Commentaire sur Les Nombres 28:7

ונסכו (more lit., its pouring forth — i.e. its offering that was poured forth) — wine (cf. Numbers 15:5).

AND THE DRINK-OFFERING THEREOF — “of wine. IN THE HOLY PLACE THOU SHALT POUR — upon the altar they shall be poured out. A POURING FORTH OF STRONG DRINK — wine which has an intoxicating power. This excludes wine straight from the [wine-]press.” This is the language of Rashi. But it is not correct, for the Rabbis have already said:¹⁹⁴Baba Bathra 97a. “Wine straight from the wine-press one may not bring [for the drink-offering, since it is non-intoxicating], but if one did bring [such wine], it is valid” [and there is no need to bring other wine]. Thus [we see that] wine straight from the wine-press is not excluded on the basis of a [Scriptural] verse [for in that case, he would have to bring other wine instead of it], but it is merely a prohibition of the Rabbis to be observed as a rule directly [but if not observed, it does not invalidate the drink-offering]. However, [the correct interpretation is]:¹⁹⁵Sifre, Pinchas 143. “Strong drink, to exclude wine which is diluted [with water],” which is invalid even if already brought [so that one must bring other wine which is undiluted]. And this is how it is interpreted in the Sifre.¹⁹⁵Sifre, Pinchas 143. And there they [furthermore] said: “In the holy place thou shalt pour — it was to be poured in the holy place, and in the holy place it was absorbed.”¹⁹⁶This is a reference to the cavity at the side of the altar, into which the libations were poured. It was a natural cavity in the ground which had existed since the six days of creation, and the wine went down and was absorbed therein. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 317.
Now Scripture mentions in the [case of the] Daily Whole-offering and [the Additional Offerings of] your New Moons the amount of fine flour in the meal-offering [which accompanied them],¹⁹⁷Verses 5, 13. and the amount of wine in the drink-offerings [which accompanied them],¹⁹⁸Verses 7, 14. but in the [case of the Additional Offerings of the] Sabbath, the Festival[s] of Unleavened Bread, Weeks, the New Year, the Day of Atonement, and the first day of the Festival of Tabernacles, He mentioned the amount of the meal-offering, but did not specify the amount of the drink-offerings. The reason for this is that although in the section [dealing with] the drink-offerings¹⁹⁹Above, 15:4-12. He commanded how much the meal-offerings and the drink-offerings should be for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs,²⁰⁰Further, 29:33. in vow-offerings, freewill offerings, and [the offerings of] the festivals,²⁰¹Above, 15:3. we find a double meal-offering for the lamb brought with the sheaf [of barley],²⁰²Leviticus 23:13. and on the day of Atzereth²⁰³I.e., the Festival of Weeks. See in Vol. III, p. 393, why this festival is called by the name Atzereth. — Ibid., Verse 17. [they brought] two tenth-parts of an ephah [baked] with leaven,²⁰³I.e., the Festival of Weeks. See in Vol. III, p. 393, why this festival is called by the name Atzereth. — Ibid., Verse 17. and so also we find [unleavened cakes, wafers, and cakes of leavened bread] in a thanks-offering, which were a meal-offering.²⁰⁴Ibid., 7:12-13. Therefore Scripture had to specify [here] in the case of all the festivals that their meal-offering does not change, as it changed in these [above-mentioned cases]. But the drink-offerings never varied; therefore He mentioned them at first in [the case of the] Daily Whole-offering, and did not refer to them afterwards in the case of [the Additional Offering of] the Sabbath. He did refer to them again [when speaking] of the New Moon,²⁰⁵Further, Verse 14. in order to mention also the drink-offerings of the bullocks and the rams, but afterwards He did not have to mention them at all. [Likewise] He mentioned on the first day of Tabernacles the amount of the meal-offering,²⁰⁶Ibid., 29:14. and it was [therefore] no longer necessary to mention it in connection with the other days of the festival, except [to state], and their meal-offering and their drink-offerings … according to their number, after their ordinance,²⁰⁰Further, 29:33. meaning to say: “after their ordinance on the first day [of the festival] as mentioned [previously].”

