וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃

Following the previous verses, which discussed the laws of meal offerings in general, many of which pertained to their consumption by the priests, the Torah now discusses certain meal offerings that are brought only by the priests: The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

זֶ֡ה קָרְבַּן֩ אַהֲרֹ֨ן וּבָנָ֜יו אֲשֶׁר־יַקְרִ֣יבוּ לַֽיהוָ֗ה בְּיוֹם֙ הִמָּשַׁ֣ח אֹת֔וֹ עֲשִׂירִ֨ת הָאֵפָ֥ה סֹ֛לֶת מִנְחָ֖ה תָּמִ֑יד מַחֲצִיתָ֣הּ בַּבֹּ֔קֶר וּמַחֲצִיתָ֖הּ בָּעָֽרֶב׃

This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons that they shall present to the Lord on the day he is anointed, on the first day that any priest performs the Temple service. This is known as the priestly meal offering of inauguration. Although the verse refers to any priest who enters the service, this same offering is to be brought by the High Priest every day. In that context, it is known as the griddle-cake offering of the High Priest: One-tenth of an ephah of high-quality flour as a perpetual meal offering, half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening. The Sages explain that this last clause applies only to the griddle-cake offering of the High Priest. The priestly meal offering of inauguration, however, was brought only once on the day of a priest’s investiture.

עַֽל־מַחֲבַ֗ת בַּשֶּׁ֛מֶן תֵּעָשֶׂ֖ה מֻרְבֶּ֣כֶת תְּבִיאֶ֑נָּה תֻּפִינֵי֙ מִנְחַ֣ת פִּתִּ֔ים תַּקְרִ֥יב רֵֽיחַ־נִיחֹ֖חַ לַיהוָֽה׃

On a pan it, the meal offering, shall be prepared with oil, fried; you shall bring it boiled . You shall present the baked meal offering in pieces; that is, it is boiled, then baked, and then fried. The meal offering was prepared as one loaf and then broken into pieces. All of it was burned on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

וְהַכֹּהֵ֨ן הַמָּשִׁ֧יחַ תַּחְתָּ֛יו מִבָּנָ֖יו יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה אֹתָ֑הּ חָק־עוֹלָ֕ם לַיהוָ֖ה כָּלִ֥יל תָּקְטָֽר׃

As mentioned above (verse 13), this offering was brought not only by a priest when beginning his Temple service, but also, the priest who is anointed in his stead from his sons, the High Priest, who is descended from Aaron, shall prepare it every day as a fixed offering. It is an eternal statute to the Lord; it shall be burned in its entirety upon the altar.

וְכָל־מִנְחַ֥ת כֹּהֵ֛ן כָּלִ֥יל תִּהְיֶ֖ה לֹ֥א תֵאָכֵֽל׃ (פ)

Likewise, every meal offering of the priest, whether brought as a voluntary meal offering or in any other manner, shall be offered in its entirety, entirely burned on the altar; it shall not be eaten. This is in contrast to the meal offering of a non-priest, of which only a portion is burned on the altar, while the remainder is designated by God for the priests’ consumption alone.

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

דַּבֵּ֤ר אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹן֙ וְאֶל־בָּנָ֣יו לֵאמֹ֔ר זֹ֥את תּוֹרַ֖ת הַֽחַטָּ֑את בִּמְק֡וֹם אֲשֶׁר֩ תִּשָּׁחֵ֨ט הָעֹלָ֜ה תִּשָּׁחֵ֤ט הַֽחַטָּאת֙ לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה קֹ֥דֶשׁ קָֽדָשִׁ֖ים הִֽוא׃

Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying: This is the law of the sin offering. After previously stating the basic laws of the sin offering (see chaps. 4–5), the Torah elaborates: In the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, on the north side of the altar (see 1:11), the sin offering shall be slaughtered before the Lord; it is a sacred sacrament. The difference between a sacred sacrament and an offering of lesser sanctity is not only conceptual; there are also practical differences with regard to the manner in which each type of offering is sacrificed. For example, since a burnt offering and sin offering are sacred sacraments, they must be slaughtered on the north side of the altar.

הַכֹּהֵ֛ן הַֽמְחַטֵּ֥א אֹתָ֖הּ יֹאכֲלֶ֑נָּה בְּמָק֤וֹם קָדֹשׁ֙ תֵּֽאָכֵ֔ל בַּחֲצַ֖ר אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד׃

Furthermore, the priest who presents it as a sin offering [ hameh · ] shall eat it. The priest who engages in the sacrificial rite of the sin offering has the first right to consumption of its meat. However, as will be stated below (6:22), in practice this right is granted to all priests serving in the Tabernacle on that day. Additionally, since the consumption of the sin offering is itself a sacred act, in a holy place it shall be eaten, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.

כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־יִגַּ֥ע בִּבְשָׂרָ֖הּ יִקְדָּ֑שׁ וַאֲשֶׁ֨ר יִזֶּ֤ה מִדָּמָהּ֙ עַל־הַבֶּ֔גֶד אֲשֶׁר֙ יִזֶּ֣ה עָלֶ֔יהָ תְּכַבֵּ֖ס בְּמָק֥וֹם קָדֹֽשׁ׃

Anyone who shall touch its flesh, the flesh of the sin offering, shall become holy. It must be treated with sanctity, and, like the sin offering, it must be consumed in a holy place, by the priests, and within the allotted time in which the sin offering itself may be consumed. And if some of its blood is accidentally sprinkled on a garment rather than the altar, then that upon which it is sprinkled you shall wash in a holy place. It may not be removed from the holy place, just like the blood itself.

וּכְלִי־חֶ֛רֶשׂ אֲשֶׁ֥ר תְּבֻשַּׁל־בּ֖וֹ יִשָּׁבֵ֑ר וְאִם־בִּכְלִ֤י נְחֹ֙שֶׁת֙ בֻּשָּׁ֔לָה וּמֹרַ֥ק וְשֻׁטַּ֖ף בַּמָּֽיִם׃

Since the sin offering is consumed by the priests only after first cooking or roasting it, the status of the cooking implements must also be clarified: An earthenware implement in which it, the sin offering, shall be cooked shall subsequently be broken, as such a vessel absorbs some of the matter of the sin offering during the cooking process. This matter will remain absorbed in the implement beyond its allotted time for consumption; it will then be rendered unfit for consumption, at which point the matter must be destroyed. As such, the implement must be destroyed after the elapse of that allotted time. This is similar to the law that an earthenware implement is not purified through immersion in water or in any other manner, and so, when it becomes impure, it remains that way until it is broken (see 11:33). If it is is cooked in a bronze implement, it shall be scoured, scrubbed clean, then placed in boiling water to purge the absorbed matter and rinsed in water. It is then permitted subsequently to use such a vessel.

כָּל־זָכָ֥ר בַּכֹּהֲנִ֖ים יֹאכַ֣ל אֹתָ֑הּ קֹ֥דֶשׁ קָֽדָשִׁ֖ים הִֽוא׃

It has already been stated that the priest who sacrifices the sin offering has the first right to its consumption. Nevertheless, every male among the priests shall eat it, that is, may partake of it, and their consumption is part of the atonement process. It, the entire sin offering, is a sacred sacrament.

וְכָל־חַטָּ֡את אֲשֶׁר֩ יוּבָ֨א מִדָּמָ֜הּ אֶל־אֹ֧הֶל מוֹעֵ֛ד לְכַפֵּ֥ר בַּקֹּ֖דֶשׁ לֹ֣א תֵאָכֵ֑ל בָּאֵ֖שׁ תִּשָּׂרֵֽף׃ (פ)

Until now, this passage has discussed only the typical sin offering brought by an individual who unwittingly transgresses certain prohibitions. Earlier, however (chap. 4), the Torah mentioned several different types of sin offerings, in particular the sin offering of the High Priest and the sin offering brought for an unwitting communal sin, whose blood is not sprinkled on the outer altar, but inside the Sanctuary itself. These offerings are referred to by the Sages as the inner sin offerings and are mentioned in this verse: Any sin offering from which blood shall be brought to the Tent of Meeting to sprinkle opposite the curtain and on the incense altar, to atone in the holy place, shall not be eaten at all; rather, it shall be burned in fire. As stated above (4:1–21), certain portions of these sin offerings are burned on the altar, while the remainder is burned outside the encampment of Israel. Here, the Torah explicitly states that its consumption is prohibited.

וְזֹ֥את תּוֹרַ֖ת הָאָשָׁ֑ם קֹ֥דֶשׁ קָֽדָשִׁ֖ים הֽוּא׃

This is the law of the guilt offering. The instances in which one brings a guilt offering have already been described above (5:14–26). The Torah now describes the manner of its sacrifice: It is a sacred sacrament. The guilt offering is considered an offering of the most sacred order, and its sanctity therefore demands greater stringency than an offering of lesser sanctity.

בִּמְק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִשְׁחֲטוּ֙ אֶת־הָ֣עֹלָ֔ה יִשְׁחֲט֖וּ אֶת־הָאָשָׁ֑ם וְאֶת־דָּמ֛וֹ יִזְרֹ֥ק עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ סָבִֽיב׃

Because a guilt offering is an offering of the most sacred order, in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered they shall slaughter the guilt offering, on the north side of the altar (see 1:11). The equation of the guilt offering with the burnt offering is of great significance, as one might have otherwise assumed that the latter is of greater sanctity, since it is burned in its entirety on the altar. And its blood he, the priest, shall cast from the vessel into which the blood was received when the animal was slaughtered around the altar, like the blood of the burnt offering, and unlike the blood of the sin offering, which the priest places with his finger on the horns of the altar.

