Nes Gadol Haya Sham

[Heavenlyrabbit]

NES GADOL HAYA SHAM
But not long after the king sent a certain old man of Antioch, to compel the Jews to depart from the laws of their fathers and of God:

And to defile the temple that was in Jerusalem, and to call it the temple of Jupiter Olympius: and that in Gazarim of Jupiter Hospitalis, according as they were that inhabited the place.

And very bad was this invasion of evils and grievous to all.

For the temple was full of the riot and reveling of the Gentiles: and of men lying with lewd women. And women thrust themselves of their accord into the holy places, and brought in things that were not lawful.

The altar also was filled with unlawful things, which were forbidden by the laws.

And neither were the sabbaths kept, nor the solemn days of the fathers observed, neither did any man plainly profess himself to be a Jew.

But they were led by bitter constraint on the king's birthday to the sacrifices: and when the feast of Bacchus was kept, they wore compelled to go about crowned with ivy in honour of Bacchus.

And there went out a decree into the neighboring cities of the Gentiles, by the suggestion of the Ptolemeans, that they also should act in like manner against the Jews, to oblige them to sacrifice:

And whosoever would not conform themselves to the ways of the Gentiles, should be put to death: then was misery to be seen.

For two women were accused to have circumcised their children: whom, when they had openly led about through the city with the infants hanging at their breasts, they threw down headlong from the walls.

And others that had met together in caves that were near, and were keeping the sabbath day privately, being discovered by Philip, were burnt with fire, because they made a conscience to help themselves with their hands, by reason of the religious observance of the day.
- The Second Book of the Maccabees, 6:1-11

In order to consolidate his power in Jerusalem and Hellenize the area, the Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes outlawed Judaism and ordered the population to worship Zeus and the Hellenic pantheon. As this was anathema to the Jews, they refused, and Antiochus moved to enforce his religious decree by extreme force.

Some origin tales say that the dreidel was used at this time as a method by which the Jewish people were able to continue to study the Talmud in secret under the guise of gambling. Now, in addition to being a light gambling game, the dreidel is also a reminder of the strength, devotion, and perseverance of the Jewish people and the mercy of God.

One scent in four parts:

Nun, the Snake: nuun, nothing. Naḥš, in modern Arabic, means bad luck. Represented by scents of loss and remembrance: opoponax and lemon verbena.

Gimel, the Camel: the Ship of the Desert. Represented by scents of abundance, fortitude, and determination: patchouli, heliotrope, pomegranate, and almond.

He, the Window: sometimes used to represent the Unutterable Name of God, this is the window in our souls through which God's light touches us. Represented by scents of clarity and piety: frankincense, myrtle, and hyssop.

Shin, the Tooth: also stands for Shaddai, one of the names of God. The hand formed into shin acts as a priestly blessing. Represented by scents of strength, generosity, kindness, and benediction: carnation, myrrh, red poppy, and hibiscus.

The essences of Nun, Gimel, He, and Shin are blended to become Nes Gadol Haya Sham.

Prominent notes for me are the Heliotrope and Almond.

This reminds me of an old favorite, Tzadikim Nistarim, and also a few of BPAL's earlier 13 blends. Probably because of the wide range of notes. Maybe even reminiscent of Cleopatra Testing Poisons.

Complex and unconventional from a perfume standpoint.

[thekittenkat]

I was expecting to either like this, or find it a confusing melange of notes. Instead, it's neither. It's somewhat fruity and herbal. Needs more testing, and then I will amend this review. I like it and it's not like anything else in the catalog that I have tried. An interesting and unique scent.

[greenranger]

Complex is a very good word for this.

 

 

It's a rich spicy scent that makes me think of the desert and the spice caravans, or maybe a mediteranean feast with a lot of food...there's something festive and a little foody about it.

 

I can't pick out much in the way of individual notes, but, I can tell that there's lemon something in it. Other than the lemon verbena, though, nothing stands out seperately. I do like this, but, I'll have to see how it agrees with my skin over time. I'll check in later with a verdict.=)

[edenssixthday]

Nes Gadol Haya Sham - Wow, this is a rich and highly complex scent! The strongest notes on me are lemon verbena, frankincense, patchouli, and myrtle. It's got an aspect of it that is bright, but that's on top of a darker, deeper, richer and more resinous layer of notes, which is on top of another layer of notes that more floral and herbal. It's a really unique and interesting scent -- not one I'd wear often, but one that seems like it could fit almost any mood or occasion. Very unique, very interesting, and very pretty.

[Pottersville]

Lemon Pledge?! Wow, I so wasn't expecting that! Must be the lemon verbena. There's something dusty dry and slightly spicy in the drydown, but I can't put my finger (nose?!) on any other notes. Little throw and very short lasting. Still ... part of me thinks this might wear nicely in the warmer weather, so I'll hold onto my decant.

[angelicruin]

This is a gorgeous deep, spicy scent. I also get the lemon verbana and frankincense. It's also smells like there is a trace of cocoa in it, at least on my skin. Very nice!

[nekogrrl]

Tried this today - I think I like it.

 

The first thing to come out was the lemon verbena - it smelled very much like lemon Pledge. That phase lasted.. mm.. 15-30 minutes, and then morphed into a softly spicy resiny scent. Must be the frankincense and myrrh mixing with the patchouli. I don't really get any of the florals, at least not to where I can specifically pick them out.

 

I did get a mental picture of a lit menorah once it went into the spicy resin phase. Very warm and comforting.

[anomie]

In the imp: Resinous and dry.

