to produce the initial supply of Shemen Ha’mish’ha, has violated this prohibition. If he transgressed this command intentionally, then he is liable to Karet (eternal excision from the Jewish Nation), and if this was done mistakenly, he must bring a Korban Hatat (sin-offering). One of the spices included in the Shemen Ha’mish’ha was a product called Mor Deror. The Rambam, in Hilchot Keleh Ha’mikdash (1:3), identifies this substance as “Musk,” which originated from the blood of a certain non-kosher species of animal. He explains that blood collects in a protrusion from the animal’s stomach, and with time, it congeals. In the summertime, the animal feels a need to scratch its skin against bushes, which has the effect of opening this protrusion, thereby releasing the congealed blood onto the bushes. It is then collected and used as an aromatic spice. According to the Rambam, this is the substance to which the term “Mor Deror” refers, and which was included in the Shemen Ha’mish’ha. The Ra’avad (Rav Abraham Ben David of Posquières, Provence, d. 1198), in his critique of the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, strongly disagrees. It is inconceivable, he writes, that the Torah would include the blood of a non-kosher species of animal in the Shemen Ha’mish’ha, which was used to consecrate the Kohanim Gedolim and the kings. In his view, the Mor Deror was a fragrant substance extracted from a certain tree. The Kessef Mishneh (commentary to the Mishneh Torah by Maran, Rav Yosef Karo, 1488-1575) defends the Rambam’s view by positing that once the blood dried, it is considered like mere dust, and is no longer seen as a product of a non-kosher creature. Since it has been fundamentally altered, we may disregard its origins and thus include it as part of the Shemen Ha’mish’ha.