Commentary for Leviticus 7:30

'ידיו תביאינה וגו‎ HIS OWN HANDS NAMELY SHALL BRING [THE FIRE OFFERINGS OF THE LORD] — This means that the owner’s hand shall be above and the fat and the breasts shall be lying in it, and the priest’s hand shall be beneath (i. e. beneath the hand of the owner) — and thus does he wave them (Menachot 61b).

THE FAT UPON THE BREAST. It appears from this verse according to its plain meaning that the breast was waved with the fat, but not the thigh. Thus the verse which states, And the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved for a wave-offering,¹⁴⁷Further, 9:21. means that afterwards [after he had waved the fats with the breasts], he waved them [i.e., the breasts and the thigh] by themselves. But our Rabbis have said¹⁴⁸Menachoth 61 b. that the priest placed the fats upon the hand of the owner of the offering, with the breast and thigh above them, [and waved them]. According to their opinion, the reason why waving is mentioned only in connection with the breast, is in order to serve the basis for the interpretation which they have said: “If [the parts which are to be waved] became unclean, but one of them was left [which remained clean], whence do we know that it needs waving? Scripture therefore says, that the breast may be waved.”¹⁴⁹In Verse 30 before us.

'ידיו תביאנה את אישי ה, seeing that the remainder of the animal belongs to the owners who had brought the offering, the owner together with the priest officiating on his behalf, presents this “waving” to G’d, this symbolic action indicating that basically the entire offering is G’d’s even if only the fat on the chest is offered on the altar, the chest itself belonging to the priest. The main reason for the “waving” is on account of that chest, to signal that actually it too belongs to G’d. There was no need to wave the fat, seeing we all know that the fat of every sacrificial animal always belongs to G’d via the altar on which it is burned up.

The kohein’s hand beneath. Since it is written (Devarim 26:4): “And the kohein will take the basket from your hand,” just as there [it refers to] the hand of the kohein, so too, here, it refers to the hand of the kohein. And yet it is written: “His hands shall bring it,” which refers to the [hands of the] owner. How [do we resolve the apparent contradiction]? “The owner’s hands should be [on top ... with the kohein’s hand beneath].”

ידיו תביאנה, “he shall bring it with his own hands;” Rashi adds that this means that he (the priest) is to carry it by supporting the hand of the donor while transporting it from the hall in which it is slaughtered. This is why Rashi adds that three priests are needed to do all this.

‎'את אשי ה‎ THE FIRE OFFERINGS OF THE LORD — and what are these fire-offerings that he shall bring?

That three kohanim. Although it would be sufficient with one, this is because “the glory of the king is when there is a multitude of people.”

את החלב על החזה, “the fat with the breast.”

‎החזה יביאנו‎ ‎‏ את החלב על‏THE FAT UPON THE BREAST SHALL HE BRING — When he (the first priest; see below) brings it from the slaughtering-place he places the fat upon the breast, and when he afterwards transfers it into the hand of the priest who is to do the waving it follows that the breast is on top and the fat beneath; — that is what Scripture states in another passage, (Leviticus 10:15) “The heave shoulder and the wave breasts shall they bring upon (על) the fire-offerings of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering etc.” (i. e. during the waving the חזה ושוק shall be on top). After the waving he (that priest) transfers it to the priest who is to burn it on the altar, when consequently the breast is again beneath; — that is what Scripture states, (Leviticus 9:20) “And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat at the altar”. Thus we learn that three priests are required for it (for the rite of waving). Thus is it explained in Treatise Menachot 62a.

Since it is said. Meaning: Since it is written: “את החלב על החזה יביאנו (he shall bring the fat on the breast)” it did not need to additionally write: “את החזה (and the breast).” Therefore Rashi explains that the second phrase “את החזה” refers to the phrase “להניף אותו (to wave it),” as if it says: The only reason he brings the breast together with the fat is to wave with it. Were it not for this, I would think that the aforementioned phrase “the fire-offerings of Hashem” includes [both] the fat and the breast that appear in the verse after it. You might ask: It is clearly written in the next verse: “The kohein shall burn the fat on the altar and the breast shall belong to Aharon and to his sons.” How, then, could we have assumed that the breast would also be [burnt] with the fire offerings? The answer is: Were it not for the verse: “And the breast to wave,” I would think that the verse (31), “The kohein shall burn the fat on the altar and the breast shall belong to Aharon and to his sons” comes to teach that you should not say that even the breast is a fire offering, [which you might say] because it is written, “the fat on the breast.” However, it (v. 31) does not teach that the meat is not eaten as long as the fats are below the altar (see Rashi there). Now that it is written, “and the breast to wave,” which teaches us that the breast is not one of the fire offerings, the verse, “and the breast shall belong to Aharon and to his sons” remains available to teach that the meat is not eaten while the fats are below the altar (Re’m). Were it not for the verse, “and the breast to wave,” I might think that part of the breast is for a fire offering and part is for Aharon, as we say (3:4) regarding the liver. (Gur Aryeh) Gur Aryeh’s answer poses a difficulty: The liver is different, because it is written (ibid.): “יותרת על הכבד (the lobe on the liver)”; the expression על הכבד is extra. Therefore, the Sages derived that he should take a small part [of the liver with the lobe]. This is not so, here, regarding the breast, where the fat is placed upon it, and there is no extra expression. Thus, it appears to me that I might assume this is what it means: “His hands shall bring the fire-offerings of Hashem” refers to the fat and the breast, since both of them are relevant as fire offerings of Hashem. However, the Merciful One gave [the breast to] Aharon and his sons from the table of the Most High, and it would not be the property of the owner with which he could betroth a woman. Therefore, it teaches us know that the breast is not of the fire offerings of Hashem at all, and it is the property of the owner. With this, the language of the later verse is understandable as well (v. 34): “Because the breast wave-offering... I have taken from Bnei Yisroel ... and I have given them to Aharon the kohein.” This verse poses a difficulty: What new information does Scripture give here? According to what I mentioned it goes well: Scripture teaches us that they were taken from the Bnei Yisroel and not from the table of the Most High. Thus, what Hashem has given to them is the property of the owner (Divrei Dovid).

את החלב על החזה יביאנה THE BREAST WITH THE FAT, IT SHALL HE BRING — And to what end does he bring the breast? This is stated in the words that follow: “[As for the breast], להניף אותו for the purpose of waving it” shall he bring it, and not that it, too, should become part of the fire offerings. But because it states את אשי ה' את החלב על החזה "‎the fire-offerings of the Lord — the fat with the breast”, I might think that the breast also belongs to the fire-offerings, Scripture therefore continues: 'את החזה להניף וגו, “he brings the breast to wave it, etc.”