שכר, “intoxicating liquid.” Rashi understands the word as excluding newly made wine that has not yet become alcoholic, the liquid not yet having fermented. Nachmanides queries that since we know that such wine if it had been offered is not disqualified retroactively, we can see that the requirement was only a cautionary decree by the Rabbis, this could not be the meaning of the word here. He concludes that therefore the meaning is that watered down wine is not acceptable. Nachmanides writes further that the Torah mentions the amount of fine flour to be used as part of the daily meal-offering accompanying the daily burnt offering, and it also mentions the amount of wine used in the libation, both in the daily offerings and on the corresponding offerings on the New Moon. Similar measurements for the libations are, however, not mentioned in connection with the corresponding offering on the Sabbath and all the other festivals. The reason maybe that although these measurements are mentioned in the section dealing with the libations (Numbers 15,4-12) in connection with the meal-offerings and libations for the bull, ram, and sheep when these are free-willed offerings such as different categories of vows and individual offerings on the festivals, we find different measurements (double) in the meal offering accompanying the Omer, or that on Shavuot the meal-offering also comprises 10 loaves of leavened bread. Similarly, these standard measurements are varied in connection with the קרבן תודה, people who have to present thanksgiving offerings. Basically, seeing that the libations do not vary in measurements, allowing for the size of four-legged animal that they accompany, they, i.e. their measures have been written first in conjunction with the daily communal offerings known as תמיד. They do not have to be mentioned again as they are not subject to variations in their measures at all. The size of the מנחה on the first day of Tabernacles has been mentioned (29,14) something that did not need to be repeated on the subsequent days of that festival other than a brief note such as “and their meal offerings and libations in accordance with the law.” The משפט, “law,” referred to is the size of the libation on the first day of that festival. This still leaves us with the question of why there was a need to specify the size of the libation on the New Moon more so than on any other days in the calendar. Perhaps one can explain this by saying that seeing the legislation of the offerings on that day introduces the concept of the so-called מוספים, “additional” communal offerings, the Torah saw fit to also give details of the accompanying libation of each mammal being presented.

Wine. Meaning [wine] but not other drinks, for in the passage dealing with the libations it is written “wine for a libation, one fourth of a hin” (Bamidbar 15:5).

V. 7. ונסכו וגו׳. Diese Hingebung alles Seins, alles Wollens und allen Habens an Gottes Gesetzesfeuer sei aber keine mit Widerstreben sich vollziehende Notwendigkeit; den höchsten Gipfel auf Erden zu erreichender Glückseligkeit finde Israel in dieser seiner Bestimmung; in dem Boden des Gesetzesheiligtums, auf welchem der Gottesberg mit seinen Anforderungen sich erhebt, wurzelt seine Glückseligkeit, und seine freudigste Begeisterung findet es, wenn es den Ausdruck seiner höchsten Lebenswonnen im Heiligtum vor Gott hingießen kann (siehe zu Kap. 15 V. 5 ff.). שכר ist Wein in seiner geistigen Kraft. Äußerlich sind שכר und קדש Gegensätze. Darum steht hier בקדש voran. Die Stätte, die Israels Opfer empfängt, die ist auch zugleich der Boden, dem seine höchsten Freuden angehören. Es darf sein שכר ins Heiligtum tragen und es ist ihm nur שכר, weil es dasselbe בקדש לפני ד׳ hingießen kann. —

בקדש הסך CAUSING IT TO BE POURED FORTH ON THE HOLY SPOT — upon the altar they shall be poured out.

They shall be poured on the altar. Although it is written, “In the Holy” alone without explaining where, it means upon the altar which is termed "holy," as is taught in Succah 49a.

נסך שכר A POURING FORTH OF STRONG DRINK — wine that has intoxicating power. This excludes wine straight out of its vine press (new wine which is non-intoxicating) (Bava Batra 97a).