A person who makes [incense] similar to it, to enjoy its fragrance, shall be cut off [spiritually] from his people. (ibid. 30:37) This refers to a person who wants his own good “fragrance” to spread; i.e. he wants to gain a reputation as being one of the pious, who are called “incense” (ketores), in that they bind and unite the Holy One and the Shechinah.¹ – is similar to the Hebrew word for “incense” – ketores. However, if he does this for the sake of the “fragrance,”² he shall be cut off from his people. Tzafnah Paneach, p. 84b³, p. 70a.

footnotes: ¹ The Aramaic word for “knot” – ketorah ² That is, for ulterior motives, such as prestige and personal gain. ³ See, also, Toldos Yaakov Yosef