Tafsiran Imamat 1:3: Rashi, Kli Yakar, Or HaChaim & Rashbam

זכר A MALE, but not a female. When Scripture mentions again lower down. (v. 10) that the sacrifice shall be זכר, a male, — which appears unnecessary to state, — it intends to say: a male, but not an animal whose sex is indeterminate or which is a hermaphrodite (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Section 3 9; Bekhorot 41b).

If his offering is a burnt offering of cattle, he shall offer it an unblemished male. The reason why the burnt offering is brought as a male, and the sin offering as a female, and the peace offerings can be either male or female, is because the burnt offering comes for what arises in your spirit, that is, for the sin of impure thoughts, as it is said And he would offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all, for Job said, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts” (Job 1:5). The sin offering comes for the sin of action. It follows that one who contemplates a transgression but does not carry out his thought into action is certainly “mighty in the land,” for his strength is like a man’s, conquering his evil inclination, as the thought did not go outward to perform its strange deed; therefore his offering is a male. But one who sins also in deed, his strength is weakened like a female’s, for he was not able to stand against his evil inclination; therefore his offering is a female, similar to him. And since both the burnt offering and the sin offering come for sin which originates from the heart, for a deceived heart has turned him aside (Isaiah 44:20), and the wicked are under the control of their heart, which is located on the left side, therefore their slaughter is in the north. But the peace offerings, which run without iniquity, their slaughter is anywhere in the Temple courtyard, and there is no distinction between male and female for them.

אם עולה קרבנו, if his offering consists of a burnt-offering, etc. Why is the wording of the Torah different here from the verses in which the burnt-offerings consisting of either sheep or fowl are described? In both those instances the Torah writes: ואם מן הצאן קרבנו, or ואם מן העוף קרבנו, whereas here the Torah writes: אם עולה קרבנו? If the Torah wanted to be consistent it should have written: אם מן הבקר עולה. We may understand this in conjunction with an idea mentioned in Torat Kohanim (3,20) in connection with the word את קרבנכם at the end of the last verse. We are told there that the Torah speaks of communal burnt-offerings. This would account for the plural ending in the word קרבנכם. In the other two instances we have mentioned the Torah uses the singular ending, i.e. קרבנו, making it plain that the Torah speaks of sacrifices offered by individuals. Moreover, the Torah uses the conditional אם, if, when introducing the burnt-offering to tell us that the only kind of communal burnt-offering acceptable is the one which consists of בקר, a male member of the cattle category. Peace-offerings may not be offered as communal offerings. [Peace-offerings are offerings which are eaten in the main by the owners, whereas the burnt-offering is completely consumed by the altar except for the skin and the hair. Ed.] Furthermore, the sequence קרבנכם אם עולה suggests that only burnt-offerings are acceptable as communal offerings and not peace-offerings as stated in Torat Kohanim.