 

Wet: I can definitely smell the frankincense and the myrrh. And the lemon verbena. It smells really rich - luxurious.

 

Dry: Warm, sweet, spicy, complex. I was afraid the billion notes would just turn into a muddle, but this is really wonderful.

[distracts]

In the decant: Lemon and patchouli.

 

Wet: LEMON LEMON LEMON! I can sort of smell a bunch of other things swirling underneath. I swear I smell something woody, though I don't think any wood notes are listed.

 

Dry: Gets progressively warmer and less lemony as time goes on... but it is still far more lemony than I would like (I'd like it to be NONE lemony). I might try this a little later to see if the lemon dies down some with age.

[Leopard403]

I couldn't even skin-test this one, I just knew upon first sniff that this wasn't for me. Much too head-shop.

[Dark Alice]

At first this is lemony. But as it dries...it's sweet, dry, herbal, with frankicense, myrrh, it's just really wonderful. I think I need to purchase a bottle.

[ellebelle]

Oh lemon verbena of doom, why do you hate me so? There are so many beautiful notes in this, but all I get is lemon verbena. That is it. Nothing else. And as it dries? MORE LEMON VERBENA. Lemon is not my friend and this goes into the swap pile.

[tartchef]

Hey, verbena! But with something lovely & bitter underneath, something very mouthwatering... to me this is a lemon verbena spin on The Tree of Knowledge, or perhaps Tabella - a cacophony of fruits & herbs & resins. I'm getting lots of myrtle, of all things, thick & herbaceous... This is one I want to keep sniffing & sniffing, just to see what else I can find in there...

[Prism]

 

 

in bottle - complex. wow. I dont know what to say . I can pick out...lemon verbena. and some darker herbal. maybe the opoponax? I'm not familiar with but half these notes.

wet - lemon verbena, the herb scent is less, i'm definately getting almond now. and some floral too faint to differentiate. the lemon verbena totally dominates. This scent has depth, but I'm not sure it's for me.

dry - this is very lemony, but not candy vanilla like. it's lemon with herbal background. it's too much like pledge or a cleaner for me.

 

rating 3/10

 

My god, talk about notes i dont know and difficult to differentiate. This makes me so wish beth would make "imp flights" of single notes for us poor ignorant fools.

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle, this smells like sharp lemon verbena and sweet, red cherry-almond.

 

This has so many different notes listed (and lots of notes that I love), but once this oil is on my skin, it's lemon verbena single note. It's like sharp, sour lemon and that slightly herbal tone. Nothing else. I only really like lemon notes when they're sweet and/or foodie, so this isn't working for me at all.

 

Nes Gadol Haya Sham is probably my biggest disappointment of this year's Yule blends .

[ami226]

On the skin: Herbal with something a bit deeper.... And some floral.

 

This scent is very strange. The scent shifts and takes on a candy sweetness. Crazy Scent!!

[musichappens]

Chocolate? That's not even one of the notes!

 

I agree with Catseyes: this is one crazy scent!

[juniperus]

Bottle: sweet, complex, slightly floral, complex... did I mention complex?

Wet: more floral, still sweet, still complex. none of the resins apparent.

Dry: the sweet is clearly fruity, now, and the floral has stepped behind lemon and pomegranate; the hint of darkness behind these is patchouli lingering - no resins have come to the fore, yet.

Later: now I can catch a hint of the resins, but they aren't taking over. the fruit hasn't gotten oddly-sweet on me (a pleasant surprise) nor have the florals taken over. this is amazingly complex and balanced, and truly breathtaking.

[Dark Alice]

Lemon verbena, frankincense and patchouli. This is all I get. It's quite lovely...I just don't know if it's bottle worthy. Completely drydown : Golden lemon verbena and frankincense. *sigh*

[milo]

This ends up being a sweet citrus on me, with a touch of floral. I don't get any resins, really, but they may come out with age. This blend is far too sweet on me, but I will keep the decant to see if my beloved resins do end up coming out later.

[hlemonds]

This reminds me quite alot of Urd (which i like a great deal) but with a lemony-herbal top note replacing the sweet grape/wine top note. The lemon-herbal note burns off very quickly, and i am left with a really nice, warm, slightly sweet incense. The incense has resin and floral elements, and is (for me, anyways) a very soothing. I very much enjoy this one layered with a bit of Snake Oil, and both my hubby and my three year old little boy complimented me when i wore it layered.

[laslibres]

Dust? Flowers? Incense? Oh, heck, I was afraid of this...the blend having too many different things in it so that I can't pick anything out. It gets a little clearer as it dries...I mostly smell verbena, and sand. It's kind of incensey, spicy sand, though...it's a desert scent. I think I might be smelling some carnation or some of the other floral notes, too, and myrrh.

 

But then, weirdly, it settles down as...chocolate and beeswax. But those notes aren't listed! Argh, I don't get this scent.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is so... odd. I get this nutty incense (like hazelnut) and loads of lemon verbena. As it dries, I get more of the patchouli.

 

Odd. Odd. Odd.

[Sawasdee]

With so many notes, I was expecting a complex compilation, and was hoping for the pomegranate and almond to stick out. However, in the vial and on wet, it is overwhelmingly all lemon verbena, with a warm base, ick. Upon drydown still lemon, with a touch of spiciness and frankincense. Not for me.

[FandF]

a blast of foodie nuts and quickly turns resinous and black. Kinda of bitter with nuts underneath. Bitter sweet black nuts. Weird. Dries down and gets positively horrid on me. Almost like a rotting purple fruit undertone with the dirty part of patchouli. This one needed washed off.