On his journey home from a military campaign, Napoleon Bonaparte wrote to his wife Josephine,

“I will return in three days, don’t wash.”

Sex is an act that engages all the bodily senses. While some are more obviously employed, like touch, sound and sight, it is actually the sense of smell that holds unique faculties.

In the animal kingdom, many species rely heavily on smell to communicate, detect dangers and even mate. While humans don’t sniff each others behinds like dogs when introduced, olfaction (sense of smell) subtly guides us, often subconsciously.

Now, we know about pheromones, the chemicals secreted by the body to send cues to another to elicit a reaction. The body has its own ways of secretly, nonverbally communicating to another.

But what about the spiritual aspects of smell, especially when it comes to intimacy?

The Talmud explains that smell is the singular sense that “the soul benefits from and the body does not.” In fact, in Hebrew, the words spirit- רוח and smell- ריח share the same root letters.

Indeed, it was through the nose, Adam’s nostrils, that God first breathed life into man.

God specifically loves smells. In ancient times, one of the most direct paths to connecting with God, whether atoning or giving thanks, was bringing a sacrifice. God connected to His beings through this practice because they brought a “pleasing odor” to Him. It wasn’t the BBQ smell that was pleasing, but God’s will being fulfilled and our connecting to Him. Smell marked that connection.

Jewish sages say that a smell hits the soul dead-on and can even arouse someone from an unconscious state. Also, when the Sabbath parts from us on Saturday night, it takes our extra “Sabbath soul” with it. In order to reinvigorate our fragmented soul, we ritually smell the B’samim or fragrant spices and it gives us strength for the week ahead.

Being divine ourselves, we too have an uncanny sense for smell, especially when it comes to the closest bond of intimacy. Studies have shown that men can discern ovulating women based on their smell and it is a person’s scent that can attach them tightly to another. Women with heightened senses of smell also reported higher rates of orgasm. Though smells can be subtle and fleeting- they hold memories, arouse people and bond them intensely.

The Talmud also relays that scent was the one sense that was kept perfectly intact following the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. So though smell may seem like the most delicate of the senses, it doesn’t only fill your lungs, but floods your soul. So take the time to smell your partner and breathe them in.