וְאֵ֥ת כָּל־חֶלְבּ֖וֹ יַקְרִ֣יב מִמֶּ֑נּוּ אֵ֚ת הָֽאַלְיָ֔ה וְאֶת־הַחֵ֖לֶב הַֽמְכַסֶּ֥ה אֶת־הַקֶּֽרֶב׃

Although the guilt offering resembles the burnt offering with regard to the sprinkling of its blood, in other matters it is comparable to the sin offering: All of its fat he shall offer from it: The fat tail of the guilt offering, which may be either a ram or a lamb, and the large layer of fat that covers the innards,

וְאֵת֙ שְׁתֵּ֣י הַכְּלָיֹ֔ת וְאֶת־הַחֵ֙לֶב֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עֲלֵיהֶ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־הַכְּסָלִ֑ים וְאֶת־הַיֹּתֶ֙רֶת֙ עַל־הַכָּבֵ֔ד עַל־הַכְּלָיֹ֖ת יְסִירֶֽנָּה׃

and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is on the flanks, and the diaphragm above the liver; he shall remove it with the kidneys from the liver, which is not burned on the altar.

וְהִקְטִ֨יר אֹתָ֤ם הַכֹּהֵן֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָה אִשֶּׁ֖ה לַיהוָ֑ה אָשָׁ֖ם הֽוּא׃

The priest shall burn them on the altar as a fire offering to the Lord; it is a guilt offering.

כָּל־זָכָ֥ר בַּכֹּהֲנִ֖ים יֹאכְלֶ֑נּוּ בְּמָק֤וֹם קָדוֹשׁ֙ יֵאָכֵ֔ל קֹ֥דֶשׁ קָֽדָשִׁ֖ים הֽוּא׃

With regard to the flesh that is not consumed on the altar, every male among the priests may eat it; in a holy place it shall be eaten: It is a sacred sacrament. The requirement to consume the flesh of the guilt offering in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tabernacle or Temple, stems from its status as an offering of the most sacred order. By contrast, it was permitted for offerings of lesser sanctity to be consumed anywhere in the Israelite camp surrounding the Tabernacle in the wilderness, or anywhere in Jerusalem during the time the Temple was in existence.

כַּֽחַטָּאת֙ כָּֽאָשָׁ֔ם תּוֹרָ֥ה אַחַ֖ת לָהֶ֑ם הַכֹּהֵ֛ן אֲשֶׁ֥ר יְכַפֶּר־בּ֖וֹ ל֥וֹ יִהְיֶֽה׃

Like the sin offering, so is the guilt offering; there is one law for them. In both cases, the priest that atones with it, it, the flesh of the offering, shall be his. The right to consume the guilt offering is given to the priest that sacrifices it. He may choose to consume it himself or divide it among the other priests

וְהַ֨כֹּהֵ֔ן הַמַּקְרִ֖יב אֶת־עֹ֣לַת אִ֑ישׁ ע֤וֹר הָֽעֹלָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִקְרִ֔יב לַכֹּהֵ֖ן ל֥וֹ יִהְיֶֽה׃

Similarly, in the case of the priest who presents the burnt offering of a man, although the flesh is burned in its entirety, the hide of the burnt offering that he presents, it shall be for the priest, not the individual who brings the offering. This law holds true for other offerings as well, with the exception of the peace offering.

וְכָל־מִנְחָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר תֵּֽאָפֶה֙ בַּתַּנּ֔וּר וְכָל־נַעֲשָׂ֥ה בַמַּרְחֶ֖שֶׁת וְעַֽל־מַחֲבַ֑ת לַכֹּהֵ֛ן הַמַּקְרִ֥יב אֹתָ֖הּ ל֥וֹ תִֽהְיֶֽה׃

Every meal offering that is baked in the oven, and any prepared by frying in a deep pan, or on a shallow pan, it shall be for the priest who presents it.

וְכָל־מִנְחָ֥ה בְלוּלָֽה־בַשֶּׁ֖מֶן וַחֲרֵבָ֑ה לְכָל־בְּנֵ֧י אַהֲרֹ֛ן תִּהְיֶ֖ה אִ֥ישׁ כְּאָחִֽיו׃ (פ)

Every meal offering, either mixed with oil, e.g., the voluntary meal offering of flour mixed with oil (see 2:1) or dry, e.g., the meal offering of a sinner, which does not contain any oil (see 5:11), shall be for all the sons of Aaron, one like another.