Kommentar zu Bamidbar 15:4

והקריב המקריב THEN SHALL HE THAT OFFERETH [HIS OFFERING BRING A MEAL OFFERING etc.] — i.e. you shall offer a drink-offering and a meal-offering for each and every animal: the meal-offering to be entirely burnt, and the oil be mingled with it, and the wine to be put into the basins from which it was poured upon the altar (but see Tosafot on Sukkah 48a), as we have learnt in Treatise Sukkah 48a.

והקריב המקריב קרבנו, When the person offering his sacrifice is about to do so, etc. An examination of the relative amounts of oil which are to be part of the meal-offerings appears at first glance to be proportional to the amounts of solids used in those offerings, i.e. the amount of flour. Similarly, the amount of wine which accompanies an animal sacrifice as a drink-offering is also proportional to the size of the animal being offered as a sacrifice. Why does the Torah make an exception to these proportions (compare verse 6) in our verse when the amount of flour used in the meal-offering is one tenth of an eyphah, i.e. a quarter hin which is equivalent to three lugin? [this is a proportionally much larger amount of oil than with other sacrifices. Ed.] Please refer to the Mishnah in Menachot 107. Maimonides writes in chapter 17 of his treatise on Maaseh Hakorbanot that "someone may voluntarily donate, or promise by means of a vow, a drink-offering to consist only out of wine, provided the minimum quantity is two lugin. He is not allowed to donate an offering consisting entirely out of oil even if the quantity is 2 lugin oil, as we do not find meal-offerings containing such a small amount of oil. One may also not donate one log or two lugin wine, however, as the drink-offerings accompanying animal offerings require larger amounts of wine than that." Thus far Maimonides on the subject. This may be the reason why in our verse the Torah is not satisfied with the person offering the meal-offering donating two lugin oil to be mixed with the tenth of the eyphah of flour although when the amount of flour in the meal-offering consists of two tenths eyphah of flour, the Torah had stated that 4 lugin oil are required. This is to teach you that a drink-offering of wine must not consist of less than two lugin of wine.

סולת עשרון בלול ברביעית ההין, “a tenth eyfah fine flour mixed with a quarter hin of oil.” It is peculiar that our verse gives us a relationship between the amount of oil needed to mix with the amount of flour that does not correspond to standard relationships we find elsewhere. If the example described here were a standard example, why would we find that in the case of the libations accompanying offerings consisting of varying sizes of four-legged animals the libations brought with an offering consisting of a ram where two tenths of an eyfah of flour are used instead of half a hin of oil only a third of a hin is required; similarly when the libation of an offering consisting of a bull is described the Torah decrees three tenths of an eyfah of flour to be mixed with only half a hin of oil? Perhaps, although in order to mix the flour thoroughly with oil, in the example mentioned in our verse a quarter of a hin of oil is required, when the quantity of flour is greater, the need to increase the proportionate amount of oil decreases gradually.

You should present libations and a meal-offering for each animal. Meaning that even though I said above that the verse “when you make a fire-offering…” was not referring to an obligation; nonetheless if you offer a pledge or a donation or an obligatory-offering on your holidays, you are obliged to offer libations and a meal-offerings with them.

V. 4. והקריב המקריב וגו׳ מנחה וגו׳, wenn auch das קרבן an sich ein freiwilliges ist, so ist die hier vorgeschriebene Begleitung des Opfers durch מנחה Pflicht. Das מנחה ist eine wesentliche Ergänzung seines קרבן. Es kommt ganz, wie sein עולה, oder die אימורים seines שלמים, auf das Altarfeuer.

The one bringing his offering. He should bring from his own, as opposed to the other elements of the offering, such as wood and salt, which were from communal property.

והקריב המקריב, “the one presenting the offering shall present it;” Rabbi Natan understands this verse as an introductory formula applicable to all such situations, something known in Talmudic parlance as binyan av. It teaches that no one offering a gift offering may use less than the quantities and ingredients listed in this verse. (Sifri)

With the oil absorbed. Meaning that the kohanim do not eat from it like the other meal-offerings mentioned in Vayikra. Rather it is completely consumed and the oil is absorbed in it, instead of being brought separately.

One may be tempted to argue that this reasoning is only correct concerning the amount of wine in the respective drink-offerings, seeing that according to Rabbi Tarfon (Zevachim 91) an offering consisting of oil only is acceptable even in a relatively small amount. We find a difference of opinion in the Talmud Menachot we have quoted, one sage holding that one may donate as little as one log of oil as a separate offering. According to the reasoning presented in the Talmud for this latter opinion, why did the Torah not remain consistent in its presentation of the relative amounts of oil and flour? We may have to conclude that the Torah was anxious to equalise the respective amounts of oil and wine to be used in these drink or meal-offerings respectively which accompany the animal offerings.

And the wine [is poured] into the bowls. There were two perforated silver bowls on the altar. The kohein would pour the wine and the water in the mouths of these bowls and the libations would flow down onto the top of the altar. On the altar there was a hole through which the water and wine would go down to the foundations of the altar which were hollow and extremely deep.